Chapter 70

Amidst Bayer Leverkusen's relentless bombardment, the game clock reached the seventieth minute, and their shot count soared, a clear indication of their dominance.

However, to say Borussia Dortmund had no chance at all would be inaccurate. They had launched a few counterattacks, albeit of mediocre quality.

As time ticked by, Bayer Leverkusen couldn't possibly maintain such a fast-paced, high-intensity game. They, too, needed to catch their breath.

Zhou Yi was well aware of this. No team in the world could sustain that kind of rhythm for ninety minutes.

So, what was needed now was more patience than the opponent.

When attacking opportunities arose, there was no need to rush. If it wasn't a great chance, Zhou Yi would rather abandon the attack than rashly pass the ball forward and easily hand possession back to Bayer Leverkusen.

As far as he was concerned, the worst-case scenario for this game was a draw. Although taking only one point would allow Bayern Munich to widen the gap in the standings, the score was already 2-2. What else could be done? If they couldn't win the game, at least they shouldn't lose, right? The three points they had in hand had already turned into one, and that one point couldn't become zero.

So Zhou Yi felt that if it really came down to it, they should just hold on for a draw. It wasn't a big deal.

With the right mindset, one's perspective changed.

When counterattacking opportunities came, he wouldn't blindly send the ball forward and hope for luck.

For him, success rate was far more important than the number of shots.

Bayer Leverkusen had far more shots than Borussia Dortmund, but the score was still 2-2. It made no difference.

Zhou Yi was patiently waiting for Bayer Leverkusen to catch their breath.

After repeatedly launching unsuccessful counterattacks, Borussia Dortmund's players also realized that their impatience wouldn't lead to anything good. So they gradually calmed down and patiently waited for opportunities with Zhou Yi.

After all, they were a team that had won the league championship for two consecutive seasons, and they had the ability to adjust themselves on the field.

And only when the entire team calmed down would the opportunity Zhou Yi needed arrive. After all, he was an organizing player; he mobilized the entire team. If it was just him alone, his role would change.

He still hoped that more teammates could cooperate with him, rather than him fighting alone.

※※※

From the seventieth minute onward, Bayer Leverkusen slowed down the pace. This was no secret; anyone with any experience watching soccer could see it.

From the look of things, Borussia Dortmund finally had a chance to breathe.

The Bayer Leverkusen fans' cheers didn't stop. In their minds, this was just a temporary adjustment by the team, the purpose of which was to catch their breath and then continue their fierce attack until the end of the game. They would repeat this process continuously. The intervals for catching their breath would be very short, like diving. They would surface, take a deep breath, and then dive down for a long time.

In their eyes, their team was just catching its breath.

However, in Zhou Yi's eyes, catching one's breath wasn't the result of a diver's conscious control, but rather an inevitable result of their physiological structure. Humans weren't fish, after all, and couldn't stay underwater indefinitely without breathing. So since they had to breathe, that was actually a weakness.

If they could seize this weakness and make something of it, perhaps they could achieve a different outcome.

He was like a patient assassin, lurking on the shore, patiently waiting for the moment when his target would have to surface to breathe.

In the seventy-second minute, not long after Bayer Leverkusen had slowed down the pace of the game, Borussia Dortmund got an attacking opportunity.

But when the ball fell to Zhou Yi's feet, he controlled the ball and turned in place. While protecting the ball, he also lost the opportunity to pass it forward. In the end, he passed the ball back to the center back Santana.

This was equivalent to voluntarily giving up this counterattacking opportunity.

To some anxious Borussia Dortmund fans, this was regrettable and incomprehensible. Why didn't Zhou Yi pass the ball forward? Was the opportunity not good enough? But how would they know if the opportunity was good or not without passing the ball forward? And if they didn't pass the ball forward, how could there be an opportunity? Leaving aside whether the opportunity was good or not, there was no opportunity at all. What was the point of talking about whether it was good or not?

Zhou Yi couldn't hear those questioning voices. He was playing according to his own rhythm and plan.

Bayer Leverkusen thought it was a good thing that Borussia Dortmund didn't launch a quick attack. Some Bayer Leverkusen fans even thought that Borussia Dortmund had been completely frightened by Bayer Leverkusen and didn't dare to try even when the opportunity was right in front of them.

Bayer Leverkusen's previous offensive was indeed crazy, and the momentum they showed was indeed enough to scare many people, so this kind of speculation was normal.

But this seemingly correct guess might not be the truth.

And this kind of self-satisfaction could easily backfire. It was fine if the supporters were self-satisfied, but if the players were also self-satisfied, then something was going to happen.

※※※

The game reached the seventy-seventh minute, and it was about to enter the final ten minutes. At that time, Bayer Leverkusen, unwilling to settle for a draw at home, would definitely increase their offensive intensity.

During the seven-minute-long "breathing" process, Bayer Leverkusen's goal hadn't been threatened much. Bayer Leverkusen's players naturally felt that Borussia Dortmund was no longer capable of threatening their goal. With so little time left in the game, they should do their best to launch an attack and strive to score a goal in the remaining time, completing a classic comeback.

But just as they were about to speed up, they lost possession of the ball to Borussia Dortmund due to a passing error. However, the Bayer Leverkusen players didn't panic. After losing the ball, they didn't retreat quickly, but instead pressed Borussia Dortmund's players right in the frontcourt, hoping to intercept the ball directly and launch an attack.

Anyway, Borussia Dortmund had been scared out of their wits by their previous offensive...

When the ball was passed to Zhou Yi, two Bayer Leverkusen players ran toward him from the left and right.

Faced with the impending double-team, Zhou Yi didn't try to control the ball as much as possible this time. He turned around and passed the ball directly with his heel!

The ball passed between the two Bayer Leverkusen players who were planning to close in on Zhou Yi!

When the attention of the two Bayer Leverkusen players was drawn to the ball, Zhou Yi quietly turned past them and ran forward.

This was a very rare move for him recently, not only passing the ball forward but also moving forward with it.

However, the Bayer Leverkusen players' attention was drawn to the ball, and few of them noticed him.

Zhou Yi's backheel pass sent the ball to Reus in front of him.

Reus was a Borussia Dortmund player who had scored a goal just three minutes into the game. He had the technique and speed to be an excellent counterattacking option. Of course, he would attract more attention from the defenders.

Zhou Yi's decisive pass created an opportunity for Reus to receive the ball without being defended. After stopping the ball and turning around, there was no one marking him closely, and he could do it calmly.

After turning around, Reus dribbled the ball forward. Soon, he was met by a Bayer Leverkusen player.

In this situation, he passed the ball to Mark on the wing.

Mark received the ball on the wing, but Bayer Leverkusen's defense was also in place. He didn't have a good opportunity to go inside.

He could either cross directly from the wing, but the efficiency of such an attack was too low. Lewandowski would most likely not be able to head the ball at all. Directly break into the penalty area? Looking at the well-prepared full-back Carvajal, Mark wasn't confident of success.

Borussia Dortmund's attack had reached a stalemate here.

The Bayer Leverkusen players returned to their positions one after another, leaving even less space for Borussia Dortmund.

As long as they were patient, it would be difficult for Borussia Dortmund's attack to pose any threat.

In this situation, Reus actively ran toward Mark, seeking cooperation.

But his run also attracted the attention of the Bayer Leverkusen defenders.

A Bayer Leverkusen player immediately closed in on him.

Reus ran toward Mark, and Mark was also slowly dribbling the ball toward the center.

When the two crossed paths, it was the most focused moment of Bayer Leverkusen's defense. There were too many set plays involving crossing and then passing the ball, so Bayer Leverkusen had to be on guard against Borussia Dortmund doing the same.

In the eyes of many, when Reus went around behind Mark, Mark would pass the ball to Reus, and at the same time, he would screen for Reus, allowing Reus to break through from behind him. In addition, he could also block the Bayer Leverkusen player who was marking Reus.

A "pick and roll" on the soccer field was formed.

But Mark didn't do that. When everyone thought he would pass the ball to Reus, he pushed the ball directly toward the center!

There, was Zhou Yi!

"Zhou Yi!" Duan Xin shouted excitedly. "Good ball!"

Because of Reus's run, the Bayer Leverkusen players' attention was drawn to Reus, and no one expected Zhou Yi to insert himself forward.

It wasn't until Mark passed the ball that Zhou Yi reappeared in their field of vision.

But at this time, it seemed a little late...

Faced with the ball passed by Mark, Zhou Yi went forward. When he was about to reach the ball, his normally swinging left leg fell, but instead of stopping the ball, he suddenly exerted force, and his calf swung out like a whip. At the same time, he turned his ankle sideways and pushed it toward the oncoming ball.

The ball was kicked by the inside of his left foot. It didn't fly up but instead shot forward quickly along the grass, drawing a clear arc on the grass and heading straight for the lower left corner of the goal!

It was a shot!

Because this shot was so concealed and sudden, it wasn't until the ball rolled toward the goal that Bayer Leverkusen's goalkeeper Leno realized that it was a shot, not a through ball. So he quickly rushed out and dived to save it.

But for goalkeepers, ground balls were the hardest to save, because the speed at which goalkeepers fall to the ground is slower than the speed at which they leap into the air and save upwards.

Not to mention a ground ball heading for the far corner!

Leno didn't touch the ball. The ball rolled past the goal line before him...

Like a pool cue, the black ball went straight into the hole!