Rudy's almost-goal shot was Hoffenheim's last of the match.

But it wasn't the last shot of the match.

Afterward, Bayern Munich launched an attack. Robben dribbled inside from the right wing, and after creating space horizontally, he shot with his left foot.

This was his signature move, one that had saved the day countless times.

Everyone had high hopes for this one as well, and all eyes were on the ball.

The ball arced through the air, bypassing Hoffenheim goalkeeper Grahl's desperate dive, but it also curved past the outside of the post and flew out of bounds!

"Robben... alas! The curve was a little too wide! Just a little bit!"

Accompanied by the commentator's regretful shout, Robben knelt on the ground, head in his hands, looking incredibly disappointed.

Robben's miss dealt a blow to Bayern Munich's morale. In the subsequent stoppage time, neither side was able to score or threaten the goal.

When the referee blew the final whistle, Hoffenheim's players couldn't help but embrace each other, celebrating this remarkable draw.

Bayern Munich's players, on the other hand, reacted differently. Some stood frozen in disappointment and confusion, while others went to argue with the referee, feeling that he hadn't given enough stoppage time... But their behavior couldn't change the result, and it only revealed the fear deep within this powerful team...

As the whistle sounded, Guardiola suppressed his inner disappointment and shook hands with Hoffenheim's coach, Gisdol, as a formality. Then he turned and returned to his coaching staff, asking, "What's the score over there?"

"Still in stoppage time," Hermann Gerland said.

Guardiola was surprised, not expecting the game to still be going on.

"Their second half started a minute later than ours, and because there was a red card and a penalty, and they changed referees midway, the stoppage time is seven minutes..." Gerland explained.

Guardiola didn't say anything, but turned and walked towards the tunnel.

The others exchanged glances. Some went to comfort the players, while others stood their ground, waiting for the latest news from the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

※※※

"The game over there is finished!" Buvac walked up to Klopp, unable to hide his excitement, and said in Klopp's ear. "3-3! Hoffenheim drew with Bayern Munich!"

Klopp didn't move, not even turning his head, his eyes still fixed on the field. But his fists, hanging at his sides, clenched tightly.

This game had a full seven minutes of stoppage time. When that time was announced, Klopp protested to the referee, but it didn't change the referee's decision.

Stuttgart seized this final opportunity, launching a fierce attack on Borussia Dortmund's goal, determined to defeat them at the last moment and add three valuable points to their fight against relegation!

And Borussia Dortmund? They had all been pushed back into their own half, unable to mount a counterattack.

Zhou Yi was even helping the team defend in front of the penalty area.

Klopp suddenly turned to Buvac and said, "Get the captain on."

This was the last substitution available.

He wanted to bring on Kehl, partly to buy some time and partly to strengthen the defense.

Sven Bender was already practically playing as a center back at this point.

Of course, having only Zhou Yi in the center of midfield wasn't enough.

Buvac ran to find Kehl.

Soon Kehl returned to Klopp.

"No need for me to say much, right?" Klopp asked him.

Kehl shook his head. "No. I know what to do."

"Good, go!" Klopp slapped Kehl hard on the back, pushing him towards the fourth official.

※※※

Borussia Dortmund was about to make a substitution, and Stuttgart, of course, knew what they were trying to do at this time. How could they let Borussia Dortmund's stalling tactic succeed?

So, taking advantage of the fact that they had the ball at their feet, they looked for opportunities to score while being careful not to relinquish possession, so that Kehl stood on the sidelines for a full minute without getting a chance to come on.

At the same time, the defensive pressure in the center of the field in front of Borussia Dortmund's penalty area was increasing.

Zhou Yi looked left and right. He couldn't use a foul to stop the game, because in his position, a foul would give the opponent a free kick in a very dangerous spot, and they might be able to score from it...

So, to stop the game, he had to get possession of the ball himself.

Stuttgart was passing the ball horizontally. Zhou Yi saw his chance, judged the opponent's passing route, and suddenly rushed forward, poking the ball away before the Stuttgart player could receive it!

"Zhou Yi! Well done!"

Having stolen the ball, Zhou Yi didn't organize any counterattacks - it was impossible to launch a counterattack now, there wasn't a single teammate ahead of him.

But he wound up his leg and put all his strength into a long pass.

Of course, this ball wasn't passed to any Borussia Dortmund player in front. It was actually a long clearance.

But unlike the kind of clearance that casually goes out of bounds, Zhou Yi aimed this one at the corner flag area in Stuttgart's half, using his accurate long passing skills in this area.

The ball flew forward along the sideline.

Stuttgart's goalkeeper Ulreich simply rushed out of the penalty area, hoping to intercept the ball.

But just as he was about to reach the ball, it bounced outward after landing and flew out of bounds... The place where it went out was near the penalty area, although it didn't reach the corner flag, it was far enough.

Ulreich had no choice but to rush out, pick up the ball, and try to quickly throw it back into play to resume the game immediately.

But the referee stopped him, signaling him to wait and let Borussia Dortmund complete the substitution.

Loud boos immediately rang out from the stands.

Ulreich was also unhappy.

But no matter how unhappy Stuttgart's players were, Borussia Dortmund could finally complete the substitution.

Klopp replaced striker Mark with Kehl, making his intention to strengthen the defense very clear.

Mark walked off slowly, obviously trying to waste time, and the booing from the stands grew even louder. Some Stuttgart players even came up to push Mark, telling him to get off quickly and not waste time here.

The referee also blew his whistle and ran over, giving Mark, who was obviously wasting time, a yellow card, warning him to get off quickly.

Only then did Mark mutter something and jog off the field.

And when Kehl ran onto the field, the game had already reached the ninety-fifth minute and twenty seconds, with one minute and forty seconds left until the end of the match.

At the same time as the substitution, Zhou Yi shouted Yan Min's name, then pointed to Ulreich, who was preparing to take the throw-in on the sidelines, and Sakai Gotoku, the Stuttgart defender who was going back to receive the ball.

Yan Min knew what Zhou Yi meant - he wanted him to interfere with Stuttgart's throw-in.

Anyway, he had speed and stamina, and even if he went up, he could quickly return to defend.

So Yan Min obediently pressed forward.

Seeing this, Ulreich had no choice but to abandon his plan to take the throw-in - if the ball was thrown out and intercepted by a Borussia Dortmund player, they could shoot directly into an empty net! So he had to drop the ball and run back into the penalty area.

Stuttgart had to readjust the throw-in. Sakai Gotoku was going to throw it, but he had to have a receiving player come back from the front.

And not just one, because of Yan Min's presence, he had to have two receiving players come back, so that Yan Min couldn't force a steal from Stuttgart's ball-carrying player.

Seeing that Stuttgart had sent two people back, Zhou Yi shouted again: "Yan Min! Come back!"

Since the opponent had sent two people back to receive the ball, there was no point in leaving Yan Min in the frontcourt, and it would only leave one less person to defend in the backcourt. Anyway, the purpose of delaying time had been achieved.

Yan Min also quickly rushed back as instructed.

Seeing this situation, the Stuttgart players were also quite helpless.

Compared to Mark's slow and deliberate exit, Zhou Yi's methods of delaying time were more clever, and you couldn't find fault with him and punish him with the rules...

Duan Xin laughed and said, "Ha! Zhou Yi is directing Yan Min to help Borussia Dortmund gain a few dozen seconds..."

By the time Stuttgart could finally throw the ball in, there was only one minute and twenty seconds left in stoppage time...

Next, Borussia Dortmund retreated across the board to defend, while Stuttgart, with the exception of the goalkeeper, pushed everyone past the halfway line, constantly crossing high balls into Borussia Dortmund's goal.

But until the last second, Stuttgart was unable to break through Borussia Dortmund's goal again.

When the referee blew the final whistle in the ninety-seventh minute and eight seconds of the match, the Borussia Dortmund substitutes, who had been waiting on the sidelines for a long time, cheered and rushed onto the field, celebrating this victory, and also celebrating Bayern Munich's draw.

"A long ninety-seven minutes, Borussia Dortmund has taken a key victory! But more importantly, in another stadium, Hoffenheim held Bayern Munich to a draw away from home! They helped Borussia Dortmund gain two points!"

"What a wonderful 'Tale of Two Cities'!" Duan Xin exclaimed. "Bayern Munich was surprisingly held to a draw by Hoffenheim at home, while Borussia Dortmund tenaciously defeated Stuttgart away... They have narrowed the gap with Bayern Munich to only two points. It feels like the most exciting part of the season is finally about to begin!"

※※※

Zhou Yi put his arm around the panting Yan Min, patting him hard on the shoulder: "You did a great job just now!"

Although Yan Min's physical fitness was good, after playing such a game, he couldn't help but gasp for breath and run out of energy. Now he could only lean on Zhou Yi, saying intermittently: "It...it was you who directed me...well done! Are we, are we only two points behind now?"

Zhou Yi happily patted him: "That's right, only two points behind!"

"Heh...heh...heh!" Yan Min laughed intermittently and happily.

This scene was recorded by television broadcasts and reporters' cameras.

After seeing this scene, Duan Xin smiled and said: "Yan Min is smiling in Zhou Yi's arms like a simple child...I'm really happy for them both! After a season of persistent effort, they are finally seeing hope! If Borussia Dortmund can win the league title this season, it will be like a dreamlike season for Yan Min. He has just joined Borussia Dortmund and is about to usher in the first league title of his career... How many people must envy this luck!"