Chapter 149 A Severe Test

Dortmund's away game against Mainz saw a somewhat surprising benching of Zhou Yi. The most disappointed were the Chinese fans and commentators.

Because not only Zhou Yi was benched, but Yan Min also didn't start. It was rare for a Dortmund game to have no Chinese players on the field.

Mainz, on the other hand, was pleased. With Dortmund's most threatening players off the field and playing at home, they naturally felt they could do as they pleased.

Not long after the game began, Duan Xin was still introducing the "historical connections" between Dortmund's coach Klopp and Mainz to the audience.

"...This is the fourteenth Bundesliga encounter between Mainz and Dortmund. Dortmund's current coach Klopp has been involved in all fourteen of these games... Six while coaching Mainz, and eight while coaching Dortmund. When he coached Mainz, he led them to their first visit to Westfalenstadion, losing 0:3, but that was also the only time he lost to Dortmund while coaching Mainz..."

"After coaching Dortmund, he only lost to Mainz in his first season with the club. In the last two seasons, Dortmund has won four consecutive league games against Mainz, including two come-from-behind victories against his old club on the road... I wonder if there will be another comeback this time?"

Meanwhile, Mainz had already launched a fierce attack on Dortmund's goal.

From the very first minute, it was clear that Mainz intended to play a fast-paced game. Dortmund, however, was suffering from the fatigue of their Champions League game mid-week and the adjustments in their lineup, leading to more mistakes and being suppressed by Mainz.

In the ninth minute, Mainz's full-back Pospech took a long shot from twenty-five meters out. The ball bounced off the ground, increasing the difficulty of the save, but Weidenfeller still managed to push it away.

Two minutes later, Mainz's midfielder Geis also took a long shot from outside the box, again producing a bouncing ball. Once again, Weidenfeller showed his stability and pushed the ball away.

Soon after, Mainz's Japanese international player Shinji Okazaki received a pass in the box and attempted a very difficult bicycle kick. However, he didn't connect properly, and the power wasn't enough, allowing Weidenfeller, who was well-positioned, to catch it directly.

Although there was no goal, Okazaki's bicycle kick earned cheers and applause from the fans in the Coface Arena, Mainz's home stadium.

The commentators also exclaimed, "Okazaki Shinji delivered a beautiful bicycle kick! Unfortunately, he couldn't get enough power on it! Although there was no goal, Mainz's attack has been very fierce recently, while Dortmund can only cope with it... It seems that the Champions League game against Napoli in midweek has indeed had a big impact on them..."

Duan Xin believed that the biggest impact was probably not the game against Napoli, but the absence of Zhou Yi: "Dortmund's midfield is a bit out of control. They are being overwhelmed by Mainz's fast attacks and intense pressing, and they are very uncomfortable. Mkhitaryan, who started in midfield in place of Zhou Yi in this game, is completely unable to control the situation..."

Subsequently, although Dortmund also had some attacking opportunities, they were unable to truly threaten Mainz's goal.

On the other hand, Mainz took advantage of Dortmund's attacks to launch several counterattacks that were quite threatening and played with flair.

In the forty-second minute, Mainz had a golden opportunity. After their corner kick, center-back Stefan Bell headed the ball in the box. Weidenfeller was helpless against this shot, but the ball hit the post and bounced out!

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!!" Marcel Reif exclaimed. "Oh, my god! Stefan Bell! His header was very powerful! It's a pity that this ball didn't go in! Mainz had a chance to take the lead before the end of the first half!"

A huge sigh also echoed through the Coface Arena, the sound coming in unison from Mainz fans.

The television broadcast then gave some close-up shots of the players on both sides. Bell in the shot had his hands on his head, roaring at the sky, very regretful. The Dortmund players, on the other hand, generally had a feeling of relief after surviving a disaster.

When the ball flew towards the goal, Weidenfeller could only watch in despair in the air and couldn't reach the ball at all.

If it weren't for the goalpost, they would have been finished.

"The goalpost! It seems that Mainz's home goal is not friendly enough to its home team..." Duan Xin joked.

Stefan Bell's header hitting the post was the last decent attacking opportunity for both sides in the first half. Not long after, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.

During the half-time break, Klopp criticized the team's performance, believing that they had been too cowardly in the face of Mainz's fierce pressing, not daring to make moves or challenge for the ball.

"...You have to fully show them your courage, otherwise they will think you are soft persimmons that can be easily squeezed!" Klopp said loudly, clapping his hands.

He then decided to make substitutions at the start of the second half.

But this time, he still did not choose to bring on Zhou Yi.

He used up two substitution slots in one go, replacing Kehl with Reus and Sahin with Sven Bender.

Mainz coach Tuchel also decided to make substitutions at the beginning of the second half.

He replaced midfielder Nicolai Müller with forward Maxim Choupo-Moting.

Obviously, Tuchel was also dissatisfied with his team's performance in the first half - dissatisfied that although they had taken the upper hand, they had not seized the opportunity to score even one goal. So he brought on another forward.

Both sides wanted to strengthen their attack and break the current deadlock.

With the substitutions on both sides in the second half, the situation finally changed somewhat, much better compared to the situation in the first half where Dortmund was suppressed without being able to fight back.

At the start of the second half, Choupo-Moting, who had come on as a substitute, fired a shot from twenty-five meters outside the left side of the box, the ball going slightly wide.

Dortmund then responded in kind. Grosskreutz also took a long shot near the left side of the penalty area, but it went high.

Next, the two sides exchanged attacks, but neither side was able to break the other's goal.

The score was like frozen, still 0:0.

On Dortmund's bench, everyone was watching the game very seriously. This game has reached this point, it can be regarded as difficult. But why is it so difficult? Many Dortmund players have their own ideas - they think this has something to do with Zhou Yi sitting on the bench.

If Zhou Yi could start, why would it be so difficult to play Mainz away?

Everyone knew why Zhou Yi didn't start, it must be related to Zhou Yi's performance in the recovery training that day. But why did Zhou Yi have such a performance? This is what everyone doesn't know, but they are very curious about...

So Yan Min, who was sitting next to Zhou Yi, asked Zhou Yi gossipingly: "Hey, Zhou Yi, what exactly happened in that training session? I've never seen you like that in training before..."

Faced with Yan Min's questioning, Zhou Yi initially wanted to pretend he didn't hear him and maintained a focused posture watching the game. But Yan Min always has a way to make others unable to ignore him - he poked Zhou Yi next to him with his hand.

Zhou Yi couldn't pretend anymore, so he turned his head and asked with a confused look: "What did you just say?"

"I said it's strange, what exactly happened to you in that recovery training?" Yan Min was completely unaware.

Of course, it was impossible for Zhou Yi to tell the truth directly, because he had fought with Cortana for three hundred rounds the night before and was exhausted, right? Leaving aside whether this is a matter of privacy, just saying that if others knew about this, what would they think of their ability in that area...

So Zhou Yi had to find an excuse to prevaricate: "That time... I just didn't rest well..."

"Didn't rest well?" Yan Min looked at Zhou Yi suspiciously, not really believing his explanation. He wanted to continue asking, but suddenly saw assistant coach Buvac coming in front of them. Yan Min immediately stopped the idea of continuing to ask and looked up at the assistant coach.

Dortmund has already replaced two players in one go, and now there is only one substitution left. Who will be on the field?

Of course, Yan Min hopes that he can come on as a substitute and once again complete the good show of substituting to save the team.

But this time, Buvac's eyes didn't fall on him at all, but hooked his fingers at Zhou Yi next to him: "Zhou Yi, go warm up!"

This is to let Zhou Yi play.

Zhou Yi actively got up and ran out, looking high-spirited and full of confidence.

But in fact, he just wanted to leave Yan Min quickly, so as not to let him get to the bottom of it. At that time, he might expose his flaws...

Seeing Zhou Yi running to warm up, everyone else breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back on their chairs again - the three substitutions have been used up, and they will no longer have the opportunity to play in this game.

※※※

When Zhou Yi was called up from the bench to warm up, the TV broadcast quickly gave him a close-up.

"Zhou Yi is warming up!" This shot caused a small commotion on the commentary booth.

"Dortmund has been unable to break the deadlock, but they have not conceded a goal either. This is both a danger and an opportunity. So Klopp decided to send on Zhou Yi, intending to give Mainz the final blow!"

"This is a substitution that will break the balance! Klopp decided not to wait any longer... Of course, there is not much time left for Dortmund... If they are tied by Mainz on the road, then they will be farther away from Bayern Munich and the league title..."

"That's right, the team's attack is in a deadlock and the scene is very ugly. At this time, to solve the problem, of course, you have to use Zhou Yi! I think these dozens of minutes of the game are not without gains. You can still see positive things from the negative things, that is, it fully shows that today's Dortmund can be separated from anyone, but they can't be separated from Zhou Yi! Without Zhou Yi, Dortmund's offense is like a headless fly, completely relying on luck to bump around. If you are lucky, you may win the game, but if you are unlucky, you will definitely not win the game. Isn't this like the situation when Zhou Yi was injured and absent for more than a month before?"

Duan Xin talked excitedly.

Chinese fans on the Internet also became active, and the amount of discussion about this game on social networks suddenly surged.

"Zhou Yi is coming on!"

"Zhou Yi should have been allowed to play long ago... The previous two substitutions were completely wasted!"

"I really can't figure out why Klopp used Zhou Yi so conservatively in this game?"

"It is said that the recovery was not very good after the last game against Napoli?"

"Zhou Yi's stamina rarely has problems now, right? Is this really the reason?"

……

※※※

Seeing Zhou Yi warming up on the sidelines, Mainz also suddenly stepped up their attack, which immediately put increased pressure on Dortmund's defense.

Marcel Reif also saw this change in Mainz, and he knew very well why this change happened: "Tuchel is constantly waving his hands on the sidelines, asking the players to press forward and strengthen the attack. Obviously, the news that Zhou Yi is coming on has stimulated him and made him feel the crisis. If Mainz cannot score a goal and take the lead before Zhou Yi comes on, and maintain this delicate balance, then Zhou Yi's appearance may break the balance..."

Although Dortmund is under great pressure, they are not surprised by this change in Mainz.

The players on the field have only one thought - before Zhou Yi comes on the field, they must not let the opponent change the score!

So the game, which had been dull, suddenly became good-looking.

The offensive and defensive rhythm of both sides became faster, especially Mainz's offense, and the threat also increased.

In fact, there is not much time left for Mainz. It is impossible for Zhou Yi to keep warming up. At most five minutes.

If they can't score a goal within five minutes, I'm afraid they will have to adjust their tactics.

※※※

Five minutes later, Zhou Yi was called to the sidelines, and Buvac arranged tactics for him... In fact, there is nothing to say, Zhou Yi is very clear about what situation he will face after he is on the field and what he should do.

And now there is no time for Zhou Yi to waste time on the sidelines, let him play quickly.

So Buvac simply gave a few instructions and asked Zhou Yi to find the fourth official.

But just in the short ten meters distance Zhou Yi walked towards the fourth official, the situation on the field suddenly changed!

Mainz's continuous bombardment still put a lot of pressure on Dortmund's defense. Under this huge pressure, Dortmund's center-back Papastathopoulos made a mistake in the confusion and tripped the Japanese player Shinji Okazaki in the box.

"Penalty!!" Marcel Reif exclaimed. "The balance on the field has been broken!"

Mainz's home stadium, Coface Arena, erupted in huge cheers.

Zhou Yi was also attracted by the sudden situation on the field. He turned his head and looked at the field, and saw Papastathopoulos with his hands on his head, and the Japanese international Okazaki Shinji, who was pulled up from the ground by his teammates and hugged.

"God damn it!" On Dortmund's coaching bench, Klopp punched the coaching bench baffle next to him hard.

Just as he was about to bring Zhou Yi on the field to break the deadlock, the opponent took the lead in breaking the deadlock, and it was still because of the mistake of Dortmund's defense line...

The quality of Bundesliga TV broadcasts is really high, and the directors know football very well.

After giving the picture on the field, they even took the time to give Zhou Yi a close-up on the sidelines. Zhou Yi in the shot was also very surprised by such a sudden situation and looked at the field blankly.

"Ah, Dortmund's luck is too bad... Just when Zhou Yi was about to be substituted on, they were given a penalty!" Although Duan Xin said so, he didn't hear too much disappointment in his tone, but rather... full of expectations?

I don't know if it was a delusion of the TV audience... But they soon felt that they shouldn't have heard it wrong, because Duan Xin then said loudly: "This can be said to be a severe test for Zhou Yi!"

There was no intention to worry about Zhou Yi at all, but he was very excited.

It's as if the teacher gave a very, very, very difficult problem in order to stimulate the fighting spirit of a super student...