Lin Hai Ting Tao
Chapter 696 A Turning Point in the Match?
He believed that the way to curb Bayern Munich's rampant flank attacks was, of course, to use even more rampant flank attacks against them. When Dortmund's flank attacks became more intense, Bayern Munich's flanks would have to switch to defense, naturally leaving them no time to attack and threaten Dortmund's defense.
This "fight fire with fire" approach was very much in line with Klopp's style. He didn't care what would happen if gaps appeared behind him during the back-and-forth attacks. He had great confidence in his players.
Coincidentally, in Bayern Munich's locker room, Heynckes also instructed his team to continue strengthening their flank attacks in the second half.
"Use our speed on the flanks to crush them!"
Bayern Munich was better equipped than Dortmund to attack down the flanks, because they had Robben and Lahm on the right, and Ribéry and Alaba on the left. All four of them had extremely strong attacking abilities, and they were also very fast. They could completely form a continuous flank attack, constantly putting pressure on Dortmund.
In comparison, Dortmund's attacking power on the flanks was slightly weaker, especially after Götze was injured and substituted. Kuba couldn't completely fill the void left by Götze.
The two teams' coaches unanimously chose the flanks as the location for the decisive battle.
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In the second half, the two sides switched sides and fought again, without any substitutions from either team.
Due to the similar adjustments, the two teams immediately went head-to-head on the flanks as soon as the second half began.
In the forty-sixth minute, Reus crossed from the right flank after dribbling past his opponent, but Lewandowski, closely marked by Boateng, sent the ball flying. A minute later, Bayern Munich launched a quick attack on the left flank through Ribéry. After a one-two with Schweinsteiger, he dribbled into Dortmund's penalty area, but slightly overran the ball during his final breakthrough. Piszczek seized the opportunity to cut in, protected the ball, and let it roll out of bounds.
In the fiftieth minute, Bayern Munich launched a very threatening attack on the flanks again. Alaba sent an over-the-top ball from the left side of the field, passing the ball to the left side of the penalty area.
Gómez was marked closely by Hummels after receiving the ball, while Piszczek came to surround him. Under the pressure of the two Dortmund players, Gómez failed to control the ball well. The ball rolled out, and Weidenfeller quickly came out, kicking the ball away before Thomas Müller could reach it!
The two teams launched fierce flank attacks, with Ribéry, Robben, Lahm, Alaba, Reus, Kuba, Piszczek, Schmelzer, and other flank players performing actively, appearing in close-up shots many times.
In comparison, the players in the center of the field seemed much quieter.
During this time, the most frequent thing Zhou Yi did was to distribute the ball to the flanks, and then to the flanks again.
In fact, his job was still quite important, because choosing the right time to pass often determined the success or failure of the attack. If he passed too early, his teammates wouldn't be able to receive the ball. If he passed too late, it would slow down the attack and give the opponent time to set up their defense.
But although this job was important, it wasn't cool enough, not enough to show off. How could a simple pass compare to the spectacle of dribbling at high speed on the flanks?
Unless every pass Zhou Yi made was a "no_Look_pAss", or a fancy backheel pass.
But that was impossible to do.
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Although Zhou Yi's screen time was not as high as the two teams' flank players during this time, it didn't mean he could be ignored.
In the fifty-eighth minute, Zhou Yi received the ball in front of Bayern Munich's penalty area. He turned to the right flank, seeming to pass the ball to Reus, who was waiting on the flank. Bayern Munich reacted quickly, shifting their overall defensive focus in that direction.
Zhou Yi leaned back, swung his right leg, and looked like he was really going to pass the ball over. Even Gustavo, who was in front of him, stepped forward to try to intercept the pass.
But Zhou Yi's right leg swung past the ball, then quickly swung back, using the inside of his heel to flick the ball from behind him towards the center!
At the same time, he quickly turned and moved towards the center!
Then, without giving anyone time to react, he shot with his foot just one step away from the top of the penalty arc!
This was indeed too unexpected, and the Bayern Munich players didn't react in time.
For example, Boateng, who was right in the path of the shot, didn't even have time to hide his outstretched arm before the ball hit it!
Handball!
Zhou Yi immediately raised his arm, signaling to the referee.
Without making him wait, Gagelmann's whistle sounded almost simultaneously.
"Penalty?! Yes, a penalty!" After seeing Gagelmann's gesture, Marcel Reif said with certainty.
At the same time as Gagelmann blew his whistle, he ran towards the penalty area, and his hand... was also pointing to the penalty spot!
This series of actions proved that it was undoubtedly a penalty!
The commentator from Munich Radio cried out for Boateng: "It was the ball that hit his hand. Boateng was already trying to retract his arm, but he couldn't be faster than the ball! This penalty is really far-fetched!"
What he said sounded reasonable at first, but it didn't make sense at all. Handball doesn't actually depend on whether the hand hits the ball or the ball hits the hand. If Boateng had his hands tightly against his body at the time and was hit by the ball, Gagelmann might have to argue about whether to award a penalty, but when Boateng touched the ball, his arm was outstretched, so it had to be a penalty. It didn't matter if Boateng was about to retract his arm, as long as he hadn't retracted it, then this kind of defense was meaningless.
Back in the 1998 World Cup, in the group stage match between Italy and Chile, Roberto Baggio kicked the ball into the arm of a Chilean player outside the penalty area, and the referee decisively awarded Italy a penalty, which Roberto Baggio himself converted, resolving his penalty nightmare from the United States four years earlier.
So, the referee Gagelmann's penalty decision was perfectly fine.
Boateng and other Bayern Munich players also tried to appeal from this perspective, but Gagelmann remained unmoved, insisting on his decision. He stood on the penalty spot, shaking his head and waving his hand, signaling them to back away.
"Eh? A penalty? It's a penalty! Dortmund has been awarded a penalty!" Duan Xin shouted. "Looking at the slow motion, Boateng did try to dodge when Zhou Yi shot, but his arm didn't dodge... But from a rules perspective, there's no problem with this penalty decision!"
The internet was also hotly debating: "Damn, the ball hit his hand!"
"So what if the ball hit his hand? His arm was so outstretched, even if he was hit by the ball, it's still undoubtedly a penalty!"
"Could Zhou Yi have deliberately aimed for Boateng's hand?"
"Uh, I don't think he has that accurate footwork..."
"You never know..."
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Whether Zhou Yi was really doing it on purpose, no one knew, but after the penalty was awarded, he was immediately hugged by Gündoğan, and Lewandowski and Kuba ran up to high-five Zhou Yi to celebrate.
In any case, this penalty was created by Zhou Yi.
Lewandowski would take the penalty. He had already scored a goal in this match, and facing this golden opportunity, he would score twice.
Lewandowski placed the ball on the penalty spot, then stepped back, preparing to run up and take the penalty.
The previously noisy Westfalenstadion fell silent.
Everyone was watching Bayern Munich's goal with bated breath.
Especially in the south stands of Westfalenstadion behind the goal, those Dortmund fans didn't even move, for fear of disturbing Lewandowski.
"Dortmund has been awarded a penalty, this is a great opportunity to break the deadlock... As long as Dortmund can hold on to the lead, they can win this crucial match!"
"So far this season, Lewandowski has scored twenty-four goals, currently ranking first in the league's top scorer list, two goals ahead of Leverkusen's Kießling. If he scores this goal, he can extend his advantage over Kießling... which will help him win the Golden Boot this season!"
The commentators' incessant chatter stopped after Lewandowski stood still.
For a moment, everything inside and outside the TV was quiet.
In this silence, the referee Gagelmann's whistle was particularly clear.
Lewandowski in the camera took a deep breath, then ran up, kicking the ball with the instep of his straightened right foot!
With a bang, Lewandowski forcefully kicked the ball towards the lower right corner of the goal, a very difficult spot, but a spot with a very high scoring rate as long as it hit within the frame.
The penalty that goalkeepers like to save the most is a mid-height ball kicked to either side of their body, while they least like to face low shots along the ground.
Lewandowski certainly knew this, so for safety's sake, he kicked the ball towards the lower right corner of the goal!
After the ball left his foot, Lewandowski felt a sense of "this goal is in the bag."
But then, he saw Bayern Munich goalkeeper Neuer pounce towards the lower right corner of the goal in one stride!
It was as if he had known Lewandowski was going to kick it there all along, even earlier than Lewandowski kicking the ball!
He was like a sea-skimming torpedo, accurately hitting the target ship, and pushing the ball out in front of the goal line!