Lin Hai Ting Tao
Chapter 261 Eh, Penalty!
Borussia Dortmund could only struggle to withstand Schalke 04's attacks, focusing on preventing further goals.
Conceding two goals in quick succession would make this derby very difficult.
With only one goal conceded, there was still room for recovery.
Zhou Yi also returned to participate in the defense, showing great enthusiasm, though his impact was limited. Still, it was one more person.
During this period, he and Borussia Dortmund were pushed far from Schalke 04's penalty area, offering no opportunities.
After about five minutes, Schalke 04's continuous barrage of attacks finally subsided. During this time, Schalke 04 came close to scoring several times, but ultimately failed, thanks to both the efforts of Borussia Dortmund players and a bit of luck.
So, the score remained 1-0, with Schalke 04 leading at home.
Having regained possession and a chance to breathe, Borussia Dortmund began attacking Schalke 04's goal, hoping to equalize as soon as possible.
In the Ruhr derby, a single goal was not enough to shatter Borussia Dortmund's fighting spirit, especially not Klopp's team.
This was why Magath hoped his team could build on their goal with another one.
Şahin and Zhou Yi were still closely watched by Schalke 04 players. Zhou Yi didn't dare hold the ball for even a second, or he'd be met with a challenge.
He could only pass the ball quickly to the nearest teammate.
He seemed to be running for his life, barely able to keep the ball from being lost at his feet, let alone do his job of organizing the attack.
However, Borussia Dortmund's attack continued to advance.
When Zhou Yi received the ball near Schalke 04's thirty-meter zone, he could clearly feel the Schalke 04 players pressing faster, using their physical advantages almost without reservation.
But Zhou Yi wasn't too worried, because he had already identified his passing target before receiving the ball. So, without stopping, he passed it to Kuba.
Then he continued to move, slowly moving sideways, as if strolling, but not asking for the ball from his teammates, nor showing any intention of receiving it. His teammates knew the problem Zhou Yi was facing, so the ball was passed around without coming to him.
Zhou Yi gradually approached Schalke 04's penalty area in this seemingly aimless and casual lateral movement.
Because the ball hadn't been at his feet for a while, he was temporarily ignored by Schalke 04's defenders. Everyone's attention shifted with the ball, and whoever had the ball was the center of attention.
During this time, even Şahin came up to receive the ball twice, and Zhou Yi didn't touch it once. He had successfully hidden himself.
Until he arrived in a clear opening.
At this moment, Großkreutz had the ball on the flank. He looked up and saw Zhou Yi secretly gesturing to him. He understood the gesture clearly—"Pass me the ball!"
Großkreutz made a feint, pretending to pass the ball out wide to the overlapping full-back Schmelzer, tricking the Schalke 04 players into shifting their defensive attention to the flank. Then he suddenly turned and passed the ball to Zhou Yi at the edge of the penalty arc!
Zhou Yi received the ball in the open space.
At this moment, Schalke 04's warning system was activated, and their center-back, Marcelo Bordon, quickly charged towards Zhou Yi.
As Zhou Yi stopped the ball, he directed it towards the penalty area!
Then he charged into the penalty area with purpose!
This sudden burst of speed caught the other Schalke 04 players off guard. They didn't react in time and could only watch as Zhou Yi dribbled into the penalty area!
None of them had expected Zhou Yi, who had been passing and passing, to suddenly choose to dribble through!
As Zhou Yi dribbled into the penalty area, Bordon arrived.
The Brazilian center-back used his physical advantage to squeeze Zhou Yi, like a mountain bearing down!
Zhou Yi hooked the ball to the left with his right foot, while twisting his body to try to escape to the left. But in the face of a collapsing mountain, how small a person is!
He was hit squarely by Bordon and flew sideways, spinning three hundred and sixty degrees in the air before crashing heavily to the ground, rolling… four times before stopping.
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Li Cuiyun, watching the scene on TV, almost screamed. She suddenly covered her mouth. The way Zhou Yi had been knocked over looked like he'd been hit by a car!
But her husband, Zhou Jianliang, who was next to her, suddenly raised his arms and shouted, "Yeah!"
"What are you shouting about! Are you happy that our son was hit?" Li Cuiyun glared at her husband.
Zhou Jianliang pointed at the TV screen excitedly and said, "Penalty! It's a penalty!"
Li Cuiyun was stunned.
At the same time, commentator Duan Xin on TV was shouting, "Penalty! It's definitely a penalty! Bordon committed a very obvious foul! He crashed into him completely!"
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When Zhou Yi fell to the ground, the Veltins-Arena was initially stunned. Schalke 04 fans seemed to have no mental preparation for this scene. Zhou Yi had fallen in the penalty area. Then, the Schalke 04 fans reacted with a chorus of boos.
Even Draxler was shouting, "Dive! Diving!"
This time, he didn't explain to Yang Muge beside him. He didn't have time, he didn't care. He was afraid that if he didn't yell a couple of times, the referee would really award a penalty.
When Yang Muge saw Zhou Yi's three-hundred-and-sixty-degree spin in the air, his first impression was also "No way, is he really diving!"
But soon, Yang Muge rejected his idea. Bordon had made solid contact. Zhou Yi had tried to avoid it but failed. He wasn't deliberately sticking himself out to cheat for a penalty. There was real physical contact, so falling down wasn't a problem, and naturally not a dive.
※※※
Zhou Yi fell to the ground in Schalke 04's penalty area. On the sidelines, Klopp was also stunned for a moment. He didn't expect Borussia Dortmund to break the deadlock in this way, and both the method and the person were surprising. But he hadn't forgotten his identity, so he quickly jumped up and roared into the field, "Foul! Penalty! There's no doubt it's a penalty!!"
He also turned to the fourth official and shouted, "It's a penalty! Penalty! One hundred percent a penalty! There's no question about it!"
Referee Gräfe's whistle also blew.
In the midst of the huge boos, the sound was almost drowned out.
But Gräfe's movement towards the scene of the foul attracted everyone's attention. Everyone watched him nervously, wondering how he would rule. As the referee, he could rule Zhou Yi had dived, or he could award a penalty. Even if it was a misjudgment, the result couldn't be changed. So, the referee's ruling at this time could very well determine the course of the game.
Just as he ran into the penalty area, Gräfe pointed to… the penalty spot!
It was a penalty!
"Penalty!" Marcel Reif shouted.
"Yeah!" Klopp turned back to the fourth official with a smile. But to the fourth official, Trautmann, Klopp's smile looked more like a ferocious expression…
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"Oh, a penalty! A penalty! It's a penalty! It really is a penalty! Borussia Dortmund has a golden opportunity to equalize! And this opportunity was created by Zhou Yi!" Duan Xin shouted excitedly.
"Zhou Yi has done a great service!" Tao Wei was also very happy.
Zhou Jianliang in front of the TV waved his fist forcefully, "Beautiful, beautiful! Beautiful!"
Li Cuiyun found it incredible, "Why aren't you worried about whether my son is injured?"
Zhou Jianliang turned to comfort his wife, "How could he be injured? Look how smoothly he rolled on the ground, it shows he dissipated the force well!"
Although it was meant as comfort, Li Cuiyun didn't feel comforted at all… she just thought that people who liked football were incomprehensible…
※※※
The awarding of the penalty made the Schalke 04 players very angry. They surrounded the referee to protest the decision.
"He's clearly diving! Look how exaggerated his fall was!"
"Yeah, yeah, he even did a mid-air spin! It's a textbook diving move!"
"I didn't touch him… uh, I mean I only touched him lightly, but it definitely wouldn't have made him fall so dramatically!" Bordon quickly defended himself.
But the referee didn't listen to them, he just stood in the penalty area, waving for the others to leave, while taking out a card from his chest pocket. He was going to show Bordon a yellow card!
On the other side, the Borussia Dortmund players rushed to Zhou Yi. Striker Barrios was the first to reach Zhou Yi. Seeing Zhou Yi clutching his waist and grimacing, he directly pulled Zhou Yi up and patted him hard, "Well done!"
Other teammates also swarmed up, "Good job, Zhou Yi!"
"Smart!"
"That'll teach them a lesson!"
Everyone praised Zhou Yi, not caring whether Zhou Yi's fall was genuine or a dive.
But Zhou Yi was still in pain, especially his hip, which had been hit by Bordon. It hurt so much he kept sucking in cold air. Although he got a penalty, he really took a beating. He hadn't been diving at all.
You could only say that he knew Bordon would most likely charge up and make physical contact with him. He had wanted to avoid it, but he couldn't, and was knocked flying. If the referee was going to give Borussia Dortmund a penalty, he definitely wouldn't say that Bordon was innocent.
In fact, when he suddenly charged into the penalty area, he had already prepared himself mentally to win a penalty for the team.
He charges in, the opponent fouls him, he falls to the ground, penalty.
There's no problem with that.
It has nothing to do with whether it was a dive or not.
※※※
Although the Schalke 04 players tried their best to defend themselves, once the referee made his decision, it was difficult to change it.
So now, Şahin stood in front of the ball, facing Schalke 04 goalkeeper Neuer.
And everyone else, retreated from the penalty area.
The boos from the stands were even more intense and piercing, vibrating everyone's eardrums and hearts, making them uncomfortable.
Now, pressure and attention were focused on Şahin.
As the core of the team, could he withstand the pressure and score this penalty for Borussia Dortmund?
Referee Gräfe blew his whistle, Şahin took a run-up, and then kicked the ball home!
Neuer guessed the wrong direction, and the ball flew straight into the goal!
"Goal! Şahin! He converted the penalty that Zhou Yi earned for the team! It's now 1-1, and the two teams are back to square one!"
After scoring, Şahin ran straight to below the stands and vented his emotions towards the Schalke 04 fans above—boo all you want! I can still score!
And Zhou Yi and his teammates ran to Şahin, embraced him, and celebrated the goal with him.
Şahin turned around and saw Zhou Yi, and also took the initiative to hug Zhou Yi.
"Thank you!" he said to Zhou Yi.
The other teammates also praised Zhou Yi.
"Your sudden insertion into the penalty area was really decisive!"
"Now, those Schalke bastards will have to think twice before fouling you again, ha!"
"They deserved it! Did they really think we were easy to bully!"
Everyone affectionately ruffled Zhou Yi's hair, turning it into a bird's nest.
Off the field, Klopp, seeing this scene, couldn't help but hum, "This kid!"
But his tone revealed obvious indulgence.