Beyond the Munich media, other regional news outlets were equally stunned by Bayern Munich's terrifying performance. Many suggested that even if Borussia Dortmund continued to chase relentlessly, they would likely only watch their rivals lift the trophy, separated by a mere two points. Zhou Yi's words about focusing on themselves were well and good, but if Bayern Munich made no mistakes, Dortmund's efforts would be meaningless.

Other media outlets speculated that given Bayern Munich's current form, even Dortmund's home advantage might not be enough to stop them when the two teams faced off directly. A draw for Bayern Munich in Dortmund would be considered a victory.

Suddenly, throughout Germany, outside of Dortmund, most people believed the league title was already decided. If Bayern Munich, in such a state, failed to win, it would be an injustice!

So, how did the Dortmund media report on Bayern Munich's performance?

They certainly didn't hype up Bayern Munich's terrifying strength. Instead, they "nitpicked." Even if Bayern Munich's performance was exceptional, it wasn't perfect; it had flaws. Even the slightest flaw would be exposed and magnified.

First, they argued that Bayern Munich's performance wasn't flawless. Of course, this claim needed substance. Simply saying, "Bayern Munich still has problems," meant nothing and would only invite ridicule.

The Dortmund media did indeed offer specifics.

While almost all of Germany was celebrating Bayern Munich's outstanding form, the Dortmund media calmly pointed out Bayern Munich's problem: their poor corner kick defense.

In truth, Bayern Munich's defense had been excellent this season. In twenty-seven league games, they had conceded only thirteen goals.

This wasn't just the best record in the Bundesliga; it was the best in Europe. They had conceded the fewest goals in Europe during that period.

In La Liga, the team with the fewest goals conceded after twenty-seven games was Atletico Madrid, with twenty-four goals, despite having Sun Pan in their lineup.

In Serie A, Juventus, Bayern Munich's upcoming Champions League quarterfinal opponent, had conceded eighteen goals after twenty-seven league games.

In the Premier League, after twenty-seven games, Manchester City, then ranked second, had also conceded twenty-four goals.

In Ligue 1, the league leader had conceded seventeen goals after twenty-seven games.

These were the top five leagues. Ligue 1, with seventeen goals, had the next best defensive record after Bayern Munich. These comparisons highlighted Bayern Munich's exceptional defensive performance.

In other leagues, Porto in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, had conceded only eleven goals, fewer than Bayern Munich. However, the Primeira Liga only has thirty rounds, and only twenty-four had been played so far. Porto had conceded eleven goals in twenty-four games, three games fewer than Bayern Munich. And how many goals had Bayern Munich conceded after twenty-four league games?

Eight. A single digit!

Therefore, criticizing Bayern Munich's defense seemed unwise if one were determined to find fault.

Yet, the Dortmund media focused on defense.

They simply added a qualifier: corner kick defense.

And upon closer examination, their analysis made some sense.

In the 9-2 demolition of Hamburg, Bayern Munich scored nine goals but also conceded two. How did they concede those goals?

Both from corner kicks.

Hamburg, who were completely suppressed throughout the game, only managed ten shots, with only three on target. Bayern Munich, in contrast, had twenty-two shots on target and only five off target. The vast difference in the game's flow was evident in the 27-10 shot disparity.

Despite being at such a disadvantage, Hamburg only had three corner kicks throughout the match, and two of them resulted in goals. Such efficiency was undeniable…

If it were just this one game, the Dortmund media's criticism would seem like pure nitpicking.

However, this wasn't Bayern Munich's only recent instance of conceding from a corner.

The two goals conceded in this match were the third and fourth corner kick goals Bayern Munich had conceded in their last three official matches.

Since the second leg of the Champions League round of sixteen tie against Arsenal, Bayern Munich, whose defense had been solid all season, began to expose their weakness: a vulnerability to corner kicks.

In the home game against Arsenal in the Champions League, Bayern Munich dominated the match but conceded a goal from a corner kick late in the game. Koscielny's header briefly gave the visitors hope of advancing, and Bayern Munich faced criticism after the match. Just a week later, Heynckes's team conceded another goal from a corner kick in the game against Leverkusen. This time, the team's problem seemed amateurish, as they didn't even have a player assigned to protect the back post during the corner kick defense!

The two goals conceded against Hamburg also came from corner kicks.

Hamburg's first corner kick of the match led to a goal.

Van der Vaart accurately found Bruma in the penalty area. Dante made a mistake in marking him, giving his opponent an easy opportunity to score with a header. Bruma's close-range header left Neuer helpless. Boateng was visibly angry after the goal, clearly dissatisfied with the manner in which they had conceded.

Logically, having issues with corner kick defense should prompt Bayern Munich players to be more alert during subsequent corner kicks, right? But no, Hamburg's second corner kick also resulted in a goal. The strong and tall Westermann was completely unchallenged when heading the ball during the corner kick because the player Bayern Munich assigned to defend him was Toni Kroos… Kroos, who isn't known for his heading ability and isn't particularly strong, was no match for Westermann when vying for position in the penalty area and was easily shaken off.

Bayern Munich, who had conceded only twenty-three goals in all official matches this season, had conceded five goals in their last three games, and four of those five goals were from corner kicks.

These numbers should illustrate how abnormal Bayern Munich's recent streak of conceding from corner kicks is.

Of course, when reporting on Bayern Munich's corner kick defense problem, the Dortmund media didn't claim to be speaking out on behalf of Dortmund. Instead, they pretended to be alerting Bayern Munich to this issue in their upcoming Champions League matches. It appeared righteous and aboveboard, but who couldn't see the hidden agenda?

In their reports, they repeatedly mentioned the upcoming Champions League quarterfinal and Bayern Munich's opponent, Juventus, even explicitly stating that Bayern Munich should be careful that this weakness wouldn't be exploited by Juventus.

Wasn't the intention obvious?

They were practically telling Juventus, "Here's a little gift we're sending your way."

The Dortmund media also brought up last season's final, asking how Chelsea managed to defeat Bayern Munich despite Bayern leading for most of the game. Wasn't it a corner kick in the final moments of the match? Drogba headed it in at the near post.

This showed that Bayern Munich had a precedent of suffering from corner kicks in the Champions League.

Losing the Champions League final on their home ground was a scar for Bayern Munich, and Dortmund's actions were tearing open that scar and rubbing salt and chili powder into it.

Logically, German media should present a united front in European competitions like the Champions League, but the Dortmund media was actually helping Juventus devise a strategy. This was absolutely "politically incorrect." But the Dortmund media did it anyway.

In addition to helping Bayern Munich's Champions League opponent, they also sowed discord, claiming that Bayern Munich's performance under coach Heynckes this season was so perfect that, while it was cause for celebration, it might not be good news for Pep Guardiola, who was set to take over from Heynckes.

When Bayern Munich announced that Guardiola would take over as team coach next season, people were dissatisfied with Bayern Munich's two consecutive league title losses to Dortmund. They hoped that Guardiola would lead Bayern Munich back to the top, implying dissatisfaction with Heynckes's work.

But what happened?

After the announcement was made half a season in advance, Heynckes's Bayern Munich only got better. They were tied at home by Dortmund in the first half of the season, but they haven't lost a game in the second half of the season.

Heynckes's team's performance seemed like a protest against the Bayern Munich club's decision to announce Guardiola's arrival half a season early. Although everyone, including Heynckes himself, denied this, the phenomenon certainly lent itself to conspiracy theories…

So, at this moment, the Dortmund media desperately praised Heynckes's outstanding performance while suggesting that when Guardiola took over the team, most Bayern Munich players would still miss Heynckes. Perhaps things weren't like that at all within Bayern Munich, but lies repeated a thousand times become truth. If the Dortmund media kept drumming up this narrative, they might just lead Bayern Munich astray, right?

This was similar to how the Munich media kept hyping up how Dortmund received special treatment from referees.

The power of public opinion is immense.

It affects everything from the imperial court to ordinary citizens. Its influence is pervasive, penetrating every aspect of life, subtly shaping opinions without people even realizing they are being controlled by it.

※※※

From claiming that Dortmund was receiving favorable treatment from referees to offering advice to Bayern Munich's Champions League opponents, and then sowing discord between Bayern Munich's current and future coaches, the competition between the two teams was so intense this season that, to defeat the other side, both sides' supporters tried every possible means to trip up their rivals, using all sorts of underhanded tactics.

It's hard to say who is right and who is wrong. This isn't the first time such a thing has happened between Dortmund and Bayern Munich, nor is it an isolated case.

Because this is football, a war in peacetime.