The game continued in this stalemate, time ticking away with each passing second.

As the game clock reached the sixty-fifth minute, with only twenty-five minutes left until the end, time was running out for Atletico Madrid. Yet, the score on the scoreboard remained stubbornly unchanged.

Diego Simeone stood on the sidelines, anxiously observing the situation on the field while constantly urging his players to push higher and higher.

At this point, not only Simeone but also all Atletico Madrid fans were no longer concerned about how many goals they could win by, but rather whether they could win at all...

From expecting to score as many goals as possible before the match to now hoping for just one goal, Atletico Madrid's objective had been lowered again and again.

However, even achieving this minimum goal proved extremely difficult.

Before arriving in Madrid, Borussia Dortmund had already unified their thinking for this match and spent half a week preparing for one thing: defense.

Dortmund had put a lot of effort into their defense. They thoroughly studied Atletico Madrid's attacking characteristics, enabling them to defend purposefully.

That's why they managed to withstand the home team's relentless bombardment for sixty-five minutes.

Of course, Zhou Yi's contribution in leading the team with passing and ball control to stall for time could not be ignored.

In any case, as the end of the match drew closer, Atletico Madrid finally couldn't sit still. Simeone began making substitutions, bringing on attacking players, signaling a gamble.

Failing to win at home would make it even more difficult in the away leg.

With twenty minutes left in the game, Atletico Madrid finally went on an all-out offensive.

This full-scale offensive did increase the pressure on Dortmund's defense, but in Zhou Yi's eyes, it also meant more opportunities.

As far as he was concerned, after Atletico Madrid went all-out, the gaps in their defense were wide enough to race horses through...

※※※

In the seventy-third minute, Atletico Madrid launched a siege on Dortmund's half, unleashing three consecutive shots within two minutes. The ball hadn't gone out of bounds to form a dead ball, keeping the game in constant motion, which only heightened the tension.

During this time, Dortmund fans felt like they were on a ship in a stormy sea, with massive waves crashing down from above, threatening to shatter the fragile vessel at any moment.

However, after Atletico Madrid's final shot was saved by Weidenfeller, the ball didn't return to Atletico Madrid's players but fell to a Dortmund player.

Subotić headed the ball straight out of the penalty area.

Then Sven Bender headed the ball further forward.

After two consecutive aerial plays, the ball came to Zhou Yi.

After controlling the incoming ball with his chest, Zhou Yi didn't choose to stop it. Instead, he lifted his foot and kicked the still-airborne ball directly to the wing, where Götze, who had retreated to participate in the defense, was located.

After passing the ball, Zhou Yi didn't stay in place but turned and ran forward.

Götze quickly passed the ball back. Before receiving it, Zhou Yi didn't look at the ball or his surroundings. Instead, he looked up to observe the situation ahead.

When the ball rolled in front of him, he didn't stop it or adjust. Instead, he directly raised his right foot and kicked the still-rolling ball. His right foot's outer instep accurately struck the left side of the ball, and the rising ball drew a very obvious arc in the air, veering toward the right side of the field.

There, Reus was sprinting forward at high speed!

With Atletico Madrid's players pressing forward on the attack, their defense was extremely vulnerable. Zhou Yi's pass was decisive and sudden, giving the Atletico Madrid defense no time to react. When Reus sprinted forward, there wasn't a single Atletico Madrid player in front of him!

In other words, if he could control the ball, it would likely be a one-on-one against goalkeeper Sun Pan!

"Zhou Yi—a beautiful switch!" He Ping exclaimed excitedly. In previous games, Zhou Yi had mostly passed horizontally or backward. Such a penetrating and imaginative pass was rare. Wasn't this the kind of pass everyone was staying up late to see on TV?

Marcel Reif was thrilled about the prospect: "Good ball! A deadly diagonal long pass! This is the opportunity Dortmund has been waiting for! One-on-one! One-on-one!!" If this ball went in, Dortmund would not only take an away goal from Atletico Madrid's home but also a victory, which would greatly increase their chances of qualifying.

As the ball flew through the air, a deafening and ear-piercing boo echoed over the Calderón stadium.

Atletico Madrid fans realized the danger that was looming. The ball in the air was like the Sword of Damocles hanging over their heads, slowly descending!

While running forward, Reus didn't forget to look back at the ball's flight path.

Zhou Yi had put a lot of spin on the ball, making it difficult to control.

If someone were marking him closely, Reus wouldn't be confident in controlling the ball perfectly.

But now, he didn't have such worries because there wasn't a single Atletico Madrid player within ten meters of him!

This was a genuine one-on-one!

He could control the ball calmly, just like receiving Zhou Yi's passes in training.

He adjusted his steps, raised his right leg, and flexed his ankle inward. When the incoming ball hit the inside of his foot, his right leg naturally opened outward, cushioning the impact while pushing the ball forward.

This prevented the ball from stopping directly at his feet, which would have been difficult to control while running at high speed.

As expected, the ball obediently bounced onto the turf in front of him. Although it was still bouncing, Reus could easily handle this level of bounce. Because Reus had slightly slowed down to control the ball, his footwork was more stable. He immediately accelerated, chasing after the ball and heading toward Atletico Madrid's penalty area.

At this time, Atletico Madrid's center-back Godín was still desperately running back into the penalty area—he couldn't chase after Reus, because running straight back to the penalty area was closer than chasing Reus diagonally.

Just as Reus controlled the ball, Sun Pan, the goalkeeper, decisively abandoned his goal and rushed out. He accelerated toward Reus, completely disregarding the space behind him.

If Reus had looked up at this moment, he would have seen the gap behind Sun Pan and could have chosen to chip the ball over him.

But unfortunately, Reus didn't look up. All his attention was focused on the ball at his feet. By the time he had adjusted the ball and looked up, Sun Pan was already close!

Just as Reus entered the penalty area, Sun Pan pounced on him, giving Reus no time to make any other moves. Sun Pan slid sideways, reaching out and poking the ball away from Reus's feet!

Reus hadn't expected the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper to be so quick. Facing the onrushing Sun Pan, his brain couldn't process what to do next. His foot reflexively poked at the ball, but he didn't hit the ball. Instead, he hit Sun Pan's arm. Sun Pan had already poked the ball away!

But how could Reus know this so clearly? He hit Sun Pan's arm and, losing his balance, fell to the ground while raising his hands and shouting, hoping to attract the referee's attention.

This was a penalty!

He had just entered the penalty area and was tripped by the opposing goalkeeper. What else could it be but a penalty? It definitely was!

He fell to the ground, still looking back at the referee.

But he didn't hear any whistle. Perhaps it was because the booing at the stadium was too loud?

Next to him, Sun Pan had already gotten up from the ground, darting out again as if glued to the grass. Reus didn't notice Sun Pan's movements. He was now single-mindedly waiting for the referee's whistle.

Since the booing was too loud to hear the whistle, he would look back.

Reus, who had fallen to the ground, turned over, so he could see the referee without having to turn his head.

The referee was... showing no reaction!

Not a penalty?!

He was shocked—how was that possible?! He clearly brought me down...

Reus looked at Sun Pan again and saw that Sun Pan had caught up with the ball and kicked it directly to the returning center-back Godín.

After doing all this, Sun Pan even had time to come back to the confused Reus and growl at him: "Stop faking it, I touched the ball first!"

The ear-piercing boos in the Calderón stadium turned into deafening cheers, and all the Atletico Madrid fans were chanting Sun Pan's name.

In such an environment, the Spanish commentator had to raise his voice desperately to avoid being drowned out by the cheers: "Sun Pan! He made a very, very, very crucial save! He successfully stopped Dortmund's counterattack! The importance of this save is no less than a goal! If Atletico Madrid can win at home in the end, they should thank Sun Pan for this save! If they end up with a draw, they should still thank Sun Pan for this save, at least it didn't let them fail because of this goal!"

Marcel Reif held his head in his hands in the studio: "Incredible, incredible... Sun Pan's speed was too fast, he was like a cheetah pouncing on its prey... Reus misjudged the distance between him and Sun Pan, as well as Sun Pan's speed. There's no problem with this ball, it's definitely not a penalty, Sun Pan's save was very clean! What a pity, Dortmund missed their best scoring opportunity so far in this game, I wonder if this will cause any trouble for Dortmund's second leg..."