Chapter 1 The Manchester City Players Were Very Aggressive

Dortmund's celebration ended, and the players returned to their own half. The booing from the stands was still very loud—Manchester City fans did not obediently shut up because of the Dortmund players' gestures. This is also normal; what can make opponents shut up is never gestures, but goals.

Being two goals behind made Manchester City anxious. How could they possibly lose the game at their home stadium?

So after the game restarted, the Manchester City players' movements on the field became noticeably larger and more aggressive.

Especially Zhou Yi, who was subjected to all-around "care." As soon as he got the ball, Manchester City players would rush up and try to steal the ball with aggressive movements. If Zhou Yi didn't want to get injured, he'd better obediently give up control.

But Zhou Yi didn't do that.

When Yaya Touré's leg swept toward him, he had just拨 (bō) the football away and jumped up, but he was still half a step too late. Touré's leg grazed his toes.

Zhou Yi lost his balance in the air and fell to the ground.

The referee's whistle also sounded because of this—Touré committed a foul!

Yaya Touré didn't see it that way. He appealed to the referee, indicating that Zhou Yi was diving because he felt that his strength shouldn't have caused Zhou Yi to fall so heavily. Zhou Yi's fall was suspected of being a performance.

"There's nothing to appeal, right?" Marcel Reif said. "Looking at the slow-motion replay, Touré's foot did solidly kick Zhou Yi's toes. Zhou Yi is also quick-witted; he jumped up in advance to dodge. If he didn't jump, Touré's kick would probably have hit his shinbone directly. Zhou Yi would be lucky if his shin didn't fracture!"

Mark Lawrenson, the British commentator, also believed that Touré's kick was aimed at venting emotions, which was not very wise: "Don't argue with the referee, be careful that saying too much will cause the referee to give you another card. If I were Touré, I would have immediately shown goodwill to Zhou Yi..."

In the end, the referee, Královec, did not give Touré a card but gave him a verbal warning.

This penalty aroused He Ping's dissatisfaction: "At least he should have received a yellow card, right? But nothing happened... Even in the Premier League, such physical contact would definitely be a very bad foul! Don't talk about Zhou Yi diving or anything. If Zhou Yi didn't dodge, this kick would have been even worse!"

Diving is a behavior that almost everyone hates because this kind of deception violates sportsmanship and is a very dirty trick. Therefore, media opinion never says that diving is a good thing. If a player gets the label of "loves to dive," many things will become detrimental to him.

But on Zhou Yi, it seems unfair to criticize him for diving.

He didn't dive out of subjective will. Although it looked a bit exaggerated, he just wanted to dodge but didn't dodge, and according to Newton's Second Law, his small body would naturally look a bit exaggerated once he fell...

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This foul didn't get Touré a yellow card. The referee Královec showed mercy at the crucial moment and only gave him a verbal warning. But this didn't make Yaya Touré have any scruples. He still went his own way and even believed that Zhou Yi was a despicable and shameless diver. So in the following game, he became even more excessive towards Zhou Yi.

Only three minutes later, in a scramble with Zhou Yi, he raised his arm, and his elbow happened to poke Zhou Yi's face.

When Zhou Yi fell to the ground, covering his face, the referee Královec's whistle sounded again.

"He should give a card this time!" Marcel Reif shouted.

"This is an elbow!" He Ping was also quite dissatisfied. The Chinese national team's top ten match against the Australian national team was just around the corner. If Zhou Yi, the core of the Chinese team, was injured in the game and something went wrong, unable to participate in the national team's game, it would be a very heavy blow to the Chinese team. Not only would Gao Hongbo, the coach of the Chinese national team, not agree, but all the fans in China probably wouldn't agree!

"Yaya Touré... he needs to be careful!" Mark Lawrenson also offered a subtle criticism. Since he discovered Zhou Yi's talent, his ass has been completely crooked—although he is a British commentator, he firmly stood on Zhou Yi's side when it came to Zhou Yi's problems.

Because he was impressed by Zhou Yi's talent, he believed that the entire football world should protect Zhou Yi like they protected Messi back then. If a genius like Zhou Yi fell due to injury, it would be a great loss to the entire world of football.

Zhou Yi fell to the ground, covering his face, which aroused the anger of the Dortmund players. They quickly rushed up and surrounded Yaya Touré. In the encirclement of the Dortmund players, Yaya Touré raised his hands to show his innocence.

He explained to the Dortmund players who surrounded him and accused him: "...I didn't do it on purpose, I really didn't. I just habitually opened my arms. I didn't want to hit him..."

The Manchester City fans in the stands made huge boos. Of course, their boos were not for Yaya Touré, but for Zhou Yi. They believed that Zhou Yi was diving—anyway, as long as Zhou Yi fell in physical contact with Manchester City players, it must be Zhou Yi diving.

This is the simple logic of fans.

However, the referee could see clearly. He ran up and gave Yaya Touré a yellow card.

As soon as this yellow card was shown, the boos in the sky above the Etihad Stadium became even louder—Manchester City fans believed that the referee's penalty was unfair.

It wasn't just Manchester City fans who thought the penalty was unfair, but also Dortmund supporters.

Marcel Reif said: "In fact, Yaya Touré's foul should have been given a straight red card!"

He Ping was also very disappointed: "It's just a yellow card? If such fouls are yellow cards, then do you have to break Zhou Yi's leg to give a red card?"

In the midst of arguments and boos, Götze pulled Zhou Yi up from the ground and asked him with concern: "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Zhou Yi took away the hand covering half of his cheek. You could see a red mark near his cheekbone, which was the trace left by Yaya Touré's elbow making close contact with Zhou Yi's face.

Some players are covered in blood after being elbowed, which looks very scary. Zhou Yi only left a red mark on his face, which can indeed be barely considered "fine." But this wasn't Yaya Touré showing mercy with his elbow. It was because when his elbow was about to poke over, Zhou Yi subconsciously tilted his head to the side, which only allowed Yaya Touré's elbow to graze his cheekbone. If he hadn't dodged, Yaya Touré's blow would have definitely hit his temple or corner of his eye solidly. Then, half of his face might have been stained red with blood...

It looks like he wasn't seriously injured, but the action of falling was very scary. Can you say Zhou Yi was diving?

Except for Manchester City supporters, probably no one would think Zhou Yi was diving.

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Klopp saw some signs of the game getting out of control on the sidelines. The Manchester City players were like bulls that had lost their minds, seeing the Dortmund players in yellow jerseys as red cloths.

Especially Zhou Yi, who had been fouled and knocked down by Manchester City players three times in just six minutes.

Although he made three Manchester City players receive yellow cards, he himself was also in constant danger.

Thinking of this, Klopp decided to substitute Zhou Yi.

Although there were still fifteen minutes left in the game, substituting Zhou Yi might put huge pressure on Dortmund's midfield and defense, but Klopp would rather take this risk than let Zhou Yi get injured in the game.

Now Dortmund can leave anyone, but they can't leave Zhou Yi.

So during a dead ball in two minutes, he decisively replaced Zhou Yi with Großkreutz.

When Zhou Yi found out that he was being substituted, he limped towards the sidelines. This action made many people's hearts clench—he must have been injured in the previous game.

Some Manchester City players ran up and demanded that Zhou Yi not delay time. Zhou Yi simply stopped and explained to him very seriously that his ankle was a little sore and he couldn't walk fast. If he was willing to carry him down, he wouldn't mind.

The other party would definitely not agree to such a request—dragging him down would be more like it...

Other Manchester City players protested to the referee that Zhou Yi's behavior was suspected of delaying the game.

So the referee Královec ran over to communicate with Zhou Yi again.

Zhou Yi had just limped two steps when he stopped again after seeing the referee running up...

Boos rang out from the stands—Manchester City fans believed that he was definitely deliberately delaying the game.

Zhou Yi was not in a hurry. Braving the boos, his expression was calm and composed. Even if he received a yellow card for delaying time, it would have no impact on him. Anyway, he hasn't received a yellow card in the Champions League this season.

The referee Královec ran up, and Zhou Yi explained to him that his foot hurt and he couldn't run.

Looking at the color of Zhou Yi's jersey and the scratches on his arms and legs, you can tell he wasn't lying.

So Královec accepted his explanation and allowed him to walk off the field, while turning around and telling the dissatisfied Manchester City players that Zhou Yi was indeed having trouble moving.

No matter how upset the Manchester City players were, and no matter how heartbroken the Manchester City fans in the stands booed, Zhou Yi was like a lonely but stubborn traveler, limping slowly towards the sidelines. That mere distance of less than twenty meters seemed to take a century under his feet.

When you think about how he assisted his teammates with two goals while dragging his injured leg, helping the team achieve a good situation with a two-goal lead, you can't help but feel respect.

But it also made many people frown, worrying about Zhou Yi's next game.

Großkreutz, who was waiting for Zhou Yi to come down on the sidelines, leaned to his ear and asked, "How bad is the injury?" when he slapped Zhou Yi's hand in handover.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yi smiled slightly and said in his ear, "I'm faking it."

Großkreutz, who had already run out, staggered and almost fell. He turned his head and saw Zhou Yi striding towards coach Klopp, who also looked anxious. With such steady steps, where was there any shadow of limping?

At this moment, I don't know if it was an illusion, but Großkreutz felt that the booing in the sky above the Etihad Stadium suddenly increased a little...