Heynckes might have been suffering from a headache, but it wasn't as if he was completely helpless against Zhou Yi.

Since Heynckes was determined to help Bayern Munich reclaim the league title they had lost for two seasons, he couldn't avoid Borussia Dortmund, their rival. And if they were to fight Dortmund for supremacy, then Zhou Yi was a key figure that couldn't be ignored.

So he had definitely done a lot of research on Zhou Yi.

In Heynckes's view, Zhou Yi wasn't without his weaknesses. Although his stamina had improved considerably, his strength had increased very slowly. He had been playing professionally for several years, and while his stamina could now sustain him for entire matches, his physique hadn't changed much. This indicated that he still wasn't the kind of player who excelled at physical contests and had plenty of strength.

Why was this the case? There could be many reasons. Perhaps Zhou Yi didn't want to become a muscle-bound freak, or perhaps his strength increased too slowly, or maybe he was unwilling to put in as much effort in strength training as he did in stamina training.

In any case, Zhou Yi was still not a player who could come out on top in a close-quarters physical battle.

Therefore, using the advantage of physical strength to compress his space on the field during defense was one solution.

In this match, Heynckes had also instructed Javi Martínez to use physical contact generously whenever he engaged with Zhou Yi. Of course, this physical contact had to be carefully measured so as to cause trouble for Zhou Yi without easily committing fouls. Frequent fouls would easily draw the referee's attention, leading to a yellow card. Once booked, he would have to be more careful in his defensive actions, greatly reducing the effectiveness of his defense.

Heynckes couldn't teach Javi Martínez about this balance; the Spanish defensive midfielder would have to grasp it himself.

Another approach was a different line of thinking—since Zhou Yi was as slippery as an eel and difficult to trap, why insist on defending Zhou Yi himself? Why not start with Zhou Yi's passing targets? Zhou Yi was an attacking organizer; no matter what, he would eventually pass the ball to other teammates. If they defended his passing targets, wouldn't it be easier to defend Zhou Yi himself?

Heynckes had also adopted this strategy for the match.

He employed a two-pronged approach, determined to defeat Borussia Dortmund at home and achieve a symbolic victory—in the past two seasons, Bayern Munich had faced Borussia Dortmund in the league four times and lost every time. For Bayern Munich, which had always been the dominant force in the Bundesliga, this record was nothing short of a disgrace.

Although the margins were small, with a maximum difference of two goals, the fact that they hadn't won against this opponent in two years had filled Bayern Munich with suppressed anger.

In last season's German Cup final, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich met, and Borussia Dortmund shockingly defeated Bayern Munich with a score of 5-2. The excuse that "Bayern Munich was conserving strength to prepare for the Champions League final" couldn't explain away this defeat.

It wasn't until the Super Cup before this season's league that Bayern Munich finally defeated Borussia Dortmund.

This victory was seen as a turning point. Defeating Borussia Dortmund was crucial for restoring Bayern Munich's morale and boosting their confidence.

Now, in the league, Bayern Munich naturally hoped to continue their momentum from the Super Cup and defeat Borussia Dortmund once more in the more significant league competition, completely ending their previous embarrassing streak of failing to win against Dortmund.

Because they were well-prepared, Bayern Munich held the advantage on the field at the beginning of the match, with more threatening attacks and a restriction on Borussia Dortmund's offense.

Although Zhou Yi could avoid Javi Martínez's close marking by relying on his running, the other players in Borussia Dortmund couldn't run around the field as much as he did, disregarding their formation. They had to stay in their positions and cooperate with others through passing and running. Once Bayern Munich targeted them, Zhou Yi's passes would be of little use.

Formation is the foundation of modern football. All tactics are built on formation. Without formation, there would be no diverse and ever-changing tactics, and no appealing football to watch. Imagine someone dribbling the ball forward, refusing to pass no matter what, with all his teammates running alongside him. The nine players would just charge toward the opponent's goal, either finishing the attack with a shot or getting the ball intercepted... What would be interesting about such a football match?

But at the very beginning of modern football, football matches were indeed played like this...

At that time, passing was considered a cowardly act of evading responsibility. Passing was discouraged and meaningless. Football matches were about charging with the ball and shooting it into the opponent's goal. If a player let the ball leave his feet, he had failed. Even when facing the tightest defense, he had to charge forward without hesitation to show his masculinity. If he passed the ball, oh my god, he must be afraid of confrontation, a coward without courage!

Later, the Scots took the lead in this regard. Compared to the English, who liked to charge with the ball, they preferred to pass the ball around. And they relied on this football, which the English media considered as laughable as juggling, to defeat the invincible English teams, gradually changing everyone's attitude towards passing.

As passing gradually became an important means in football matches, the concept of formation also emerged. Football was no longer about ten people lined up in a row charging together, but some people stayed behind to defend, and some were in front to attack. The existence of formation gave meaning to passing, and passing allowed formation to develop and change.

Through step-by-step evolution, the football we see now was finally formed.

It may be hard for people today to imagine that passing, the most important technical and tactical means in football, was not used by anyone more than a hundred years ago...

Today's football is based on formation and passing.

Formation ensures that tactical concepts can be executed by players on the field through passing and running. Without formation, it would be a mess, and no one would know how to play.

Bayern Munich, targeting Borussia Dortmund's reliance on Zhou Yi's passing organization, strengthened their defense against other players, making it difficult for Zhou Yi to find suitable passing targets, which had the effect of stopping Borussia Dortmund's attack.

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Of course, it wasn't as if Borussia Dortmund could only raise their hands in surrender.

After gradually adapting to Bayern Munich's tactics, they also made adjustments.

Their adjustment was to strengthen the running of all players involved in the attack, so that they were no longer confined to their current positions and prescribed positions during the attack, encouraging players to switch positions. Standing and playing football is the most basic way to play, the easiest to be defended by the opponent. Playing according to a fixed routine is more advanced than standing and playing, but it can still be figured out by the opponent.

But if they switch positions in the attack, playing Qiankun Da Nuoyi, the difficulty for the opponent to limit the attack will increase exponentially. Although it can't be said that it will completely invalidate the opponent's defense, it can increase the chances of success on their side. (Qiankun Da Nuoyi: a martial arts technique that allows the user to redirect force)

The biggest disadvantage of this approach is that it requires a high level of physical fitness. If the team's physical fitness is not up to standard, and someone can't run, then this tactic will have problems, eventually leading to a collapse.

However, this is not a problem that Borussia Dortmund will worry about, because the physical fitness of the entire Borussia Dortmund team is known to be excellent. Even Zhou Yi, who couldn't even finish a game at the beginning, has now become a "run-forever" who runs all over the field.

Another problem is that this frequent switching of positions requires players to have a deep understanding of tactics and a high degree of understanding. This is not just running blindly. Running blindly in order to prevent the opponent from grasping the pattern will not have any good effect.

But Borussia Dortmund doesn't have to worry about this either, because three players in Borussia Dortmund's starting lineup are particularly good at playing Qiankun Da Nuoyi.

They are Zhou Yi, Mark, and Götze.

In this game, Klopp did not let Reus start, but let him be a substitute, the purpose is to let Mark have the opportunity to play. Klopp also expected how Bayern Munich would deal with him in the game, so he was prepared.

In this match, the three of them lined up behind Lewandowski, with Zhou Yi in the center, Mark on the right, and Götze on the left.

But the three people actually don't have fixed positions. Once the attack starts, the three of them will constantly change positions, running so dazzlingly. When the last pass was made, Götze was still on the left, but when he catches the ball next time, he may have already reached the middle, while Zhou Yi has gone to the left.

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The two evenly matched teams played a difficult game, and both had times when they could threaten the opponent's goal, but they also had times when they were threatened. Just looking at the scene, it is difficult to say which side is sure to win the game.

Commentator Marcel Reif was satisfied with this situation: "This is the highest level of German football! Whether it is the technical content reflected by the players, or the tactics carefully prepared by the two coaches for this game, they all reflect the highest level of German football! The scene is deadlocked, and suspense is everywhere. Whether it is a layman or an expert, they can see what they want to see in this game, it's just perfect!"

Chinese TV commentator Duan Xin also praised the performance of both sides: "...Although the score has not been changed, but such a game, even if it is a 0:0 draw, there is no lack of exciting scenes. During the process of Borussia Dortmund dominating the Bundesliga in the past two seasons, as their opponent, Bayern Munich was not in the best condition. But this season, Bayern Munich's outstanding performance has given Borussia Dortmund the best opponent. Being able to see the competition between these two strong teams, I think it is also a blessing for all Bundesliga fans!"

In the praise of the commentators, the first half of this strong dialogue came to an end.

Although everyone had some chances in these forty-five minutes, no one seized them, or rather, they all did a good job in defense.

In short, there were no goals, and the two teams entered the halftime break with a score of 0:0.