Chapter 51 Zhou Yi's Explanation

During halftime, assistant coach Buvac led the substitute players onto the field to warm up, preparing for a possible appearance in the second half.

Klopp returned to the locker room alone.

He was the last to return. After entering, he closed the door and directly called out Zhou Yi's name: "Zhou Yi, I want to hear your explanation for the first half."

These words stunned the other players in the locker room—was the coach going to interrogate him?

Although they were behind at halftime and hadn't been able to tie the score, everyone had worked hard and constantly threatened Chelsea.

The biggest contributor to this was Zhou Yi. Everyone was inspired by Zhou Yi to launch offensive charges at Chelsea's goal. He not only created many opportunities for his teammates, but also had several shots himself that threatened Chelsea's goal. If Sun Pan hadn't performed so well, Dortmund might have finished the first half with a lead, let alone tie the score.

Everyone saw this performance clearly. The coach couldn't possibly have missed it, right?

There was no need to question Zhou Yi...

Klopp stared at Zhou Yi and said, "In the first half, you chose more through balls, which drove a faster offensive rhythm. I want to hear why you chose this approach against Chelsea in the first half?"

Then he waved his hand at the other players: "Don't be nervous, I'm not going to get angry."

Zhou Yi stood up and said, "It's very simple. I think we need to speed things up against Chelsea."

This conclusion was simple, just one sentence, but it was something Zhou Yi had discovered through dozens of virtual games.

"Mm-hmm, explain in detail." Klopp leaned against the door, arms crossed, listening intently.

"Mourinho's team is good at playing defensive counterattacks. This was proven at Real Madrid. And they now have a strengthened version of 'New Čech' before Čech's injury—Panpan... Sun Pan. They have the conditions to play defensive counterattacks. If we pass the ball back and forth as usual, patiently looking for opportunities, I think we will only compress the opponent into an impenetrable wall, which will be beneficial for them to play counterattacks. Forcing them to shrink their defense will leave us with less and less space, and constantly passing the ball in the frontcourt will also leave many gaps in the back, which Chelsea can exploit."

Klopp nodded, not interrupting.

The other players in the locker room were also listening attentively. They knew that Zhou Yi had his own unique insights into match analysis, and they also understood why the coach had singled out Zhou Yi to explain. This would definitely help the team defeat Chelsea.

"Therefore, I think if we speed up the attack and rhythm, on the one hand, we can get more offensive opportunities, and on the other hand, we won't easily give Chelsea a chance to build a solid defense. This way, we can get as close as possible to their core area and create shooting opportunities. The third reason is that a quick resolution in the frontcourt can also avoid investing more troops later, which would lead to a weak defense and allow the opponent to seize opportunities to attack behind us. So in the first half, I consciously accelerated the attack speed and used more direct passes in order to create more shooting opportunities. Against Chelsea, we can't simply pursue success rates, but we have to use more attacks to disrupt them and overwhelm them."

Some of the players looked at Zhou Yi with admiration—they didn't necessarily understand all of these principles. Even if they did, they couldn't necessarily explain them as clearly and logically as Zhou Yi.

Many professional players don't have high levels of education. They devote themselves to professional football at a young age. Even if there are arrangements for academic studies, they won't take them seriously. There are too many players who don't even understand their contracts, completely listen to their agents, and some players can only write their own names, becoming tools for their families and agents to make money... For example, the Spanish Sevilla's talented player José Antonio Reyes, he had outstanding football talent, so he hardly went to school. His parents didn't realize that children needed to go to school. After seeing Reyes's football talent, their only goal was to train him into a professional player to make money. Reyes officially dropped out of school at the age of fourteen—even before that, he had hardly been to school a few times, even failing physical education. He was almost illiterate and couldn't write. The only thing he could write was probably his own name, and if he didn't need it to sign contracts, he probably wouldn't even know that...

Of course, this isn't to say that all of Dortmund's players are like this. Reyes is an extreme example, but it can illustrate the general situation of the vast professional player group and the even larger group of young people who are working hard to become professional players.

Moreover, in terms of being eloquent, they were definitely not as good as Zhou Yi.

There was a reason why he was the core. There was a reason why he gained the coach's trust and favor.

All success in this world is no accident.

After listening to Zhou Yi's explanation, Klopp nodded and then asked, "But they also have Sun Pan. At the end of the first half, your shot, Lady Luck was on our side. But it was still saved by Sun Pan. Do you have any way to deal with him?"

Everyone looked at Zhou Yi with anticipation, but they didn't expect Zhou Yi to give them an unexpected answer.

"No." Zhou Yi shook his head.

Klopp was also a little surprised—Zhou Yi actually said no?

He thought that he had a plan since he looked so confident...

Zhou Yi smiled, spread his hands, and explained, "I'm not kidding, I really don't. I think the only way to deal with Sun Pan is to accumulate quantity with more shots, hoping that quantitative change will lead to qualitative change. Remember how many shots we took in the home game against Atlético Madrid last season?"

Everyone looked confused. Who would care about that number? Besides, the game ended so long ago. Even if they knew it at the time, they would have forgotten it.

Zhou Yi smiled and said, "Twenty-seven shots. We exchanged twenty-seven shots for three goals and eventually eliminated Atlético Madrid."

"But..." Someone seemed to have a different opinion. It was Sven Bender, but he didn't continue, seemingly feeling it was inappropriate to question Zhou Yi, who was deeply trusted by the coach.

Klopp encouraged him: "It's okay, say what's on your mind."

Sven Bender frowned and said to Zhou Yi, "But I remember Zhou Yi, you said Sun Pan is a... what kind of goalkeeper?"

"Ren Lai Feng type (someone who performs better when the pressure is on)." This was a term invented by Zhou Yi. It was normal for Sven Bender to not be familiar with it, but he understood what it meant.

"You mean the more shots he faces, the better he might perform. Aren't you worried that he might actually get into form from a lot of shots?" Sven Bender asked.

Zhou Yi shook his head: "Even if we don't take a single shot, Sun Pan's form won't be bad. If we were a weak team, he might not be able to get motivated, but we are the European champions. This game hasn't even started yet, and he's already excited. So whether he's in good form or not has nothing to do with how many shots we take. In order to score, let's shoot him boldly!"

Zhou Yi systematically explained the theoretical basis of "Tian Ruo You Qing Tian Yi Lao, Jian Dao Panpan Meng Yi Jiao (If Heaven had emotions, it would also age; upon seeing Panpan, take a shot)".

Although he didn't use this doggerel, everyone understood the principle.

Klopp also affirmed Zhou Yi's judgment: "Yes. We need more shots, more times to threaten their goal. We can't shrink our defense and counterattack like Chelsea. Because we are behind now. So the second half should continue to be played at the same pace as the first half. Mourinho's Chelsea is known for its fast counterattacks. Our speed is not exactly the same as theirs, but we must be faster than them!"

※※※

In Chelsea's locker room, although they were in the lead, Mourinho was not satisfied. Because the team gave Dortmund too many shooting opportunities in the first half.

"You're simply giving away gifts!" Mourinho criticized his players mercilessly, speaking in a heavy tone. "Look at how many shooting opportunities you gave the opponent in the first half? If it weren't for Sun Pan, we would have fallen behind long ago! If it continues like this in the second half, I don't think we can hold on to this one-goal lead at all!"

Sun Pan lowered his head and pursed his lips. He really wanted to tell Mourinho that even if it was like this in the second half, he was confident that he could stop all of Dortmund's shots.

But obviously, in Chelsea, Mourinho was a ruthless character. It was best not to offend him easily.

Sun Pan was sometimes reckless, but not stupid.

He planned to use his actions on the field to prove that Mourinho's statement was wrong.

"Be more solid in defense in the second half, and restrict Zhou Yi more. Stick to him if you can, and if you really can't, you can foul him. Don't let him continue to shoot and pass in front of our penalty area without restraint! Be tougher on him! Don't be afraid of getting cards. None of you have gotten a card yet, it's unbelievable when dealing with Zhou Yi!"

The key to Dortmund was Zhou Yi. Mourinho believed that the reason Dortmund performed so well in the first half was because he hadn't restricted Zhou Yi tightly enough.

Fortunately, Chelsea was still in the lead, even if it was only by one goal, it was better late than never.

It would be over if they waited until they conceded a goal to adjust.