Champion’s Heart

Not long after the game between Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen ended, the game between Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen began.

This game is obviously more worthy of everyone's attention than the game between Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen.

Bayern Munich has won, and now it's Dortmund's turn to face the pressure.

Zhou Yi's absence in the starting lineup made everyone very unfavorable about Dortmund's prospects, and they couldn't understand why Klopp had to rotate Zhou Yi in such an important game this time when he never rotated Zhou Yi in the past.

After the game started, the TV camera quickly cut to Dortmund's bench.

Zhou Yi was wearing a coat and sitting on the bench.

This scene is really rare... Marcel Leif didn't know whether he was sighing or complaining. But Klopp was indeed bold enough to let Zhou Yi sit on the bench in this game. I don't know if it was because of physical reasons as the media speculated. But physical reasons are better than injuries, right? ?”

Zhou Yi sat on the bench and watched his teammates compete on the court.

Regarding the question of why he was sitting on the bench, in fact, the media guessed it right this time, and there was no conspiracy. The reason was just one - physical fitness.

After playing many consecutive high-intensity games as a starter, Zhou Yi's physical energy was nearly exhausted. Especially the Champions League game against Atletico Madrid placed very high physical demands on Zhou Yi. In order to help the team win, he also tried his best.

Under such circumstances, catching up with a double match a week, if the game is kept at this pace, it will be difficult for Zhou Yi's physical fitness to recover, and problems may occur at the most critical time.

After a full discussion with the team's medical staff and physical coach, Klopp believed that Zhou Yi should be given a proper rest.

So he communicated with Zhou Yi and said that he would put Zhou Yi on the bench during Dortmund's game against Leverkusen so that he could rest.

At the same time, we will decide whether to let him play against Leverkusen based on the specific situation.

If the Dortmund team performs well, firmly suppresses Leverkusen and takes the lead, then Zhou Yi can rest peacefully on the bench for the entire game.

But if the situation is not good and Dortmund and Leverkusen are inseparable, or even at a disadvantage, then Klopp will have to consider using Zhou Yi.

Regarding this, he had already agreed with Zhou Yi in advance.

Zhou Yi had no objection to this.

Although he also hopes that he can play the full 90 minutes of the game, so that the team has a greater certainty of winning. But he also knows that the upcoming schedule is still very difficult. If he does not rest at this time, the subsequent games will be unsustainable.

Cortana also warned him that it was best to take a proper rest to avoid increasing the chance of injury.

The World Cup is coming soon, and Zhou Yi doesn't want to get injured before the World Cup and miss the World Cup.

This is his big dream in life.

Champions League champion, league champion, domestic cup champion, Super Cup champion, Club World Cup champion... He has won every team honor that can be won in a club. What competition has he not participated in?

I have also played in the Asian Cup with the national team, and there is only one World Cup left.

So Zhou Yi followed the coaching staff's arrangements for him.

But deep down in his heart, Zhou Yi was ready to appear at any time.

Because through those games simulated in the virtual space, Zhou Yi already knew how this game would turn out.

Leverkusen is not easy to deal with, especially Leverkusen who wants to maintain the top four positions in the league.

In the simulated game, Zhou Yi specifically put himself on the bench, and then simulated the game, while he watched as a spectator.

Without him, Dortmund and Leverkusen played in a stalemate, and it was difficult to gain any advantage.

In the dozens of simulated games, most of them are like this, with both sides winning and losing, and there are also many draws.

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The actual game is exactly like what Zhouyi simulated.

As soon as the game started, Leverkusen showed an aggressive offensive.

From the kick-off of Dortmund, the Leverkusen players pressed hard all the way. Faced with this situation, the Dortmund players could only keep passing back.

Even if the ball was passed to goalkeeper Weidenfeller, the Leverkusen players had no intention of giving up and continued to rush towards Weidenfeller in the penalty area, even if Weidenfeller kicked the football away with a big kick. Their pressing was in vain, and they did not hesitate for half a second.

Whether you can grab it or not is one thing, but the key is to show an oppressive momentum.

Even if this kind of action can only cause a little psychological pressure on the opposing players, if it accumulates just a little bit, it will lead to quantitative changes and qualitative changes.

In the fifth minute, Dortmund launched an attack.

Yan Min's powerful shot from the left penalty area was saved by Leverkusen goalkeeper Leno.

The football did not fly out of the baseline, but fell into the penalty area and was cleared by the Leverkusen defender.

Leverkusen took advantage of the situation to launch a counterattack and hit Dortmund's goal.

Son Heung-min took a long shot, but Weidenfeller dragged it off the crossbar, and Leverkusen got a corner kick.

The Korean star went to punish the corner kick.

Before this showdown, the Korean media did not re-hype the Asian Derby. No one compared Son Heung-min with Zhou Yi, because everyone could see that the two were not on the same level at all. Besides... Zhou Yi didn't start the game in this game. Neither of them competed on the same stage, so it's really hard to compare.

Son Heung-min took the corner kick, and when Hummels and the opponent's center back Toprak were fighting for the top, he rubbed the football and the football flew directly to the center of the penalty area!

Then Keesling shook his head and rubbed the football towards the goal!

Hummels is like ferrying Keesling...

The football was thrown into a parabola by Keesling. The football bypassed Weidenfeller's fingers, fell from the air, and hit the crossbar!

But the football did not fly out of the baseline, but fell and bounced back to the goal.

Lars Bender, the captain of Leverkusen, cleverly appeared at the landing point, shook his head a little, and pushed the football towards the goal that was just around the corner!

Weidenfeller had just jumped up to attack Kiessling's header. At this time, it was too late to make a second reaction.

The football flew into Dortmund's goal!

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nice shot!!!

A burst of cheers erupted on the Bayern Munich bus.

On the bus's TV screen, the live match between Dortmund and Leverkusen was being played.

This is a game that Bayern Munich is also paying close attention to.

But everyone didn't expect that Dortmund would lose the ball before they returned to the hotel. The ball was lost a little too fast...

But conceding a goal is always a good thing for Bayern Munich.

They have already beaten Werder Bremen, and if Dortmund loses, Bayern Munich will return to the top of the league.

After the cheers, the players discussed the game enthusiastically.

...Where did Dortmund get the confidence that they can win this game with Zhou Yi on the bench?

Although they are mortal enemies, Bayern Munich players still speak highly of Zhou Yi. At the very least, Zhou Yi is considered the most indispensable figure in Dortmund.

This is obviously a stupid move by Klopp. What did he think?

No matter what he thinks, we are in an advantage anyway...

Guardiola was sitting at the front of the bus and naturally heard the discussions of the players.

Based on his understanding of Klopp, he now feels that it is not incredible for Klopp to make this decision. Because he is a person who loves to gamble... He must be gambling this time, betting that Dortmund can beat Leverkusen away from home without Zhouyi.

But from now on, he may have to lose the bet...

There is no gambler in the world who always wins and never loses, and Klopp cannot escape this rule.

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Lars Bender!! He opened the scoring for Leverkusen! Just seven minutes into the game, Leverkusen took a one-goal lead! Dortmund is in trouble!

Huge cheers erupted throughout the Bayer Arena.

Amid the cheers, Lars Bender and his Bayer Leverkusen teammates embraced and celebrated the goal.

Zhou Yi sat on the bench and leaned his head on the back of the chair. He was not surprised by this start. After simulating so many games, he has also seen Leverkusen score in the opening game...

So conceding the goal is actually not surprising. The key is what Dortmund does after conceding the goal.

Klopp got up from his seat, walked to the sidelines, and shouted loudly to the Dortmund players in the stadium: Don't panic! Hold on!

Without Zhou Yi on the court, he had to do more.

After the game restarted, the Dortmund players did not show panic, which made Klopp and Zhou Yi relieved.

Although we lost the ball, as long as we don't mess up our position, we still have a chance to get it back.

In the next game, the two sides fell into a tug-of-war. Everyone had a chance, but no one's chance was particularly good and no goal was scored.

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