Chapter 182 Good Luck

After Reus scored, Mainz's morale completely collapsed.

Reus's goal came in the eighty-eighth minute of the match. They knew that no matter what, it would be difficult to score two goals in the remaining minutes to tie the score.

The commentators were already preparing their closing remarks.

"...It looks like Dortmund will win this game with a score of 3-1. But it is worth noting that Dortmund's three goals all came after Zhou Yi came on the field. The changes Zhou Yi brought to the team are huge. Klopp should carefully consider whether he should let Zhou Yi rotate next time..."

"Dortmund is at a disadvantage in the league this season, and it is still uncertain whether they will qualify from the Champions League group stage. The team has suffered a large number of injuries... Dortmund, which had been smooth sailing, has encountered many difficulties this season. Zhou Yi may be the key figure for them to get rid of this predicament..."

"Dortmund's injury situation is so serious this season, so it is understandable that Klopp was so conservative when using Zhou Yi in this game. After all, so many players are injured, Dortmund really can't have any new injuries, especially Zhou Yi... Now what Klopp should pray for most is that Zhou Yi is safe and healthy in the following games. Once he suffers another serious injury, Dortmund will be completely finished this season..."

...

While the commentators were giving their closing remarks, the referee blew the whistle to end the game.

In the last few minutes, Mainz didn't create any threatening chances, and Dortmund easily defended their lead.

Although there were some twists and turns, they finally got a good result. Defeating Mainz allowed Dortmund to continue to chase the top two in the league standings.

In this round of the league, Bayern Munich defeated Braunschweig 2-0 at home and continued to lead the standings. And Bayer Leverkusen, ranked second, also defeated Nuremberg 3-0 at home. Looking at this result, if Dortmund had been tied or lost to Mainz away, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Because Borussia Monchengladbach, ranked fourth, also won in this round of the league. They defeated Freiburg 1-0 at home, bringing their score to twenty-eight points. If Dortmund had lost the game, they would only be one point ahead of Borussia Monchengladbach, and they could be overtaken at any time.

Of course, even if they won this game, things would not necessarily be better for Dortmund.

In the next round of the league, Dortmund will welcome the challenge of Bayer Leverkusen, the second-ranked team in the league, at home. This is a very important game. If Dortmund loses to Bayer Leverkusen at home, they will be left further behind, and dreaming of winning the league championship will become a fantasy.

But it is not so easy to defeat Bayer Leverkusen, because after the game with Bayer Leverkusen, Dortmund will usher in the last game of the Champions League group stage. They will go to Galatasaray for an away game. This game is a decisive battle where they can only win and cannot lose.

In order to prepare for this game, Dortmund will be somewhat distracted in the game against Bayer Leverkusen.

Champions League and league, a choice always has to be made.

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At the post-match press conference, Klopp was asked by reporters about the issue of Zhou Yi's substitution. Facing the reporters' questions, Klopp was very calm, or rather, he pretended to be calm: "Zhou Yi needs rest, he is not an iron man... Dortmund has 'Zhou Yi dependence'? I don't know, this is the first time I've heard this word. Of course, he is very important to us, but I think what is more important is the team, not a certain person. I believe Zhou Yi will also agree with me... Zhou Yi performed very well in this game, and I don't regret putting him on the bench... I have no conflict with him, in fact, our relationship is like a honeymoon..."

What does Zhou Yi think about not starting?

"I obey the coach's arrangement, I don't think I am an indispensable person in the team..." Zhou Yi shook his head and said. "Substitute? I don't think I am a substitute. Dortmund does not have a distinction between main players and substitutes. Everyone is a rotation player."

The reporters could only shake their heads in their hearts after hearing Zhou Yi's answer - it's really Zhou Yi's style, correct but boring.

Compared to this, the answers from other Dortmund players were more interesting to the reporters - all the Dortmund players who were interviewed talked about Zhou Yi's importance to the team and their admiration for Zhou Yi.

Although such reports are all one-sided praise, they are better than the bland and boring talks, right?

At least the media can hype up Zhou Yi's status in Dortmund...

※※※

After the game with Mainz, everyone's attention shifted to the next round's opponent, Bayer Leverkusen.

In recent seasons, everyone's attention has been focused on the rivalry between Dortmund and Bayern Munich, but in fact, Bayer Leverkusen is also a force to be reckoned with in the Bundesliga.

Bayer Leverkusen had a very successful period at the beginning of this century, but perhaps they would rather think of it as a "dark age". That is the famous "Triple Runner-up".

In the 2001-2002 season, Bayer Leverkusen lost to Bayern Munich in the league championship race, and lost to defending champion Schalke 04 in the German Cup final. The most painful failure was of course losing to Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Glasgow, allowing Real Madrid to win their ninth Champions League title. At the same time, Zidane scored a brilliant goal in that game that was unprecedented and unrepeatable, and was named the best goal in Champions League history, while Bayer Leverkusen became the eternal background...

Logically speaking, it is remarkable that Bayer Leverkusen can achieve "second to none" in three events, but this glorious season has earned them the nickname of "Triple Runner-up". This nickname was created not to praise Bayer Leverkusen's glorious record, but to mock Bayer Leverkusen's efforts for a season, but in the end they ended up with nothing.

The subsequent facts also proved that the Triple Runner-up was definitely not something to be proud of for Bayer Leverkusen, but a huge blow.

After the end of the season, main player Ze Roberto transferred to Bayern Munich, who was a domestic competitor at the time, and the team's performance declined all the way. The whole season was hovering on the edge of relegation, and they almost got relegated.

In the 2009-2010 season, Heynckes began to coach Bayer Leverkusen, and the team also ushered in a period of stability.

In the 2010-2011 season, they even defeated Bayern Munich in the league and won the league runner-up.

Last season, Bayer Leverkusen was also third in the league and won the qualification to participate in the Champions League this season.

This season in the league, when everyone was focusing on the feud between Dortmund and Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen quietly surpassed the struggling Dortmund and became the second in the league.

This league match is a contest between the second and third-ranked teams in the league.

And both teams are also facing the influence of the Champions League.

Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen have to fight for qualifying from the group stage in the last round of the Champions League group stage - Bayer Leverkusen is currently ranked third in their group. Their last round is an away game against Real Sociedad, and their competitor, Shakhtar Donetsk, who is ranked second in the group, is also an away game, their opponent is Manchester United. If Bayer Leverkusen wants to qualify from the group stage, they must first defeat Real Sociedad, and then expect Shakhtar Donetsk to lose to Manchester United away.

But Real Sociedad's home ground is not easy to play. In the group stage, Bayer Leverkusen only won 2-1 against Real Sociedad at home. Although Real Sociedad has been eliminated in advance, Bayer Leverkusen does not dare to take it lightly. So they are also facing the situation that Dortmund is facing - it is impossible not to consider the Champions League group stage life-and-death battle in the middle of next week, which will more or less affect their mentality and performance in the weekend league.

※※※

This game is not only a contest between the second and third-ranked teams in the league, which is related to the ranking of their respective teams in the league, but also a contest between two excellent Asian players.

The excellent Asian player on Dortmund's side is of course not Yan Min, who has just emerged in Dortmund, but Zhou Yi, who has been famous for a long time.

And Bayer Leverkusen also has an excellent Asian player who has been famous for a long time - South Korean striker Son Heung-min.

This is certainly not the first time Son Heung-min and Zhou Yi have faced each other, but before that, Son Heung-min was in Hamburg, and Hamburg was not a very strong team. In one season, they almost got relegated. Son Heung-min's fame and achievements in Hamburg were far inferior to Zhou Yi. You must know that Son Heung-min's best result in Hamburg for three seasons was only seventh last season.

And Dortmund, where Zhou Yi is, is the Bundesliga champion for three consecutive seasons, and also won the Champions League champion last season. Zhou Yi is already a popular star in Europe, and also won the European Best Player award last season.

In fact, the two are not very comparable.

But with Son Heung-min's transfer to Bayer Leverkusen this season for a club record transfer fee of ten million euros, coupled with Bayer Leverkusen's current performance and ranking in the league, the two seem to have the qualifications to compete on the same stage and be compared...

Especially the Korean media, they are particularly interested and enthusiastic about this issue.

After Park Ji-sung left the mainstream view of European football, Korean football seemed to lack a figure who could shoulder the burden. Son Heung-min's emergence at this time injected new strength into the Koreans. From the relegation team Hamburg, to Bayer Leverkusen, which can participate in European competitions every year, Son Heung-min is becoming more and more mature and growing rapidly.

This naturally makes Korean fans and media place high hopes on him.

This time, in a fairly matched environment, what kind of performance can he and Zhou Yi play?

Worth looking forward to.