Chapter 1 When He Returns

When the players from both sides came out of the tunnel, the TV broadcast quickly cut to a close-up of Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi was the one who had been injured in the last match between the two sides, and had missed more than a month of games.

Now that he had recovered from his injury and was facing Napoli again, he was naturally the focus of attention.

If Zhou Yi hadn't been injured and taken off the field in the last match between the two teams, would the final result have been different from what it was now? Many people thought it would have been.

Even if they couldn't beat Napoli away, they wouldn't have been completely defeated 0-3, right? With Zhou Yi on the field, Borussia Dortmund would have had a chance to score an away goal—in fact, before Zhou Yi was injured and taken off the field, Borussia Dortmund had already shown signs of this, when Aubameyang launched a very threatening attack.

Unfortunately, as soon as Zhou Yi left the field, Borussia Dortmund's momentum came to an abrupt halt. In the end, because of their unease, Napoli seized the opportunity to score another goal, and they lost 0-3.

After the game, some Borussia Dortmund media outlets complained that Napoli took advantage of the fact that Borussia Dortmund players were concerned about Zhou Yi and had no intention of playing the game.

So now that Zhou Yi is back, healthy and in good shape, what kind of performance can he put on when Borussia Dortmund faces Napoli again?

Everyone is very concerned about the answer to this question.

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To the tune of the Champions League anthem, the players from both sides entered the field, lined up, and shook hands with each other. The two captains exchanged team flags, flipped a coin to choose sides...

In the end, Borussia Dortmund won the right to kick off.

"With the referee's whistle, a key match in Group F of the 2013-2014 Champions League group stage has begun!" As soon as the whistle sounded, the commentator also raised his voice.

"Borussia Dortmund has maintained a winning streak in eight Champions League games at home. But at the same time, they have lost their last two home games against Italian teams, losing 0-2 to Udinese in the UEFA Cup, and 0-1 to AC Milan in the Champions League... If Borussia Dortmund wants to keep their chances of qualifying, they must beat Napoli in this game..."

"Napoli can qualify for the next round with a draw in this game. With a three-point lead over Borussia Dortmund, if they draw with Borussia Dortmund, there will be one last round left in the group stage. With a three-point lead over Borussia Dortmund and a superior head-to-head record, no matter how Borussia Dortmund's last game against Galatasaray goes, Napoli will qualify... Napoli has won six of their last eight Champions League games, and has only failed to score in one of their last twelve Champions League games, which was the last time they lost 0-2 to Arsenal... But they have conceded goals in their last six Champions League games, and have never won a game in Germany—five draws and four losses..."

Marcel Reif quickly introduced the situation of the two teams.

On the field, Borussia Dortmund has already launched an attack on Napoli's goal, taking advantage of their kickoff opportunity.

Borussia Dortmund didn't want to waste a second. Instead of passing the ball back and forth in their own half, they passed the ball directly forward, launching an attack and threatening Napoli's goal.

Mark received a pass from Reus in front of the penalty area, and directly flicked the ball behind him with his heel. Zhou Yi, who followed up, directly took a long shot!

Napoli goalkeeper Reina saw the ball flying towards the upper right corner of the goal, and quickly jumped up and made a horizontal save, but he didn't touch the ball...

Fortunately for him, the ball didn't fly into the goal either, but was slightly higher, flying over the crossbar!

"Zhou—Yi!! Oh! That's a wonderful long shot, but it's just a little high!" When Zhou Yi shot, He Ping thought the ball was going in, but the ball flew out of the baseline. While regretting it, he didn't forget to praise Zhou Yi's shot.

There was also a burst of exclamation from the stands. When Zhou Yi shot, Borussia Dortmund fans also thought the ball was going in.

Zhou Yi, who didn't score, held his head in regret after shooting, then put down his arms and ran back.

Although Zhou Yi's long shot didn't score, it scared many Napoli fans into a cold sweat. The game had just started, and Zhou Yi had already taken such a threatening long shot. It was a good thing it didn't go in... If it had gone in, this game would have been difficult for Napoli!

Napoli fans were glad that they had escaped a disaster, breathed a sigh of relief, and continued to watch the game.

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Although Zhou Yi's shot didn't result in a goal, it set the tone for the game.

Next, Borussia Dortmund continued to besiege Napoli's goal, with a fierce momentum, forcing Napoli to defend passively after the start of the game.

Napoli must have anticipated this situation, so they didn't panic in the face of Borussia Dortmund's fierce attack, but quickly retreated and consolidated their defense.

This is the tactic that Benitez arranged for Napoli. In response to Borussia Dortmund's need to win at home, Napoli will focus on defense and counterattack in this game.

Benitez is very good at playing defense and counterattack.

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Continuous attacks also earned Borussia Dortmund a set-piece opportunity.

In training, Borussia Dortmund also focused on set-piece attack and defense. Klopp also anticipated that Napoli would shrink their defense. And set pieces are a good way to break through a dense defense.

In the ninth minute of the game, Borussia Dortmund won a corner kick.

When the game reached the eighth minute, Aubameyang crossed from the wing, and Mark grabbed the spot in the penalty area and headed for the goal!

The ball was tipped over the crossbar by goalkeeper Reina with one palm, and Borussia Dortmund won the first corner kick of the game.

Reus took the corner kick from the right side, and there was chaos in the penalty area. In the scramble, Albiol pulled Mark, preventing him from jumping up. As a result, the ball flew over his head, and he was powerless and unable to compete for the header.

But the referee from Spain, Carballo, didn't make any indication, which made Mark very angry. He opened his arms and protested to the referee: "He pulled my shirt!!"

But Carballo just shook his head. In his opinion, that level of pulling wasn't enough to constitute a foul.

So Borussia Dortmund lost a chance to shoot.

Although the referee didn't say anything, it caused a discussion among the commentators.

"Albiol's action should be considered a foul, right? That's a very obvious pull, he even hugged Mark, preventing Mark from being able to jump up..." He Ping commented on the referee's decision.

Marcel Reif was also very dissatisfied with the penalty: "Obviously, Albiol had a hand movement when defending, interfering with and hindering Mark's header. This should be a foul in the penalty area, and Borussia Dortmund should be given a penalty kick!"

However, the Italian commentators had a different view from them: "Mark's action is too exaggerated, right? They just had some entanglement with each other, and he pretended to be unable to move as if he was being pulled. There is a very obvious element of exaggerated performance! Referee Carballo was right to ignore him!"

There was a burst of boos from the stands because of the entanglement in the penalty area.

Borussia Dortmund fans also believed that Albiol committed a foul and that Borussia Dortmund should be given a penalty kick, and even Albiol should be shown a yellow card, so that Napoli's main center back would have the burden of a yellow card at the beginning of the game!

But nothing happened, and Borussia Dortmund fans were very dissatisfied.

Mark was still unwilling and wanted to protest to the referee, but Zhou Yi stopped him: "Okay, Mark, don't worry about this kind of thing. Don't use all your energy to deal with the referee, it's not worth it."

"But that should be our penalty!" Mark was indignant. Borussia Dortmund is in a bad situation now, and everyone is under heavy pressure. Being able to win a scoring opportunity might reduce the pressure on everyone...

Zhou Yi shook his head: "The referee will not easily change the penalty. Even if you surround him to protest, it is useless. Instead, you will get yourself a yellow card. If protesting can get us a penalty, I will of course support you, but can it?"

Mark was silenced by Zhou Yi's question.

Protesting cannot change the referee's decision, this is a fact.

"Okay, don't think so much, the past is the past, what's important is the next game. Don't worry, you still have scoring opportunities!" Zhou Yi patted Mark on the shoulder and ran back to his position first.

Mark glanced back at Albiol and had to run back helplessly.

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Not long after, Borussia Dortmund attacked again. Durm directly passed the ball from the left to the right wing.

On the right wing, Großkreutz jumped up to compete with Napoli's left back Armero, but the ball was headed back by Armero.

Zhou Yi appeared at the landing point of the ball and directly lifted his foot to pass the ball in the air to Mark, who was responding in front.

Then Zhou Yi started to move forward into the center.

Mark didn't hold the ball for too long even when he was closely marked by Napoli players, but passed the ball to Reus again.

Reus was facing away from the direction of attack when he received the ball. He didn't turn around, nor did he stop the ball. He chose to directly pass the ball horizontally to Zhou Yi, who was advancing.

Zhou Yi took a step forward with the ball, seemingly trying to get rid of the pursuers beside him.

In front of him, Napoli's four-man defense line was waiting in full force. Zhou Yi's long shot at the beginning of the game had also frightened them. Next, as long as Zhou Yi had a chance to shoot from long range, they would be particularly nervous.

Between them, Zhou Yi suddenly adjusted his steps while running, taking a big step, seemingly to shoot from long range. This made the retreating Napoli defenders nervous, and even ready to block the shot with their bodies at any time.

After the step, Zhou Yi's right foot swung up, this was indeed the posture for a long shot!

The center back Albiol, who was in front of Zhou Yi, no longer hesitated this time. He protected his crotch with both hands, then turned halfway and stretched his leg to block Zhou Yi's shot.

But Zhou Yi didn't shoot from long range!

After his right foot swung down, he used the outside of his foot very lightly to poke the ball to the right front!

The ball rolled past from under Albiol's open legs!

This was a very, very concealed and sudden diagonal through pass!

After the ball went through Albiol's crotch, it rolled past in front of another Napoli center back, Federico Fernández, diagonally rolling towards the right rib of the penalty area. Federico Fernández could only watch the ball slip past his feet, but he was powerless—he was running back and didn't have time to adjust his center of gravity and make a move to destroy the ball...

He followed the ball and saw Mark Wagner, who had inserted himself like a ghost from beside him!

"This ball is passed... a good ball!! Mark Wagner's chance——!!!"

In Marcel Reif's drawn-out roar, Mark adjusted his steps, swung his right foot, and shot!

With a bang, the ball flew past Reina's shoulder, who had come out to block the angle, at high speed!

Mark seemed to have vented all his resentment from not being awarded a penalty for being pulled earlier into this kick. This was a genuine powerful shot!

The ball was so fast that Reina didn't even have time to make a save, and the ball had already flown past, and then went into the goal through the gap between him and the near post!

"toooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooor!!!!" Marcel Reif saw the ball fly into the goal and roared in a drawn-out voice. "In the fourteenth minute of the opening, Borussia Dortmund took the lead! From Mark Wagner!!!"