Chapter 1 The Opportunity Missed

It wasn't until the sixteenth minute that Borussia Dortmund got a chance to threaten Bayer Leverkusen's goal. Zhou Yi passed the ball to Mark, who completed a shot in the penalty area. Mark's shot was saved by Bayer Leverkusen's goalkeeper, Bernd Leno, and went out of bounds.

Borussia Dortmund won a corner kick as a result.

After the corner kick was taken, Borussia Dortmund's two starting center backs, Friedrich and Papastathopoulos, had a header relay in the penalty area. In the end, Papastathopoulos headed the football high...

It was nothing for Borussia Dortmund's center back to miss a chance. Missing chances is very common in games. If every chance was taken, football matches might often end up with basketball scores...

No one would take this missed header to heart.

But soon, they began to feel sorry for the chances missed by Mark and Papastathopoulos.

In the eighteenth minute, Borussia Dortmund was passing the ball back in their own half.

Papastathopoulos passed the football horizontally to his center back partner, Friedrich. Friedrich made a mistake when he passed the football to the wing. He wanted to pass it to the full back, but instead passed the football directly to Bayer Leverkusen player Castro!

"Friedrich has made a passing error!" Marcel Reif exclaimed.

The Westfalenstadion was also in an uproar.

Castro received this pie from the sky and was not stunned. Instead, he calmly and quickly passed the football straight forward!

He passed the football to Son Heung-min at the front!

After receiving the ball, Son Heung-min took it into the penalty area, leaving the turning Friedrich behind!

"A good chance for Bayer Leverkusen!" The Korean commentator screamed excitedly.

"Danger!" The Chinese commentator Duan Xin shouted.

Amidst the noise, Son Heung-min broke into the penalty area. Facing Weidenfeller who came out, he swung his right foot as if to shoot, but suddenly buckled the football to the left, tricking Weidenfeller.

Then he strode to catch up with the football and shot decisively when the angle was already very small!

The football flew into the goal before Borussia Dortmund player Sven Bender, who was returning to defense, could get there. Although Sven Bender had already slid on the goal line, he still couldn't prevent the goal from happening...

"Ahhhhh! Son Heung-min—!!" Marcel Reif shouted with his arms raised. "Son Heung-min! He truly deserves to be called 'Borussia Dortmund's nemesis'! He scored the first goal for Bayer Leverkusen! He has scored his fourth goal against Borussia Dortmund!!"

"Only eighteen minutes into the game, and Bayer Leverkusen has taken the lead! This lead is not surprising, because before the goal, Bayer Leverkusen also had the advantage! They have been playing very actively from the beginning of the game, with a tendency to turn the game around! Son Heung-min is the key figure in the team's reversal! He can not only be an offensive fulcrum in the frontcourt, but also a terminator!" The Korean commentator was naturally excited and desperately praised Son Heung-min.

In the contest with Zhou Yi, Son Heung-min has already taken the lead!

Duan Xin felt annoyed and frustrated by Borussia Dortmund's backwardness. The main reason for his emotions was not that Borussia Dortmund was behind, but that Zhou Yi seemed to be behind in the contest between Son Heung-min and Zhou Yi...

As a Chinese football player, no matter how much he emphasizes objectivity and fairness on the surface, when it comes to Korean football, which is also the representative and pride of Asian football, he still has opinions about Korean football in his heart, and the opinions are not small. After all, everyone has seen the performance of the Koreans in the 2002 World Cup. As long as they are not blind or fools, they cannot have a good impression of Korean football.

In addition, the grievances between Chinese and Korean football over the years, and the grievances in non-football aspects, have made Chinese football players have no good feelings for Korean football.

Duan Xin was very upset about the Korean media's pre-match hype about Zhou Yi and Son Heung-min together—why should Son Heung-min be compared with our Zhou Yi? Zhou Yi has three league titles, one Champions League title, European Player of the Year... Which of these many honors can Son Heung-min compare to?

As a result, the Korean media's hype has made Son Heung-min a player of the same level as Zhou Yi. Duan Xin does not deny Son Heung-min's talent, but he is still far from Zhou Yi.

Duan Xin doesn't have any opinions on Son Heung-min, he is mainly upset with the Korean media's behavior of forcibly trying to gain popularity and adding drama to themselves.

In his opinion, the Korean media is using Zhou Yi's fame to help hype Son Heung-min.

So he hopes that Zhou Yi can teach the Korean media how to behave with an excellent performance in the game, and tell them that Son Heung-min is still far from Zhou Yi!

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After the goal, the TV broadcast gave a close-up of Son Heung-min celebrating the goal. He was surrounded by his teammates, smiling brightly.

Then the camera turned and Zhou Yi appeared in the picture. He stood on the spot with his hands on his hips, expressionless.

This group of shots is very intriguing.

※※※

Bayer Leverkusen players completed their celebration amidst the boos of Borussia Dortmund fans and returned to their own half. Zhou Yi and Mark were already waiting for them in the center circle.

The referee blew his whistle and the game restarted.

Borussia Dortmund, who were behind, obviously stepped up their attack. In the following time, it was their time to besiege Bayer Leverkusen's goal.

It's a pity that after besieging for nearly ten minutes, Borussia Dortmund was unable to break through Bayer Leverkusen's goal. Instead, Bayer Leverkusen took the opportunity to make a counterattack, and their attack seemed more threatening than Borussia Dortmund's.

In the twenty-ninth minute, Großkreutz crossed from the right, and Aubameyang volleyed in front of the goal!

This was a high-quality shot, but unfortunately, the shot was saved by Leno.

Then Bayer Leverkusen launched a counterattack, Hegeler passed straight through the midfield, and Son Heung-min once again got a one-on-one opportunity. He dribbled the ball into the penalty area, facing Weidenfeller who came out!

"Son Heung-min! Bayer Leverkusen's counterattack is here again! It's Son Heung-min again! One-on-one—"

In the Korean commentator's hoarse roar.

Son Heung-min's body leaned to one side, and his right foot pushed the football to the other side.

Weidenfeller was already kneeling on the ground and could hardly make any save. Borussia Dortmund fans watched this scene in the penalty area in horror. Could Bayer Leverkusen score consecutive goals?

If Bayer Leverkusen takes a two-goal lead, this game will not be easy to play...

And Bayer Leverkusen players couldn't wait to raise their arms and prepare to cheer for Son Heung-min's second goal.

But the football was rubbed by Weidenfeller's shoulder, and then there was a slight jump and change of direction, and it went wide of the goal!

"Ah—!!" The Korean commentator shouted excitedly to the sky. "It's wide! It's wide!! Son Heung-min missed the opportunity to score twice, and also missed the opportunity to completely bring the game into Bayer Leverkusen's rhythm! But it doesn't matter! Son Heung-min's performance in this game is very good. He is in good condition. If he continues to play like this, I believe it's only a matter of time before he scores again!"

Marcel Reif also praised Son Heung-min's performance: "Son Heung-min has created another killing opportunity! When he just transferred to Bayer Leverkusen, he was still in the adaptation period, and he only scored one goal in the first eight games. Now he has integrated into Bayer Leverkusen's offensive system and is playing his role... He has scored six goals in the last four games! Facing the in-form Son Heung-min, it may be difficult for Borussia Dortmund to win at home..."

Duan Xin, who was unwilling to praise Korean players, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the ball fly out of the baseline, but he quickly pointed out the problems Borussia Dortmund is facing now: "If we continue to play like this, I'm afraid we will lose the ball again. Borussia Dortmund must make some changes. Bayer Leverkusen's reversal on the road is not only due to Son Heung-min's counterattack, but also the foul tactics they adopted in the game, which also have a great impact on Borussia Dortmund—Bayer Leverkusen players continue to use fouls to disrupt Borussia Dortmund's attack, and the referee's whistle keeps ringing, making this game fragmented. I'm not criticizing the referee, but I think the referee should also follow some advantageous principles while strictly enforcing the law? Some balls are clearly Borussia Dortmund attacking, and they can continue to attack, but the referee blows the whistle to stop the game... This makes Borussia Dortmund's counterattack impossible..."

So far in the first half, it is true that the visiting Bayer Leverkusen played better and performed more prominently. Although they adopted foul tactics, which made Borussia Dortmund supporters very upset, this is also a successful tactic, because it really stopped Borussia Dortmund's attack. Whether it is Zhou Yi or Shaheen, it is difficult to organize a threatening attack.

Yan Min's starting performance in this game has also been mediocre so far. It seems that those experts' views on him before the game are true, thinking that he is more suitable as a "super substitute" in the second half, and not suitable for starting.

Aubameyang and Mark have also missed opportunities.

In addition to the mistakes on the defense line, Friedrich indirectly assisted Son Heung-min's goal, and then gave Son Heung-min another one-on-one opportunity.

So far, Borussia Dortmund fans are worried and depressed.

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Although the ball did not go in, the Korean commentator kept praising Son Heung-min's performance: "...Son Heung-min's performance in the first half can be described as radiant! His dazzling light has completely overshadowed Zhou Yi, and Zhou Yi seems to be completely suppressed by Son Heung-min's momentum... He even only has the opportunity to appear in close-up shots when Son Heung-min has an outstanding performance..."

Speaking of this, the Korean commentator couldn't help laughing, feeling proud of his creative statement.

It is too simple and rude to directly say that Zhou Yi is a foil for Son Heung-min, and there is no beauty. And saying that Zhou Yi can only appear in close-up shots after Son Heung-min performs well has more imagery. Think about it, every time Son Heung-min performs well, Zhou Yi will be taken care of by the camera. Do you need to say more about the meaning of this?

In recent years, Park Ji-sung left Manchester United and his glory is no longer there. Korean football seems to be missing a symbolic figure. They can only watch Zhou Yi rise and represent Chinese football in Europe. How many Koreans hope that someone can come out and kill his spirit...

In this case, Son Heung-min's appearance is very timely and popular.

This game has attracted the attention of fans across the country in South Korea, and everyone is cheering for Son Heung-min in front of the TV. This is a manifestation of Korean fans' support and attention.

Fortunately, Son Heung-min lived up to expectations and performed very well.

After this game is over, many Korean fans who have been suppressed for several years can finally breathe a sigh of relief!