Chapter 1 Vidal's Dilemma

Vidal stood with his hands on his hips, watching the Borussia Dortmund players embrace and celebrate their goal.

His eyes locked onto Zhou Yi.

Had he been tricked by him, or not?

The question popped into his head, and he couldn't find an answer.

He felt like Zhou Yi had wanted to get rid of him by making him fall back, but if he hadn't fallen back, the penalty area would have been in danger anyway.

So whether he fell back or not, it was all the same. This goal... it seemed unavoidable.

Actually, he originally had a chance to prevent this goal—after discovering that Kagawa Shinji had passed the ball back to Zhou Yi, he immediately turned around and pounced on Zhou Yi, as if Zhou Yi had a magnet, firmly attracting him.

He was sure that as long as Zhou Yi adjusted the ball at his feet a little more, observed and controlled it a little more, he could entangle him again.

But what he saw was that Zhou Yi, just after receiving the ball from Kagawa Shinji, passed the ball out with one foot, without any observation at all!

It was as if he already knew where the gap was and where his teammates would go.

※※※

"Ballack was right before the game, Zhou Yi is the key figure. If Leverkusen wants to win away from home, they must restrict Zhou Yi. During the game, Vidal did it once, but unfortunately, he didn't restrict Zhou Yi one hundred percent, he didn't trap him to death, and he still gave him a chance, so these two goals were born..." Marcel Reif said.

"As the first game of the season, Zhou Yi performed very well in the defensive midfielder position. I think the doubts about whether he can do this job well can disappear..." Marcel Reif said. "The control shown by Zhou Yi in this game has allowed Dortmund to occupy the advantage of the game most of the time. Now they are two goals ahead, and they are still playing at home. It may be difficult for Leverkusen to come back..."

Marcel Reif was right.

After the game restarted, Vidal fell into a dilemma.

Should he follow Zhou Yi or not?

If he follows Zhou Yi, to what extent should he follow?

It is obviously impossible to keep following him to the end like the lost goal.

Vidal was confused.

Heynckes had Vidal retreat and form a defense line with his other teammates.

He could take the ball in the backcourt however he wanted, as long as he didn't rush up.

However, Zhou Yi didn't care whether he rushed up or not. When he got the ball in the backcourt, he directly used long passes to direct the offense.

He was like a fixed turret. Although he couldn't move, he could use his super-long range to attack the opponent's fortress.

And because they were two goals ahead, Dortmund didn't need to pass the ball forward too much. If Leverkusen didn't force up, they would just pass the ball back.

If Leverkusen wanted to force up, they would directly make a long pass to find the space behind their defense line. It was simple and crude, but it was especially useful when the field was wet in rainy weather.

So the weather and field conditions that Zhou Jianliang was worried about before the game turned out to be an excellent opportunity for Zhou Yi to exert his long passing skills.

Under Zhou Yi's scheduling, the entire Dortmund team was like a smoothly running machine, making it impossible for Leverkusen, who was two goals behind, to find any good opportunities.

Until the referee blew the whistle to end the game, Leverkusen was unable to threaten Dortmund's goal.

In the end, Dortmund defeated Leverkusen 2:0 at home and got off to a good start in the league this season!

※※※

"The game is over!" The on-site host Norbert Dickel shouted excitedly. "We won! The first victory of the new season!"

The fans' singing resounded over the Westfalenstadion, and they used their singing to celebrate the victory.

Mark, like the people around him, raised his arms high and sang passionately for the team's victory.

At the same time, his heart was also surging.

Such an exciting scene, such a wonderful victory... but he can only be a spectator in the stands.

He must work harder and strive to play in the first team as soon as possible!

※※※

After the game, the focus of reports in both German and Chinese media was on Zhou Yi.

The German "Sports Illustrated" highly praised Zhou Yi's performance in the new position.

"...This game was Ballack's first league game after returning to Leverkusen, but his limelight was completely stolen by Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi, who played as a defensive midfielder for the first time in the league, performed extremely well and completely controlled the situation. Compared with him, Ballack has almost no brilliant performance in the game that can be recalled after the game..."

Dortmund's local "Ruhr News" also gave a high evaluation of Zhou Yi: "...Zhou Yi's performance in the defensive midfielder position is very outstanding. At the same time, we should not forget that he won the assist king and best rookie in the attacking midfielder position last season. Whether it is a defensive midfielder or an attacking midfielder, he performs well. Perhaps he should not be simply restricted to a certain position. I think the entire midfield should belong to him!"

The praise from the Chinese media was even more direct, simply a nauseating flattery.

"...Zhou Yi completely blows up Ballack! He is the protagonist of the game!"

"Zhou Yi ends Ballack's era, and the new position allows us to discover a more powerful Zhou Yi!"

"All-round genius! Zhou Yi has found the most suitable position for him!"

"...When Dortmund sold Şahin last season, some people were worried that Dortmund would lose their midfield core. Now it seems that Zhou Yi's performance has already made people forget Şahin..."

The Japanese media also praised Zhou Yi's performance: "Zhou Yi dominated the game, and Leverkusen, as an opponent, was completely played by him. It's amazing!"

Now it seems that the part about Dortmund in "Kicker" magazine's season preview should be wrong...

At this time, everyone recalled Zhou Yi's remarks when he was interviewed before the game about his views on "Kicker"'s analysis.

His confidence made people think he was too straightforward.

But now it seems that he has the qualifications to be so confident. Why should such an suspense-free thing be said in a roundabout way? Isn't that wasting everyone's time and life?

It's so good now, I'm so awesome, I just said it directly, whether you are willing to accept it is your business, but I will prove it.

On China's Weibo, Zhou Yi's performance in the first game also caused heated discussions on the Internet.

Now the happiest people are probably those who were ridiculed as Zhou Yi's brain-dead fans. And the most unlucky ones are those who advised Zhou Yi to be low-key and modest... They were sprayed into渣 by Zhou Yi's fans, and they didn't dare to fight back at all.

Who told Zhou Yi to perform so well?

This iron-like fact is in front of them, and it's not useful to be stubborn.

A reporter gave Zhou Yi feedback on the situation on the domestic Internet. In response, Zhou Yi just smiled slightly and said nothing.

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After winning Leverkusen, in the second round of the league, Dortmund will go to Stuttgart for an away game.

In fact, after the league started, the opponents Dortmund encountered were still quite strong.

The opponent in the third round is Wolfsburg at home.

The fourth round is an away game against Schalke 04, which is the first Revierderby of the new season.

If according to Dortmund's slow start after the start of last season, these games are probably doomed.

But after watching the team's performance in the first round, everyone is still very confident in this team.

A week later, Dortmund challenged Stuttgart away.

The starting lineup that Klopp sent out for this game was exactly the same as the last game.

Zhou Yi still sits in the defensive midfielder position, partnering with Sven Bender.

In front of him are Kagawa Shinji, and on both sides are Götze and Großkreutz.

Striker Barrios.

It didn't rain in this game, the weather was good, and the field conditions were also very good.

Although it was an away game, Dortmund was aggressive from the beginning and showed a posture of turning the tables on the home team.

With Zhou Yi as the starting point, their offensive was continuous.

And finally in the fifth minute, continuous attacks forced Stuttgart's Dutch defender Boulahrouz to make a mistake in a hurry and score an own goal!

"1:0! Dortmund took the lead! What a beautiful start! Boulahrouz is so unlucky..."

After taking the lead, Dortmund still firmly controlled the situation in their own hands and continued to create opportunities.

In the twenty-seventh minute, Großkreutz crossed from the wing, and Barrios, who followed up in the center, scored a header, and Dortmund expanded their lead!

Dortmund scored two goals in just over half an hour after the start, and Stuttgart seemed to be stunned.

Under Zhou Yi's leadership, various forms of offensive were played in full swing, including fast breaks and positional warfare.

For Zhou Yi, there seems to be no offensive routine that he is not good at.

Under his leadership, Dortmund continued to put pressure on Stuttgart even after leading by two goals.

And in the thirty-eighth minute, Götze scored his first goal of the new season with a shot in front of the goal, and also changed the score to 3:0!

"The first half is not over yet, and Stuttgart has lost three goals... I'm afraid this is something that all Stuttgart fans did not expect, right?"

When Marcel Reif said this, the TV broadcast also switched to the faces of those Stuttgart fans in the stands, one by one with their hands on their heads and a blank expression.

They really didn't expect that Dortmund's offensive would be so fierce, and they easily tore apart their carefully organized defense...

It's like a yellow and black storm!

※※※

At the beginning of the second half, Stuttgart replaced two players in a row, obviously unwilling to lose the game at home like this.

And Klopp replaced Zhou Yi in the seventieth minute.

Zhou Yi played the entire game in the last game. Considering that Zhou Yi still has national team games next—the Chinese Football Association has issued a notice to Borussia Dortmund to call up Zhou Yi to participate in the two warm-up matches on September 3rd and 7th.

Because this is a national A-level competition, Borussia Dortmund must let him go.

In order to avoid Zhou Yi being too tired, Klopp replaced him early in this game.

It's not to say that Zhou Yi's current physical fitness can only play the entire ninety-minute game intermittently...

After Zhou Yi was replaced, Dortmund's control of the midfield declined.

In the seventy-eighth minute, Stuttgart's striker Cacau pulled back a goal.

In the end, the score of this game was fixed at 1:3, and the home team Stuttgart lost to Dortmund.