Chapter 191 Teammates' Assistance

After a very brief rest, the coaches gave their respective instructions, and the referee urged the players to return to the field as soon as possible.

Zhou Yi threw down his water bottle and slowly walked back.

All his movements were slow.

This was completely different from his usual self.

Mark approached him with concern, patting him on the shoulder. "Are you alright, Zhou Yi?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking, Mark. Oh, Mark, when the time comes, make your runs a bit more cunning," Zhou Yi said, taking the opportunity to chat with Mark.

"Okay, I understand," Mark nodded.

※※※

As the second half of extra time began, Klopp did not substitute Zhou Yi, and he remained on the field.

This brought temporary relief to the Chinese fans watching on television.

And it reassured the Dortmund players.

Although Zhou Yi looked like he was about to collapse, the Dortmund players still wanted him to stay on the field. It didn't matter if he couldn't run; others would run for him, compensating for Zhou Yi's lack of mobility with even more running.

Zhou Yi had helped them so much before; now it was their turn to help Zhou Yi.

"With the referee Rizzoli's whistle, the second half of extra time begins!"

※※※

As general experience showed, Dortmund was noticeably more active in the second half of extra time than in the first.

This was related to the rest they had gained in the first half of extra time.

Bayern Munich was also experiencing physical problems and had to slow down.

Of course, the more important reason was that Bayern Munich was already in the lead, so they naturally didn't need to continue attacking. What if they were hit on the counter-attack after pressing forward?

Now that Bayern Munich was leading, they had every reason to choose a conservative approach. As long as they could hold onto the score, they would win the Champions League.

In Dortmund's attacks, Zhou Yi found that he didn't have to receive the ball so frequently. His teammates wouldn't always pass the ball to him, asking him to orchestrate the attack.

Zhou Yi didn't think it was because his teammates didn't trust him; he could see that it was their concern and help for him.

They wanted him to get more rest and conserve his energy for the crucial moments.

Zhou Yi was grateful for his teammates' kindness and had no intention of changing their approach.

Since his teammates had liberated him to some extent, he wouldn't be pretentious and would just do what he was supposed to do.

Because he didn't have to be the "distribution center," Zhou Yi could run more freely and flexibly. He didn't have to be near the ball at all times; he could move away from the ball-carrier and appear where he thought he should be.

With such flexible movement, he could even run into the penalty area to poach for goals—something he rarely did before, but it didn't mean he couldn't do it. After all, in that virtual world, Zhou Yi could see his stats, and his off-ball movement data was very high.

Without good off-ball movement, it wouldn't be possible to always find space. The ability to find space was not only reflected in his ability to receive passes from teammates in midfield but could also be used for poaching in front of the goal.

An excellent striker must have excellent off-ball movement.

※※※

In fact, Dortmund's attack in the second half of extra time couldn't be like before, with a series of passes to find a breakthrough.

Dortmund didn't have that much time.

Fifteen minutes didn't seem short, but it wasn't long either.

When needing to make a final stand, people often adopted a simpler and more direct approach. This approach might not be very efficient, but it had enough repetitions, and a large number of repetitions might lead to a qualitative change.

Dortmund's simpler and more direct approach was crossing from the wings.

Under Klopp's command, Hummels had already rushed to the front, acting as a center forward, using his height and heading advantage to threaten Bayern Munich's goal.

The two full-backs rushed up to act as wingers, constantly crossing the ball into the box.

Although it looked simple and crude, with no technical content, it still made Bayern Munich fans' hearts beat faster with fear.

Crossing from the wings was a last resort, a kick that gave both the defending and attacking sides a sense of "leaving it to fate." Many people disdained the tactic of crossing from the wings at the last moment, thinking it was a waste of opportunity.

But think about it carefully, why do teams all over the world unanimously choose to cross from the wings when they need to make a desperate effort? Is it because the coaches of teams all over the world have problems with their brains and don't know that it's a waste of opportunity?

Since everyone uses it like this, there must be a reason for it.

Although crossing from the wings would waste many opportunities, it would also create just as many opportunities. Even if the attacking side seized one of these opportunities, it could be fatal…

This was exactly the effect Dortmund wanted to achieve now.

Because Hummels moved forward, Bayern Munich's defensive focus was basically on Hummels and Lewandowski, the two tall players.

Hummels, as a player cultivated by Bayern Munich's youth training system, had become Dortmund's main player and had made very famous unfriendly remarks about Bayern Munich. In the minds of many Bayern Munich fans, he was no different from the traitor Judas.

Now he was acting as the vanguard who wanted to defeat Bayern Munich, and he might have long forgotten the affection Bayern Munich had shown him by nurturing him. Bayern Munich fans couldn't stand him, and as long as he had a chance to get the ball, the stands where Bayern Munich fans gathered would emit a piercing boo.

Dortmund's players didn't care about these boos. When crossing, they would indeed aim for Hummels or Lewandowski.

However, Hummels and Lewandowski's effectiveness in jumping up to head the ball under the close marking of their opponents was not very good.

Zhou Yi discovered this through his observation. He tried running into the penalty area to poach for goals and found that the marking on him was not very tight.

He was not surprised by this.

In German football, and even in European football, there was a widely circulated view about him, Zhou Yi, that he was not the kind of player whose threat increased the closer he got to the goal.

Outside the penalty area, his threat to the goal had nothing to do with his distance from the goal.

But once he entered the penalty area, the closer he was to the goal, the smaller his threat.

This view was based on Zhou Yi's weak physical confrontation ability.

Zhou Yi had never been a very strong player. He looked thin and small in the Dortmund lineup and couldn't withstand any bumps at all. He didn't win many physical confrontations in the game either.

From his small build, it was natural to conclude that he was not suitable for finding opportunities in the penalty area, where space was narrow and physical confrontation was frequent. Not to mention fouls, Zhou Yi might not even be able to withstand normal physical contact, so how could he grab a position? He would be dug to the side by someone's butt.

Zhou Yi was not surprised by this view, but he thought it was incorrect.

Some people said that physical confrontation in the penalty area was very fierce and frequent, but it depended on the situation. It was indeed like this during set pieces, where almost everyone had physical contact. But in open play, it was not necessarily the case…

Besides, who said that you had to have physical contact to grab a point in the penalty area?

However, Zhou Yi never defended himself. If people wanted to misunderstand, then let them misunderstand. Zhou Yi didn't think there was anything bad about being regarded as "weak" by others.

Because sometimes, he could benefit from this inherent view…

Just like now.

※※※

When Reus pulled to the right wing to cross, Zhou Yi ran from outside the penalty area into the penalty area, but he didn't run directly to the front of the goal to poach—that was not his place at all. He ran straight to the far post.

After Reus used his technique to create an angle, he directly crossed the ball. Before crossing, he didn't even look at the situation in the penalty area—he didn't have that time. He could only pass the ball out based on his feeling and experience.

As for who could head it in the end, that was beyond his control.

After passing the ball, he looked up at the penalty area.

Hummels and Lewandowski jumped up one after the other, wanting to head the ball.

Bayern Munich's defenders also jumped up with them.

But none of them headed the ball.

The ball passed by Reus drew a clear outer arc, bypassed their heads, and then went straight to the far post of the penalty area.

Everyone's eyes and attention turned with the ball, and then they saw Zhou Yi appearing at the far post!

He adjusted his posture to the side, then supported his body with his left foot and swung his right foot!

He was about to volley!

At this time, no one dared to ignore Zhou Yi's shot, because it was Zhou Yi's shot that equalized the score for Dortmund in regular time.

Just because he didn't have physical confrontation ability in the penalty area didn't mean he didn't have accuracy in his shots…

So two Bayern Munich players immediately pounced on Zhou Yi in the penalty area. In addition, Neuer also turned back to pounce, planning to block Zhou Yi's shot.

Zhou Yi saw all this clearly, not only the situation in front of him, but also the situation around him was basically in his mind.

He knew exactly where both sides' players were.

So he knew what he should do next.

When the ball flew to his feet, Zhou Yi's right foot, which he had swung up, did not shoot the ball towards the goal. The wonderful volley that everyone had expected did not happen.

Zhou Yi just flicked his wrist, and his right foot flicked the ball in the air towards the center of the penalty area!

This was not a shot, but… a pass!

"Eh?!" He Ping was surprised to see that it was not a shot.

Then an idea popped into his head—was this a miskick?!

No! Wrong!

Immediately after He Ping's thinking ability recovered, he felt that this kick could not be a miskick by Zhou Yi, but a premeditated pass!

※※※

"Mark——!!" Marcel Reif shouted loudly, almost standing up from his seat.

In his roar, everyone realized that near the penalty spot in the center of the penalty area, Mark Wagner strode forward, then supported his body with his right foot and swung his left foot!

His movements were similar to Zhou Yi's just now, but in the opposite direction. The two seemed to be mirroring each other.

Because Bayern Munich's defensive force had first been taken away by Lewandowski and Hummels, and the remaining part had been attracted by Zhou Yi, Mark was now in a situation where no one was marking him. He could calmly bend his bow and set up his strength, then twist his body, the waist and hips driving his left leg, and the left leg driving his left foot, like a whip, all the strength was finally transmitted to the instep of his left foot through various parts, which was the end of the whip.

This whip hit the ball flying in the air solidly!

With a bang, grass clippings splashed everywhere, and the ball rushed towards the goal like a shooting star, rubbing against the surrounding air, and penetrated the wall in front of the penalty area with lightning speed, flying past Neuer and into the goal!

And Neuer, having been tricked by Zhou Yi, had no way to turn around and save it. His body was still moving backwards due to inertia, waving his arms backwards in vain, not touching the ball at all…