Chapter 270 World Wave

When the football drew an arc, bypassing everyone in the penalty area, including Schalke 04 goalkeeper Hildebrand, and then brushed the inside of the goalpost and flew into the goal, the Veltins-Arena fell into a brief silence.

Dortmund fans in front of the TV, however, were cheering excitedly.

"Zhou Yi! Zhou Yi! His signature long shot! Not relying on power, but on angle! He has given Dortmund a two-goal lead again! This is his first game back from injury. He orchestrated two goals and scored one himself when the team was in trouble! Could there be a more perfect comeback than this?!" Marcel Reif raved. "Dortmund fans can cheer as much as they like, because they will not only win the Revierderby, but they will also welcome back their ubiquitous core, Zhou Yi!"

"Zhou Yi with a long shot—oh, what a goal! What a goal! That was beautiful! Hahaha! Haha! Zhou Yi just said that he wanted to stay on the field, and now he's scored! Perfect! He proved with practical actions what use he is on the field! Neustädter hesitated a bit when defending him, and that little bit of hesitation gave Zhou Yi the opportunity to shoot! Dortmund are two goals ahead again!" Duan Xin said with a smile. "I wonder if Zhou Yi thought he could score when he decided to stay?"

"Yes!" Zhou Jianliang, in front of the TV, jumped up excitedly when he saw his son score, then opened his arms and ran a circle in the spacious living room, before plopping down on the sofa.

Li Cuiyun watched her husband with a smile. At times like this, the man really was like a child who hadn't grown up...

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"Awesome!碉堡了！Zhou Yi is碉堡了!" (Diāobǎo le: Awesome,碉堡了is a Chinese internet slang.)

"Damn, he really scored after staying! What he says, he does. So cool!"

"World Wave—!"

"Zhou Yi: Get out of the way, let me do it!"

……

After Zhou Yi scored, the internet exploded.

Everyone expressed their admiration for Zhou Yi.

It's no wonder everyone was so surprised; Zhou Yi's performance was truly amazing.

When he took the initiative to stay, some people might have thought he was overstepping his bounds, forcing coach Klopp to change his mind temporarily, preventing Mkhitaryan from playing, with the air of a "ball hog."

But this goal showed that even if Zhou Yi wanted to be a "ball hog," no one could say half a "no."

But in fact, Zhou Yi had never been a "ball hog" before, and he probably wouldn't have been so direct this time if the situation hadn't forced him to.

This kind of overbearing persona seemed very out of character for Zhou Yi, but now no fan thought it was bad. On the contrary, they even felt that Zhou Yi should do this. Occasionally being domineering didn't damage his image; instead, it made him even more fascinating...

A person who is usually low-key and humble stood up when everyone was at a loss and casually solved a difficult problem that stumped everyone else... This character setting is like the "Sweeping Monk" in Jin Yong's martial arts novels!

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Zhou Yi didn't run with his arms outstretched after scoring; he seemed less excited than his own father...

He just stood there, raising a fist high in the air.

The other Dortmund players, like moths drawn to a flame, swarmed toward him from all directions and hugged him, celebrating the goal with him.

But no matter for how many people, Zhou Yi did not lower his raised fist.

"With Zhou Yi, anything is possible!" Duan Xin said with emotion as he watched this scene. "What a wonderful hit!"

"This is Zhou Yi's signature long shot. His long shots are not very powerful, but the angles are very tricky. Many are this kind of arcing shot, which is truly aesthetically pleasing!" Marcel Reif also praised Zhou Yi's shot.

The TV screen was replaying the goal over and over again.

From behind Zhou Yi, from behind the goal, from above the field... different angles showed the arc of Zhou Yi's shot to the fullest.

Hildebrand couldn't save the ball because the arc was too large; he simply couldn't reach it.

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On the coaching bench, Klopp stood up and walked to the sidelines, waving his fist, after seeing Zhou Yi score. He wasn't very excited, not as excited as the coaches around him.

This wasn't because he wasn't happy, but because he wasn't surprised by Zhou Yi's performance.

Why did he finally decide to let Zhou Yi stay on the field? If he had to substitute Zhou Yi, even if Zhou Yi gestured, it wouldn't have helped.

He was the head coach, and he had the final say.

But in the end, he respected Zhou Yi's choice. It was because he believed in Zhou Yi. He thought that since Zhou Yi took the initiative to stay, he must have a plan. He couldn't possibly stay on the field to waste time, right?

His almost superstitious trust in Zhou Yi earned him the result he had hoped for.

This had always been the tacit understanding between him and Zhou Yi for so many years.

The Dortmund players on the bench also jumped up to cheer for Zhou Yi's goal, and Mkhitaryan was among them.

Whether he was willing to be forcibly kept on the bench or not, at this time he could only be convinced by Zhou Yi—you're still the boss, so steady, no problem!

When Zhou Yi was injured before, he was finally able to play his favorite attacking midfielder position. He was quite looking forward to it, hoping to give Klopp a problem with his outstanding performance, so that when Zhou Yi recovered from his injury, he would have to face his competition.

But now it seems... he was really naive.

He didn't seize the opportunity, and Zhou Yi showed a very high level as soon as he came back. It was very unrealistic for him to compete with Zhou Yi for the attacking midfielder position.

If he wanted to play, he might have to compete with Aubameyang and Reus... he shouldn't think about Zhou Yi's position.

No matter how much he liked playing attacking midfielder, he had to change his playing habits and give up his familiar feelings in the face of reality.

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Yang Muge watched the football fly into the goal, and he couldn't hide the great disappointment in his heart. Losing the Revierderby wasn't the first time for him, but none of the previous times had given him the feeling he had now.

He felt that he was in good shape in this game, eager to help the team win.

But in the end, Zhou Yi scored the key goal.

All his efforts were in vain. This player, who was usually as mentally tough as iron, couldn't help but have emotional ups and downs at this moment. He had rarely expressed his determination to win in front of Zhou Yi, and he was slapped in the face so quickly...

Neustädter next to him held his head in his hands, muttering painfully, "What the hell..."

He glanced at the frustrated Neustädter and, unusually, did not show his warm man persona to comfort the other party. Instead, he said a little impolitely, "You should have fouled him when he received the ball."

Hearing Yang Muge's words, Neustädter habitually defended himself: "But I already have a yellow card..."

"Even if you get sent off, you must not let him get the ball comfortably in this position," Yang Muge said coldly.

Neustädter looked at Yang Muge, whose tone and expression were equally cold, and couldn't even say a word of rebuttal. This was the first time he had seen such a serious Yang Muge. In his impression, his midfielder partner either had a smile on his face or looked calm, and he always spoke softly and rarely shouted loudly on the field. He was recognized as a gentle person, but the current him had nothing to do with the word "gentle."

Yang Muge looked at the stunned Neustädter and seemed to realize his gaffe, so he shook his head and softly comforted the other party: "Don't think too much about it, the game isn't over yet."

This was the normal him.

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Yang Muge's words that "the game isn't over yet" were really to comfort Neustädter.

Dortmund, who had regained a two-goal lead, now had the absolute initiative, and they could play defensively. With Aubameyang and Reus's speed, they could definitely do it.

And Zhou Yi's goal was a heavy blow to Schalke 04's morale. It wasn't the first time they had played against Zhou Yi in the Revierderby. Almost every time, they seemed to have a slight advantage and felt that they could win this derby, Zhou Yi would stand up and slap them awake, telling them not to daydream.

This time was no exception.

Although Zhou Yi had just recovered from his injury, he still had such ability.

It was truly despairing.

And Klopp, after celebrating Zhou Yi's goal, called Mkhitaryan up from the bench again and asked him to continue warming up, giving him three minutes.

As Mkhitaryan ran toward the warm-up area, he glanced back at the field. He only hoped that the team could be more competitive this time and not concede another goal. What if Schalke 04 scored another goal after he warmed up, and Zhou Yi made another domineering gesture of "don't substitute me"? After seeing Zhou Yi's performance just now, Mkhitaryan felt that even if Zhou Yi did it again, he probably wouldn't have any temper...

Who told him to be so awesome?

Fortunately, what Mkhitaryan was worried about didn't happen.

In the few minutes he warmed up, Schalke 04 did not score.

In the sixty-seventh minute, there was a dead ball opportunity in the game, and the fourth official raised the substitution sign, indicating that number 23 Zhou Yi was coming off and number 10 Mkhitaryan was coming on.

This time, Zhou Yi didn't make any more gestures, and he slowly jogged off the field amidst boos.

Seeing him high-five and hand over to Mkhitaryan on the sidelines, many people breathed a sigh of relief...