Chapter 1 Klopp's Miscalculation

Klopp was solely focused on preventing Zhou Yi from getting injured, forgetting that his actions could provoke his opponents.

So when the game restarted, Schalke 04, despite being two goals behind, weren't as discouraged and frustrated as they had been when they hadn't conceded their first goal.

They launched a fierce attack on Borussia Dortmund's goal.

Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Keller made his first substitution.

He replaced Fuchs with the young player Max Meyer.

Meyer was promoted to Schalke 04's first team after the winter break last season. At that time, he was not yet eighteen years old. He impressed everyone during the warm-up matches against Doha and Bayern Munich, and then he naturally stayed with the first team.

And in February, he made his league debut. In March, he made his Champions League debut against Galatasaray.

With his outstanding performance, Meyer earned himself a brand new contract, which was extended from 2015 to 2017.

In the new season, people no longer needed to discuss whether Meyer could stay in the first team. Everyone knew that he was Schalke 04's next Draxler, the next Holtby.

And he also got the glorious number "7."

Such an advanced number meant that Schalke 04's top management had high hopes and valued him.

Meyer's performance in the new season had not disappointed either. So far, he had made twelve appearances for the team in various competitions and scored two goals.

Some people had already compared him with Borussia Dortmund's youth training treasure, Götze, which showed how outstanding his talent was.

If it hadn't been for Meyer's leg cramps in the Champions League game against Basel, he might have started this game as well.

Now Keller's decision to let him play was naturally a signal for a counterattack.

This substitution immediately yielded good results.

In the fifty-sixth minute, Schalke 04's center-back Höwedes, crossed the midfield line. After getting the ball, he did not choose to push forward step by step, but instead used a low, long pass to send the football directly to the edge of Borussia Dortmund's penalty area.

Meyer, who was originally in the penalty area, suddenly retreated and ran out of the penalty area, receiving Höwedes's pass.

Then he made a very agile and quick turn on the spot, and at the same time used the outside of his right foot to gently push the football to the outside, dodging Subotić, who was blocking him.

Subotić, who had already conceded a penalty, quickly raised his hands when he made physical contact with Meyer, fearing that the referee Kircher would give him another penalty...

But Meyer did not fall to the ground to get a penalty. He dribbled the ball into the penalty area!

Hummels rushed up to block him in a panic, and at the same time right-back Großkreutz also rushed back. They wanted to double-team Meyer in the penalty area.

Meyer, who was deep in the encirclement, was very calm. After gently pushing the football to the outside to open an angle, he quickly swung his left foot and passed the football to the middle!

In the middle, Szalai was originally Hummels' responsibility, but because Meyer easily shook off Subotić, Hummels ran to block him, which gave Szalai a chance!

Facing the ball from Meyer, Szalai poked a shot!

But the football was blocked by Weidenfeller, who fell to the ground in time and used his body to block it!

Before the Schalke 04 fans could hold their heads in regret, and without giving the Borussia Dortmund fans a chance to breathe a sigh of relief, Yang Muge rushed to the spot where the football bounced out, and then he volleyed a push shot!

This time, Subotić could no longer clear the football before him, because there were no Borussia Dortmund players around him!

"Yang Muge—!!" Duan Xin shouted, drawing out the sound.

In his roar, Yang Muge slightly rubbed the football into an arc, bypassing Borussia Dortmund defender Schmelzer, who was blocking the goal, and flew into the net!

"Good goal! Yang Muge! Good goal!" Duan Xin became excited. "This is Yang Muge's first goal in the Revierderby!! It's also his first goal for Schalke 04 this season! It's also his fifth league goal during his time at Schalke 04!!"

"Yang—Muge!! He pulled a goal back for Schalke 04! A calm shot! In the penalty that Boateng missed, he almost used a shot to equalize the score for Schalke 04. This time, he finally didn't miss it!" Marcel Reif roared. "It's worthy of being the Revierderby! Schalke 04, who is already two goals behind, has no intention of giving up!"

The entire Veltins-Arena erupted in huge cheers when the football went in. Schalke 04 fans jumped up and shouted Yang Muge's name.

The player they hated the most was Chinese, and now the player they liked the most was also Chinese.

Although the relationship between Zhou Yi and Yang Muge was not a secret, the Schalke 04 fans could see Yang Muge's diligent efforts for the team, and this goal was the best reward for him! So no Schalke 04 fan would have any prejudice against Yang Muge.

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Yang Muge was also very excited after scoring. He waved his fists vigorously and roared towards the stands where the Borussia Dortmund fans were gathered—the Borussia Dortmund goal in the second half was right below the stands where the Borussia Dortmund fans were gathered...

In the past, such a showy thing as shooting a goal was almost never his turn, and he himself had no pursuit of showing off.

But now, on the most gorgeous stage, he had become the protagonist. Even Yang Muge, who had always been calm, could hardly hide his excitement.

It wasn't that he wasn't completely good at scoring goals, but his position and mission kept him away from scoring goals. That's why he had been playing for Schalke 04's first team for almost three seasons, and he had only scored five league goals in total. No coach would expect him to score goals.

His commitment to defensive tasks also meant that he rarely inserted himself into the penalty area to shoot.

This time, if it hadn't been for the Revierderby, and seeing that the team was already two goals behind, he probably wouldn't have rushed into the penalty area to shoot on his own initiative.

He was not a player who was good at adapting to changes, so the Borussia Dortmund players never thought of defending Yang Muge's shot.

Unexpectedly, this fulfilled his rare adaptation to circumstances...

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In fact, at the moment when Yang Muge shot, Zhou Yi realized that there was going to be a problem, but at that time he was far away from Yang Muge and could not stop it from happening.

Yang Muge's goal greatly boosted Schalke 04's morale and also affected the emotions of the Borussia Dortmund players.

Zhou Yi focused his attention on Yang Muge. If he remembered correctly, this should be Lao Yang's first goal in the Revierderby, right?

This was a congratulatory thing, but not now.

Lao Yang has scored a goal, how can I be substituted like this?

He also saw the scene of Mkhitaryan running to warm up on the field, and knew that this was Klopp's intention to replace him.

If there was no goal from Yang Muge, then let him be replaced. He was not the kind of person who liked to dominate the field and didn't want to be replaced.

But now, Yang Muge's goal had aroused the fighting spirit in his heart, so he didn't bother to consider what Mkhitaryan, who was waiting to play off the field, was thinking. He, who had always been amiable, also wanted to be a "ball hog" for once.

He turned around and made an "x" gesture to Klopp on the sidelines, signaling Klopp not to rush to replace him now.

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On the sidelines, Klopp had already had Buvac call Mkhitaryan back, and Buvac was explaining to him when Yang Muge's goal happened on the field...

"Damn it!" Klopp cursed.

Buvac and Mkhitaryan were also startled by the sudden goal. Buvac stared blankly at the field. He was so focused on his explanation that he didn't notice how the goal happened at all.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Mkhitaryan saw it, and after hesitating, he said to his assistant coach: "That... Schalke 04's number fifteen scored a shot..."

After listening to his explanation, Buvac fell silent and did not continue to explain tactics to Mkhitaryan.

Next, Klopp saw Zhou Yi turn around and make a gesture, he raised his hands high, and then crossed them together.

Klopp was struggling inside.

He knew what Zhou Yi meant.

He could follow the original plan and replace Zhou Yi. Now the team still had a one-goal lead. After Zhou Yi left the field, the team might not lose the game.

And if he continued to let Zhou Yi stay on the field, of course Zhou Yi had the opportunity to help the team win, but he might also be injured in the game.

Analyzing rationally, he should replace Zhou Yi, right?

But he hesitated.

Finally, he looked back at Mkhitaryan, who was already ready to play...

But he still made a decision in the end.

"Sorry, Henrikh." He walked up to Mkhitaryan and said to him.

Mkhitaryan seemed to be prepared, he shrugged: "I can understand."

"Very good, you go to rest first, but don't relax, be ready to play at any time, maybe it won't be long before I have to replace you again?" Klopp comforted and encouraged him, he had made a decision.

Let Zhou Yi continue to stay on the field.

Borussia Dortmund needed their spiritual pillar at this time.