Chapter 134 It's Time...

As Nuri Şahin landed from the air and then collapsed to the ground, Jürgen Klopp felt his heart stop beating. He stared blankly at Şahin's helpless ankle, the pain and helplessness etched on his face. A voice suddenly popped into his head, a voice that whispered and repeated the same sentence: "It's time, it's time to end…"

This voice silenced Klopp.

What should end?

Was it the end of Borussia Dortmund's championship cycle?

In fact, after Borussia Dortmund won the Champions League last season, many people were already discussing whether Borussia Dortmund would decline after its peak. According to the general rule, winning the Champions League is the peak of a team, and after reaching the peak, it will naturally go downhill.

So Borussia Dortmund would inevitably step down from the throne, and if there were no accidents, Bayern Munich would take its place, thus completing the handover of an era.

But Klopp was not reconciled. He didn't want to accept his fate like this and follow the general rule.

Who said that if I climb a mountain, I have to go down? Can't I stay on the top of the mountain? The scenery at the top of the mountain is so beautiful, can't I enjoy it for a while longer?

But now Klopp realized how… ridiculous he had been.

The reason why natural law is a law is that it cannot be stopped by one person.

There was a sense of destiny in this, but there were also understandable reasons.

Injuries.

Since the beginning of the new season, frequent injuries were something that Borussia Dortmund had never experienced during their consecutive championship wins.

Was this some kind of omen?

Or, from a certain perspective, did this mean that Borussia Dortmund was aging and having problems?

With the season nearly halfway over, Borussia Dortmund's injury situation not only did not improve, but instead sank deeper and deeper into the quagmire of injuries… It would be difficult for any team to achieve anything with such an injury wave.

Take this game as an example. After Zhou Yi equalized the score, Borussia Dortmund's momentum was actually very good. But with Sven Bender's injury, the good momentum came to an abrupt end. When the game entered its final stages, Borussia Dortmund regrouped and made a comeback, and at this critical moment, Şahin was injured again…

Did the players' injuries at two consecutive key moments serve as a warning to Klopp that Borussia Dortmund was destined to lose this game?

Klopp didn't want to think that way, but reality forced him to.

Now it seemed that being able to maintain a draw at home in this game would be a good result for Borussia Dortmund…

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"Oh, Şahin… Şahin… Şahin twisted his ankle, he certainly can't continue. Borussia Dortmund's luck in this game is really too bad!" The Korean commentator also said with emotion. The subtext of his heart was "This is simply God wanting Bayer Leverkusen to win! With such a good opportunity, how can Bayer Leverkusen be satisfied with a draw? Of course, they should take advantage of Borussia Dortmund's illness to take their life!"

On the TV screen, Şahin was slowly walking off the field, supported by two Borussia Dortmund team doctors. He lowered his head, looking very frustrated.

Klopp didn't have time to swear now. He was having Łukasz Piszczek warm up, preparing to replace Şahin.

Why replace him with a defender instead of Henrikh Mkhitaryan?

Because Klopp knew very well that when the game restarted, Bayer Leverkusen would definitely launch a fierce attack on Borussia Dortmund. They certainly hoped to defeat the unlucky Borussia Dortmund away from home.

At this time, it was necessary to consolidate the defense, so he brought on a defender to strengthen the defense and avoid the tragedy of losing the ball at the last moment.

Klopp already felt that as long as they didn't lose the game at home, it would be a good result.

This was very helpless, but reality was stronger than people. In the face of powerful fate, you had to bow your head even if you didn't want to. A draw at home was better than losing the game and being left further and further behind by Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.

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Piszczek warmed up as quickly as possible and was then brought onto the field. On the field, Bayer Leverkusen was launching a fierce attack on Borussia Dortmund's goal. Just as Klopp had expected, Bayer Leverkusen was not willing to just take a draw away from home. Now was almost the weakest Borussia Dortmund, and it would be a pity if Bayer Leverkusen still couldn't win.

The entire Borussia Dortmund team shrank back to defend, somewhat embarrassedly resisting Bayer Leverkusen's offensive.

Seeing Borussia Dortmund's embarrassed appearance, everyone felt that it would be good if Borussia Dortmund could get a draw in this game. After all, they had two unexpected injuries and substitutions in the game. At this point in the game, it was no longer testing the team's formation, nor was it testing Klopp's on-the-spot command… "Force majeure" made all of the above meaningless.

Zhou Yi was still looking around in the game, observing the situation.

But this time, he was not observing gaps and runs, he was observing the expressions of his teammates.

Faced with such an unfavorable situation, some people looked pained, some looked ferocious, and some were a little confused…

From their expressions, Zhou Yi could see what they were thinking in their hearts.

He turned his gaze to Yan Min. Yan Min, who had frequently created threats to the opponent before, had now returned to the defensive third, participating in the defense and almost becoming a full-back.

Son Heung-min pulled to the wing, intending to break through, but was destroyed by Yan Min with a very, very fierce tackle.

Yan Min went down very decisively and fiercely. His feet flew out, even making people think that he was going to cripple Son Heung-min… Son Heung-min was also frightened and quickly jumped up, so the ball at his feet was tackled out of bounds by Yan Min…

"What are you doing!" The Korean commentator exclaimed when he saw this scene, loudly reprimanding Yan Min. "This action is too dangerous! This is a completely bad foul! He should be sent off directly! Borussia Dortmund players have lost their normal emotions. They are like powder kegs now, ready to explode at any time. I hope the referee can strictly enforce the law…"

He was very worried about Son Heung-min's injury. He was really frightened when he saw Yan Min's action just now.

Yan Min's action was indeed very frightening. The surrounding Bayer Leverkusen players immediately surrounded him, trying to stand up for their teammates.

Yan Min was surrounded by Bayer Leverkusen players.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi quickly ran up, forcibly intervened in the crowd, and protected Yan Min behind him: "What are you doing? What are you doing? Calm down! Calm down!"

Zhou Yi had been famous for a long time, and even his opponents would give him some face, and it was impossible to cause trouble for Zhou Yi.

Immediately afterwards, other Borussia Dortmund players also ran up, especially Großkreutz, who rushed up in a loud and boisterous manner to protect his teammates, so the firepower of the Bayer Leverkusen players was attracted to him.

The Westfalenstadion suddenly rang with huge boos, all of which were given to the Bayer Leverkusen players by the Borussia Dortmund fans. Being at a disadvantage and unable to win at home was enough to make the Borussia Dortmund fans unhappy. Now the Bayer Leverkusen players were actually going to cause trouble for the Borussia Dortmund players under their noses. How could the Borussia Dortmund fans tolerate this?

The two sides were entangled together, and under the huge boos, a conflict seemed inevitable.

At this time, the referee rushed up blowing his whistle, and with the cooperation of the linesman, separated the players from both sides.

Then he turned around and gave Yan Min a yellow card!

This penalty naturally aroused another burst of boos from the stands. The other Borussia Dortmund players were also dissatisfied and protested around the referee. They believed that Yan Min had tackled the ball and did not touch Son Heung-min at all. Son Heung-min's jumping action was too exaggerated. Even if it was a foul, a verbal warning would be enough. Giving a yellow card was too harsh…

Yan Min did not go up to argue with the referee. Of course, this was not because he had a good attitude, but because he was pulled away by Zhou Yi.

"Well done."

Yan Min thought that Zhou Yi was pulling him away to teach him a lesson, that his actions just now were too rash and delayed the game time. He didn't expect that after Zhou Yi pulled him aside, he actually praised him? He was stunned – this was still well done? What was well done!

Zhou Yi continued with a smile: "Show them a little bit of color, don't let them think that we just accept our fate like this… Have you accepted your fate? Do you think it's okay to get a draw in this situation?" he asked again.

"What are you kidding me? This is our home!" Yan Min said loudly, the implication being that in our home, how could we just be content with a draw?

Hearing Yan Min's answer, Zhou Yi put his hand on his shoulder: "That's right, this is our home. If there's a chance, we still have to go forward, we can't just be pressed in our own half all the time. You try your best to dribble the ball forward, I'll follow you. If you feel too much resistance, pass the ball to me… Remember, after passing the ball, you have to continue to run forward. Don't think about how I'll handle the ball, just run forward. If you run forward and don't receive the ball, it's my fault. But if you don't run forward, then it's your responsibility."

While Zhou Yi was talking, Yan Min nodded: "No problem!"

Although there were less than ten minutes left in the game and the situation was extremely unfavorable for Borussia Dortmund, the young man still had not lost his fighting spirit.

Just like that tackle, it was a kind of stubbornness.