Free Web NovelChapter 499: Chapter 101: A Worldie! Domain Skill: Controller! The Woe of the Glass Man! The Rookies’ First Champions League Match
Wang Shuo nodded. "On both our wings, neither Kuba against Ali Sissoko nor Grosskreutz against Reveille is gaining an advantage, and our full-backs don’t dare push up too aggressively."
Lyon’s attacking trident were all South American players who were exceptionally skilled individually and also possessed great speed.
On the left was Bastos, in the center was the Argentine Lisandro Lopez, and on the right was the Argentine Cesar Delgado.
All three players were around 1.75 meters tall. They were small, incredibly agile, and possessed exquisite footwork, which made it very difficult for Dortmund’s defensive line to handle them.
Piszczek and Schmelzer didn’t dare to push forward too readily.
And they weren’t gaining an advantage in the midfield, either.
Although Gourcuff experienced his own Waterloo at AC Milan, there was no denying his skill now that he was back in Ligue 1.
Add Pjanic and the deep-lying Toulalan to the mix.
Dortmund’s midfield was outmatched in ability and at a complete disadvantage in terms of experience. They could barely get the ball out.
"What are your thoughts?" Klopp asked.
No one understood the situation and the opponents better than the players on the field.
"Since it’s so hard to play through the midfield, let’s just bypass it with long balls. We can switch play to the wings up front. I’ll shift over to support and win the ball!"
Wang Shuo’s suggestion sent Klopp deep into thought.
’That might be a solution.’
By the time Wang Shuo got back to the locker room, Weidenfeller was apologizing.
His fumbled attempt to claim the ball in the first half had been a killer mistake.
If the score were 0-0 right now, Dortmund would be in a much better position.
But no one was blaming Weidenfeller.
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!
After coming to an agreement with the coaching staff, Klopp returned to face the players. He clapped his hands loudly to get everyone’s attention and pulled over the tactics board.
"Alright, guys, we’re going to adjust our strategy for the second half..."
Klopp looked at Wang Shuo, his expression resolute.
...
TWEET!
At the referee’s whistle, Lyon quickly passed the ball back from the kickoff.
Wang Shuo immediately charged forward to press.
The rest of the Dortmund players followed suit.
The team wanted to use the start of the second half to launch an aggressive, high-pressing attack.
After all, Lyon had completely dominated the opening of the first half.
Time was running out for Dortmund.
If the game dragged on past the 60th or 70th minute, Dortmund’s high energy consumption would put them at an even greater disadvantage.
Under these circumstances, the entire Dortmund team pressed forward.
But Lyon still managed to find an opening, moving the ball from midfield into their attack.
The Argentine, Delgado, cut inside while being marked by Schmelzer and chipped a pass into the box with his left foot, but Subotic headed it clear.
The ball fell to Shahin, who then passed it to Hummels.
Hummels charged out of the penalty area and launched a long pass directly to the right wing.
The pass came down near the sideline, and both Kuba and Ali Sissoko leaped up to contest the header.
The ball went out of play.
The referee awarded a Throw-In to Lyon.
Wang Shuo had already run over to provide support, so as soon as he saw it was a Throw-In, he immediately sprinted toward the spot.
As Ali Sissoko quickly took the Throw-In and tossed it to Toulalan, Wang Shuo charged in. He and Götze pressed Toulalan near the sideline. While Götze tangled with the midfielder, Wang Shuo snuck a foot in, poking the ball forward to Kuba before quickly running off laterally.
"Kuba, here!"
With his back to the goal, Kuba had already seen Wang Shuo’s run and heard his shout before the ball even reached him.
He controlled it with a single touch and immediately laid it back to Wang Shuo.
Kuba’s pass had been hurried, making it difficult to take in stride. Wang Shuo had to stop his lateral run completely to bring the ball firmly under control.
Defenders were closing in all around him.
Wang Shuo quickly passed the ball back to Götze, then took off again, running laterally and pointing ahead. "Mario, here."
Götze was ready. Perfectly in sync, he played a diagonal ball right into Wang Shuo’s running path.
The moment Wang Shuo reached the ball, the space in front of him opened up, and his Domain Skill, Controller, activated once again.
First, he came to an abrupt stop, feinting a move into the right side of the box to deceive Lovren. Then, he suddenly knocked the ball horizontally with the outside of his left foot, changing direction with the momentum to continue cutting inside.
Chris reacted in a flash, immediately rushing over to cover.
But Wang Shuo was faster.
With his exquisite ball control, just as Chris came forward, Wang Shuo knocked the ball sideways with his left foot and accelerated, forcefully bursting past Chris’s defense.
The instant he created a sliver of space, Wang Shuo glanced at the goalkeeper, Lloris, out of the corner of his eye. He planted his right foot firmly and swung his left, preparing to unleash a powerful shot.
Lloris knew how dangerous Wang Shuo was and immediately began shuffling rapidly across his goal line.
Based on his years of goalkeeping experience and Wang Shuo’s movement, he was certain the shot was aimed at the far corner.
Chris also recovered and immediately stuck out a leg to block Wang Shuo’s shot.
The two of them were perfectly in sync.
But Wang Shuo’s swinging left foot suddenly changed its technique and the point of contact on the ball. What was supposed to be a powerful drive aimed at the far post instead became a close-range poke toward the near post.
After taking the shot, Wang Shuo lost his balance and fell to the ground inside the box.
But the ball went through Chris’s legs and rolled slowly into the bottom right corner of the goal.
Just 46 seconds into the second half, Dortmund had successfully tied the game!
