After half a month, Borussia Dortmund concluded their training camp in Spain and returned to Dortmund to continue training. After all, the weather in Spain and Dortmund was quite different, so they still needed to acclimatize. They were participating in the Bundesliga, not La Liga…

During this period of training, Klopp gradually noticed something strange—Zhou Yi seemed to be consciously intensifying his shooting practice…

This wasn't common in previous training sessions. Zhou Yi was a midfielder whose primary task was to orchestrate attacks. Scoring wasn't his top priority, and with limited training time, he naturally focused on improving his passing and dribbling skills, not shooting.

So why was Zhou Yi reinforcing his shooting now?

After finding it odd, Klopp decided to ask Zhou Yi directly to get a clear answer.

Now, Zhou Yi was the team's most important player, the one they relied on the most, the most crucial and indispensable. The coaching staff was very concerned about his every move, even wishing they could know his every thought.

Zhou Yi was a bit bewildered when Klopp approached him to ask why he was practicing shooting—why was the coach concerning himself with this…

He thought it was a trivial matter, but he didn't expect the coach to notice it and even come to ask him specifically.

Why?

He couldn't very well tell Klopp that it was because he wanted to propose to Kotana with a hat trick, could he?

But such things never stumped the quick-witted Zhou Yi.

Faced with Klopp's question, Zhou Yi answered very sincerely: "Well, as a midfielder, I actually have a lot of opportunities for late runs into the box to shoot during games. I want to improve my scoring ability to provide more help to the team. You know the team's situation, coach, we need players to be versatile… If I can score more goals, wouldn't that relieve some pressure on the team?"

After thinking about it, Klopp felt that what Zhou Yi said made sense.

Having received a reasonable explanation, Klopp's curiosity vanished. He merely reminded Zhou Yi that while it was good to think of the team, he shouldn't put too much pressure and burden on himself, as his health was the most important thing…

Zhou Yi, of course, sincerely accepted Klopp's good intentions.

※※※

On the afternoon of January 25th, Borussia Dortmund hosted Augsburg at home, the first game of the second half of the season.

The day before, the second half of the Bundesliga season had already kicked off, with Bayern Munich defeating Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0 away.

Guardiola's team was as stable and strong as ever.

Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund's other competitor, Bayer Leverkusen, was playing their game at the same time as Borussia Dortmund.

They were away against Freiburg.

Augsburg had performed well this season, ranking eighth after seventeen league games. However, in terms of strength, this team was definitely inferior to Borussia Dortmund, so Borussia Dortmund fans hoped that the team could beat Augsburg at home, and didn't think it was too difficult.

But just two minutes into the game, an accident occurred on the pitch.

Kuba, who started the game, injured his knee in a sliding tackle on the wing after just two minutes. He immediately fell to the ground, unable to get up, covering his face with his hands, looking in pain.

Everyone who saw this scene felt a pang in their hearts, realizing that the situation was bad—if it was a minor injury, Kuba would never have reacted like that.

The TV broadcast replayed the slow-motion replay of Kuba's tackle.

After his left foot slid out, his right leg, which was supporting his body, was subjected to enormous pressure. Then, suddenly, his right leg lost all support, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground…

"Looks like it's the knee…" Marcel Reif speculated. "If it really is the knee, then Kuba's injury is serious… Borussia Dortmund is really unlucky, this is the first game of the second half of the season, and the game has only been going on for two minutes…"

The TV broadcast quickly gave Klopp a close-up shot. In the shot, Klopp spread his hands, but there was no anger or dissatisfaction on his face, replaced by helplessness. It was as if he was saying: "What can I do? I'm also desperate!"

Then the camera turned to Yan Min, who was getting up from the bench.

Yan Min was a substitute for this game, with Kuba starting. He didn't expect to be on the bench for only two minutes, not even long enough to warm the seat, before he had to get up…

This should be the shortest bench experience he had ever had…

"Yan Min is coming on, this is really unexpected… Only three minutes, he only stayed on the bench for three minutes…" Duan Xin also felt that this was too surreal.

Yan Min, who was warming up, still looked a little dazed, not understanding what was going on.

Kuba was injured on the sidelines, so he received treatment without delaying the continuation of the game.

Borussia Dortmund, with one less player, did not choose to retreat and stabilize their defense, but continued to attack.

Reus forced an Augsburg player to foul on the left wing, and Borussia Dortmund was awarded a free kick on the edge of the attacking area.

At the same time, after examination by Dr. Braun, Kuba was taken directly to the ambulance on a stretcher. Lying on the stretcher, he covered his eyes with one hand, looking dejected.

And Borussia Dortmund fans in the stands all stood up and applauded him.

Although Kuba had been substituted, Yan Min was still warming up on the sidelines and had not yet had time to enter the game.

With one less player, Borussia Dortmund should have slowed down the pace, and this free kick would have been a good opportunity to stall for time.

But Zhou Yi didn't do that. He ran to the spot where the foul had occurred as soon as possible, stepped on the ball, and looked up at the right side of the penalty area in front of him.

There was a huge gap there.

At the same time, Mark Wagner in front also looked up at Zhou Yi. When he saw Zhou Yi's action, he immediately realized something.

He turned and ran to the right.

Seeing Mark's movement, Zhou Yi took a step back, without waiting for the Augsburg players to form a wall, without waiting for his teammates to move forward, and without waiting for the referee's whistle, he directly kicked the ball to the right side of the penalty area!

"Quick free kick!" Marcel Reif was just talking about Kuba's injury, but now seeing a new situation on the pitch, he quickly interrupted the previous topic.

As Zhou Yi kicked the ball towards the right side of the penalty area, towards the back post, Mark also quickly moved forward and broke into the penalty area!

When the Augsburg players turned their heads and saw Mark's position, they all raised their arms, thinking that Mark was offside.

But neither the referee nor the linesman made any indication, and the referee even rushed into the penalty area, running forward with the ball, which meant that Borussia Dortmund's quick free kick was fine, and the referee had approved it!

Completely unmarked, Mark jumped high at the corner of the six-yard box and headed for the goal!

Augsburg goalkeeper Hitz abandoned his goal and attacked, but it was too late, and he was also caught off guard.

He couldn't stop Mark's header, and the ball flew into the goal behind him…

Borussia Dortmund fans were still feeling sad and frustrated by Kuba's injury, but they didn't expect a surprise to come!

"Oh! Oh! Oh oh oh oh oh!!! Borussia Dortmund is in the lead! Mark Wagner!! A beautiful quick free kick, catching Augsburg off guard!"

"Mark understood Zhou Yi's intention!" Duan Xin said with emotion when he saw the slow-motion replay of the goal, he saw the scene where Mark and Zhou Yi looked up and observed each other. "After Kuba's injury successfully attracted everyone's attention, Zhou Yi used this to launch a quick attack, and the tacit understanding between Mark and Zhou Yi is the key to this goal!"

This goal immediately diluted the frustration that Kuba's injury had brought to the Borussia Dortmund fans. The cheers at Westfalenstadion erupted, and Klopp on the sidelines also excitedly waved his fist to celebrate.

At this time, goals seemed particularly valuable because they could greatly boost morale and prevent the players from feeling down due to Kuba's injury.

Zhou Yi's quick free kick fully demonstrated his clear-headedness. When many people had not yet figured out what was going on, he keenly noticed the opportunity to score and put it into practice.

Brains are also the secret to Zhou Yi's ability to become a world-class midfielder at such a young age.

※※※

Zhou Yi and Mark's cooperation brought a goal for Borussia Dortmund and stabilized the emotions of the Borussia Dortmund players.

Then Yan Min came on the field, and Borussia Dortmund continued to put pressure on Augsburg.

Since performing well in the games against Arsenal and Bayern Munich, Yan Min is now playing with more and more confidence. On the field, he dares to fully let himself go, fully exerting his strengths, and constantly harassing Augsburg's defense with explosive power and flexible changes of direction.

Every one of his performances can win cheers from the fans in the stands.

The Borussia Dortmund fans now also like this young man, Yan Min, because he is full of vigor and can always offer them a pleasing performance on the field.

Under continuous pressure, Augsburg's goal was breached again in the thirty-fourth minute.

This time it was Reus who scored, using a direct free kick to successfully bypass the wall and fly into the goal.

Two set-piece goals helped Borussia Dortmund take a two-goal lead.

If it weren't for Kuba's injury, this start to the second half of the league season would have been perfect for Borussia Dortmund…