"OleOle!"
After the start of the second half, Dortmund did not rush to equalize the score. They still used the counter-attacking tactics from the beginning, retreating deeply to wait for opportunities.
It seemed they wanted to drag Arsenal into the quagmire of positional warfare, and then suddenly change the rhythm to create threatening attacks.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Fortunately, Arsenal was prepared and did not attack too fiercely, but patiently passed the ball back and forth in the midfield and backfield, wasting time.
"Kagawa Shinji's sudden press! He failed to steal the ball from Arteta's feet, this is not his strength.
"The pace of the game has been a bit slow recently, with only a few players suddenly initiating confrontations in local areas. Both coaches have chosen a more stable approach.
"Let's take a look at this attempt! Alexandre Song's long pass looking for Maël. Piszczek has held his position this time and cleared the ball out of bounds!"
"The game has gradually passed the 60-minute mark, is Dortmund still not attacking?" Ah, we see that the Polish attacker Kuba is already warming up, and the young players Perišić and Zidane are also warming up.
"This is a signal to strengthen the attack. Klopp is preparing to make substitutions. Like in the first half, they want to stabilize the situation first, and then pursue a counterattack."
On the field, Wenger saw several of Dortmund's attackers starting to warm up, and also sent André Santos and Frimpong to prepare.
His face was serious, with hesitation in his expression. A one-goal lead is a very dangerous score. At this time, substituting players to strengthen the defense is equivalent to giving up part of the attack in the frontcourt.
If they can defend it, that's fine, but if they can't, it's equivalent to directly handing over the victory, with no chance to save it.
"Let's substitute."
In the 65th minute of the game, after a period of entanglement, Wenger still chose to make substitutions, submitting an application to the fourth official.
He replaced Walcott and Gervinho, who were in poor form today, with Frimpong and André Santos, changing to a 5-3-2 formation.
"Champions League matches require stability."
He explained to assistant coach Philip, watching the field, "Dortmund's attack is very fierce. After the substitution, they will have a stronger threat.
"Going for a head-on attack at this time is a more unstable choice. The opponent will most likely score a goal.
"If they launch a continuous offensive, we can only hope for the performance of our forwards, which is too much of a gamble."
"I also think we should substitute." Philip nodded in agreement, "And even with the substitutions, we still have a threat in counterattacks.
"The combination of Maël and Van Persie is trustworthy, one has technique and experience, and the other has physique and Speed."
Wenger smiled and nodded, looking at Maël's back, "Haha... I didn't expect that at this age, he has become a player that people can trust."
"That's how geniuses are." Philip shrugged and sighed with a smile.
Three minutes later, Klopp successively replaced center-back Gross, midfielder Kehl, and Kagawa Shinji.
Perišić, Kuba, and Zidane came on the field. These are the team's proud three attacking surprise soldiers! The counterattack battle has begun, and this Champions League opener between the two teams has ushered in the final showdown.
"Dortmund's attack, their formation has changed to 4-3-3, and even 3-4-3 when attacking, this is their last stand!
"Seven attacking players have crossed the halfway line. Facing Arsenal's dense defense of eight players, this is a time for creativity! Götze's breakthrough Cross! Szczęsny cleared the ball, very dangerous! Perišić is waiting behind him!"
"..."
"Dortmund is on the rise! I can hear the cheers from the Westfalen Stadium wave after wave. The North Stand has started doing the wave! They are using this method to tell the team's players that they are always standing behind them, so please feel free to pursue victory!
"Kuba's low Long Shot! The football was confiscated by Szczęsny! Arsenal's goal has been in a state of panic during this period. Frimpong cannot withstand the opponent's attack in the midfield!"
"This is a quick release! From Szczęsny, he is still looking for Maël! They had such a connection in the first half!"
On the field, the football crossed the sky and fell on the sideline of Dortmund's backcourt.
Having learned their lesson in the first half, the Dortmund players obediently stood behind Maël to interfere, buying time for their teammates to chase back.
Without being able to secure a favorable position in advance, they will no longer fully pounce on Maël, to avoid giving him another chance to dribble past them.
"Pa!"
Maël stopped the ball relatively easily, observing Van Persie's position, and found that he had taken away two of Dortmund's defenders.
As long as he can break through Piszczek, he might be able to create a very good opportunity!
"Protect! Protect!"
Piszczek also noticed this and waved his hands nervously to signal his teammates behind him. He had realized that Maël might want to use a simple burst of speed to get past him.
There was a considerable amount of space behind him, enough for the opponent to exploit his Speed advantage.
"Bang, bang... bang...!"
Maël dribbled towards Piszczek, taking the ball two steps towards the center, and then suddenly kicked the ball out to the right side of Piszczek's body, while he cut to the left.
Passing the ball past the man!
He wanted to use the simplest method to make the best Bundesliga full-back lose his defensive position! Piszczek had anticipated this intention, but when Maël dribbled the ball towards the center, his body still fell for it, a subconscious reaction.
No way... The pressure Maël brought to him in this game was too great. Even the best players make mistakes under high pressure.
When Piszczek turned around and started chasing back, Maël had already overtaken him, controlling the kicked ball.
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Maël sprinted quickly, pushing the ball ahead of Piszczek's line of pursuit, using his body to block Piszczek's space to continue accelerating.
Piszczek looked bitter, wanting to go around the outside to catch up with Maël, but his body was already somewhat out of control.
He crashed straight into him, and subconsciously put his hand out to block, pushing Maël to the side.
"Beep!" The referee's whistle sounded, and the Spanish referee on duty ran over quickly, pulling out a yellow card.
"I couldn't stop." Piszczek looked helpless, put his hands together near his mouth, and then spread his hands out, saying, "Do you have to give a card for this?"
"Spoiling a golden scoring opportunity."
The referee's explanation was simple. He put the yellow card away and ran elsewhere.
Maël got up from the ground. There was a lot of physical contact like this on the field, and he was gradually getting used to it.
"Good ball!"
"Well done!"
The Arsenal players clapped their hands and rushed towards Maël, giving him high-fives or bumping fists, encouraging him while also breathing a sigh of relief.
Dortmund's offensive had been too fierce just now. Now that Maël was leading the attack, they could finally catch their breath.
"Phew." Wenger on the sidelines also breathed a sigh of relief, looked down at his watch, and found that there were still more than ten minutes left in the game.
He glanced at the bench, wanting to strengthen the defense further, but didn't see any good options.
Turning back to the sidelines, he noticed Klopp on the other side looking at him with a smile. The young German coach's eyes were playful and confident.
The opponent seemed to have seen Arsenal's predicament just now and was very sure that if Arsenal didn't make any changes, they would likely be bombarded by Dortmund and have their goal breached.
On the field, Arteta stood in front of the free kick, extending his right hand towards the center.
He didn't rush to take the kick. After putting down his right hand, he pretended that his shoelace was untied and squatted down to tie it.
When he realized that the referee's patience was about to run out, he carefully observed the situation in the center, mentally estimating the approximate positions of Mertesacker and others after they rushed out later.
"Beep!" The referee blew the whistle again to urge him, the whistle carrying impatience.
Maël stood in the center, facing the opponent's midfielder Perišić, pretending to rush into the center of the penalty area.
His threat in set pieces was not great, which was generally acknowledged... Dortmund didn't pay attention to him at all, sending a forward to defend him.
But his threat in the second ball was extremely high.
He still didn't plan to rush in for this ball, pretending to rush to lure Perišić to rush forward, and then immediately retreated to stand outside the penalty area.
"Boo, boo, boo!" More than 70,000 Dortmund fans burst into boos together, the entire stadium shrouded in a depressing atmosphere, the sky seeming to darken.
"Dortmund! Dortmund!"
"Arteta slip! Arteta slip!"
"Shush~!"
"Be careful, if this ball is countered, God himself cannot save Arsenal!"
They tried everything to interfere with the Arsenal players. On the one hand, they had indeed gained momentum during this period and eagerly hoped that the opponent's attack would end quickly, allowing the Dortmund lads to charge forward.
On the other hand, in their hearts, they were actually very afraid of being caught by Arsenal again and conceding another goal.
That would instantly shatter the momentum the team had built up recently.
"Bang!!"
Arteta kicked the football, carrying the hopes of countless people. The ball drew an arc in the air, heading towards Mertesacker's head.
Perfect landing point!
Mertesacker jumped quickly, battling with Hummels. He ultimately overpowered Hummels, smashing out a powerful header.
"Thwack!"
Weidenfeller made another crucial save, reacting swiftly to extend his right hand and block the football that was about to go over his head. The football fell back to the edge of the penalty area.
Maël also arrived outside the penalty area at this time. He saw Perišić rushing towards the second ball position, wanting to remove the threat for the team.
Forwards are like this, their defensive discipline isn't too good, plus 'grabbing the second ball' is a Muscle Memory engraved in their DNA.
"Van Persie!"
His eyes then lit up, because he saw Van Persie appear in front of the football, sliding in to poke the ball towards the goal.
"Thwack!" Weidenfeller quickly got up and sprang out, making a wonderful second save, once again blocking the ball from the goal.
"Oh!" A burst of excited cheers quickly erupted in Dortmund's penalty area, everyone seemed to have been injected with chicken blood, becoming even more invigorated.
A wonderful double or triple save is no less than directly creating a goal, it easily lifts the players' morale.
"Yeah!" Their fans were even more excited, sending out a passionate shout comparable to a goal celebration, praising Weidenfeller's performance.
"Oh." Maël, outside the penalty area, saw the team miss a great opportunity and hugged his head in regret. This seemed to be everyone's subconscious reaction.
"Bang!"
The football was eventually cleared out of the penalty area by the rushing Perišić with a bicycle kick, flying towards the outer right side of the penalty area.
"Vamos!" Perišić slapped his chest angrily after getting up, continuing to raise the team's overall fighting spirit. Their desire for Arsenal's goal had reached its peak at this moment.
They want a goal! They want victory! Continue to charge! "Bang!"
At the second ball position, Sagna rushed up and headed the ball back towards Dortmund's penalty area.
On the right side of the penalty area, Maël saw the football flying towards him, quickly turned around to secure his position, steadily unloaded the ball onto his right foot, and turned around with a dribble.
"I'll take it!" A roar rang out, Götze rushed out from the side with red eyes, lunging towards him.
Maël flicked the ball with his right foot with a 'thwack', cleverly getting past the pressing Götze. This kind of press is the easiest to get rid of, as long as you stay calm.
"Press! Press! Press!"
Dortmund's center-back Hummels shouted, signaling the midfielders to press up, sealing off Maël's shooting and passing lanes. He himself was also staring intently at Van Persie, paying attention to the Dutch striker's movements.
After Maël looked up, he saw that the penalty area was densely packed with Dortmund players. Perišić had already rushed over, roaring.
He did take a glance at the position of goalkeeper Weidenfeller, dribbled the ball towards the left, and swung his left leg, aiming for the far corner of the goal.
After completing the upgrade to Weak Foot lv4, and after having a World Wave shot with his left foot, he had extreme confidence in his left foot.
He was extremely clear that his left foot had the opportunity to produce a shot of excellent quality!
Weidenfeller?
Double save? Momentum?
As long as he unleashes a shot in his best condition, everything will turn into bubbles and disappear! "Bang!!!"
Maël's left foot exerted force to curve a Curved Shot with an inner arc. When shooting, his body shook violently, that was to generate better force.
As a patch of grass and dirt flew in all directions, the football rotated out from under his feet, heading towards the far corner on the left side of the goal.
"Agh!"
Perišić, who was closest to the ball, turned his back and jumped up, wanting to block the shot, but failed.
The football brushed past the back of his head and curled towards the goal, all the way over the heads of Hummels and Subotić, smashing into the goal from the outside in.
Weidenfeller, wearing black, instantly spread his body and pounced towards the football. At this crucial moment, he didn't have time to think about anything else, only hoping that he could block the shot again.
But his expression quickly turned to panic, because he missed.
"Swish!"
Before his feet touched the ground, he heard the crisp sound of the football hitting the back of the net. The net stretched taut at that moment from the powerful impact, producing a delightful sound.
Weidenfeller had heard this sound countless times since he was a child.
To him, this sound wasn't delightful; instead, it was like a bell tolling from hell.
After joining the senior team, this hellish bell was often accompanied by a chorus of shouts, as if demons were dancing wildly.
"Yeah!!" Arsenal's away fans erupted in a frenzy of excitement, everyone standing up from their seats, faces flushed, waving their right hands madly.
The entire stadium was instantly ignited, all Arsenal fans lost in ecstasy.
Weidenfeller remained on the ground for a long time after falling, covering his face and closing his eyes to cushion the pain rising within him.
He had succeeded once, twice, but fell at the last moment.
It would be difficult for Dortmund to win now; few could score three consecutive goals in the final moments! "Oh! That's a World Wave!! Maël!!"
In the live broadcast booth, He Wei's steady, excited voice resonated, drawing the audience into the scene, "A genius teenager, scoring with a Curved Shot from his Weak Foot!!
"73 minutes in, just as Dortmund sounded the horn for a counterattack, Maël used an astonishing Curved Shot World Wave to bring them back to reality!
"An unbelievable goal! In his own Champions League debut, he has achieved a Brace! This is very likely to lead Arsenal to victory!
"Revival! After Fabregas left, Arsenal has finally seen the hope of revival again! "This time, perhaps it will be more intense, more magnificent, and more imaginative!"
On the football field, Wenger raised his hands high, constantly shouting 'wonderful'. His expression was one of extreme surprise, as if he hadn't expected this goal either.
If the goal in the first half was a classic counterattack between the goalkeeper and the forward,
then this goal was a stunning strike of pure individual ability! It will shatter Dortmund's momentum, puncture their newly inflated confidence, and silence the entire Westfalen Stadium!
"Haha...!"
Philip came up and put his arm around his shoulder, laughing wildly, "He is indeed trustworthy! Look! Such an easy two-nil lead!"
"More than trustworthy."
Wenger turned and hugged him, shaking his head and sighing, "He's a player who can give surprises, often scoring goals beyond people's expectations."
"That's what geniuses are like!" Philip repeated what he had said not long ago, this time shouting with particular exuberance, even a bit unrestrained: "Ooh!"
On the field, all of Dortmund's players seemed to press the pause button simultaneously, abruptly stopping near the penalty area.
Lewandowski spat out a mouthful of saliva, hands on his hips, pursing his lips, fatigue and disappointment constantly washing over his body, making him feel instantly exhausted.
Perišić stared blankly at the football in the net, unable to imagine that the football he had just cleared with a bicycle kick would end up crashing into the net like this.
Götze, on the other hand, watched Maël's back as he ran towards the sidelines, his eyes filled with horror. He seemed to understand that someone more qualified to win the Golden Boy Award had appeared.
Even their coach, Klopp, was now grinning and stunned on the sidelines, revealing his signature rows of white teeth.
They were completely convinced.
Maël, today, has become the protagonist of the Westfalen Stadium, delivering an incredible and astonishing performance.
"Wow!"
In stark contrast to them were the Arsenal players, who were running towards the same direction with their hands raised and laughing loudly – the location of Maël!
"Boom!"
At the center of everyone's attention, Maël excitedly slid out on his knees, thoroughly enjoying the softness of the Westfalen Stadium's turf.
He conquered this stadium, conquered the Bundesliga powerhouse Dortmund, and was about to secure his first Champions League victory! A Brace!
He officially sounded the horn to chase after the Champions League's top scorer's goal record, he will step by step move towards the center of the football world on this field, becoming the world's top star! "Fuck!"
"#%&&#!"
"Get out!"
Some Dortmund fans closer to him couldn't stand it and stood up to give him the middle finger.
Many people raised one on each hand, waving them wildly, as if to shoot Maël to death with their 'finger bullets'.
Maël looked at their appearance, noticing the magnificent stadium in his peripheral vision, kneeling on one knee, raising his thumbs and index fingers on both hands to form a double gun, reversing and standing upright, making a photo-taking pose.
"Click!"
He closed one eye, pretending to press the shutter, recording another stadium conquered by him.
Even if a thousand people pointed fingers at him, he still felt it was a wonderful moment.
His Champions League debut could be described as perfect! He was always good at seizing every first time, leaving behind precious and beautiful memories. Because he knew very well what height he wanted to reach.
Without a good start, how could he persevere when encountering difficulties and wait for even better moments? "Haha!"
He then laughed and high-fived and hugged his teammates who followed, the bright lights shining on his head, as if he was the only one left in the stadium.
ps: Everyone should believe that Mu Yao Tinghai will gradually stabilize. Today is the day before the funeral, too busy, and there will be a chapter later.
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