Free Web NovelChapter 537: Chapter 107: Another Record Broken! Winter Champions! A Zero-Angle Goal! Great, Another Reward! Tremble, Bayern
More importantly, the pitch was wet and slippery, and players were constantly losing their footing.
Wang Shuo didn’t dare to run at full speed, afraid he might accidentally get injured.
Once he started holding back, his performance naturally suffered.
The ball, passed around on the slick pitch, was covered in grass clippings and water, leading to frequent errors in passing and receiving.
Everyone was prepared for these conditions.
Nuremberg, playing at home, took the First Move, launching a wave of aggressive attacks from the start. They created some dangerous situations in front of Dortmund’s goal but failed to score.
But Dortmund had an answer.
Set pieces!
Corners and direct free kicks were both threatening offensive tools for Dortmund.
Especially Wang Shuo.
He could take them from either the left or right side outside the penalty area.
Nuremberg’s head coach, Hecking, was clearly aware of this, so he instructed his players to commit fewer fouls around the 30-meter area to avoid giving Dortmund free kick opportunities.
But in the 23rd minute, Sven Bender was fouled on the ball at the bottom of the center circle in Nuremberg’s half, earning a free kick.
This was clearly not a free kick from which one could shoot directly at the goal.
Shahin stood at the spot for the kick.
Hummels, Subotic, and Sven Bender all came upfield.
They gathered with Wang Shuo outside the Arc Top District, mumbled something amongst themselves, and then split up.
Wang Shuo stood to the left, outside the penalty area. Hummels and Subotic were positioned in the center, and Sven Bender was to the right, also outside the box.
The man marking Wang Shuo was Nuremberg’s captain, center-back Andreas Wolf.
The center-back was 1.82 meters tall and held dual citizenship with Germany and Russia. In his youth, he had been selected for Germany’s national youth teams and had performed well.
Wang Shuo stood outside the Arc Top District, turned his head, and looked far over in Shahin’s direction.
At that very moment, Shahin happened to be looking at Wang Shuo as well, and he gave him a slight nod.
Wang Shuo instantly knew the plan and began to slowly walk back.
This was a deliberate attempt to lower Andreas Wolf’s guard.
The free kick was too far out.
But just as the referee blew his whistle and Shahin began his run-up, Wang Shuo suddenly stopped, spun around instantly, and took off at top speed.
When Wolf realized the danger, he also turned to chase back immediately, but Wang Shuo was already half a body length ahead of him.
Wang Shuo raced towards the left side of the penalty area, repeatedly turning his head to watch the incoming ball from Shahin’s free kick.
’It’s coming right for me!’
On the left side, just outside the six-yard box, Wang Shuo leaped high into the air.
Already having a half-body lead and using his forward momentum for the jump, he left the trailing Wolf with no chance to even get off the ground.
Meeting the ball from Shahin’s free kick, Wang Shuo thrust his forehead forward, directing the header toward the right side of the goal.
The goalkeeper dove, but he was a step too slow.
The header sent the ball straight into the right side of the goal.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!"
"It’s in!!!"
"Dortmund scores with a header from a set piece!"
"In the 23rd minute, Wang Shuo breaks the deadlock with a header for Dortmund!"
"1–0!"
"This season, Dortmund’s offensive methods are incredibly varied, and their set-piece tactics are diverse and creative."
"From the matches so far this season, we can clearly see that Dortmund’s entire tactical system is running with great cohesion and ingenuity."
"From a tactical perspective, Klopp’s team has already taken shape."
Looking at the match as a whole, Nuremberg was very loose tactically compared to Dortmund.
Therefore, even though Dortmund was affected by the weather and couldn’t play at full strength, they were still able to control the midfield.
And Nuremberg’s problems were exposed in the 34th minute.
On the right side, outside Nuremberg’s penalty area, a foul by Kuba gave the home team a free kick.
Their goalkeeper came out to take the kick, booting the ball past the halfway line.
But upfield, Sven Bender got to the ball first and headed it clear.
It should have been a very routine clearance.
But after the ball crossed the halfway line and bounced into Nuremberg’s half, there wasn’t a single defender inside the center circle.
The ball picked up speed as it hit the turf.
Wang Shuo quickly moved sideways, getting to the ball a step ahead of center-back Dominic Maro. He then immediately poked it past the defensive line with his left foot.
Dominic Maro was no pushover, though. He charged over aggressively and rammed his shoulder directly into Wang Shuo.
Everyone in the world knew that Wang Shuo wasn’t good at physical challenges.
Maro’s shoulder check was meant to stop Wang Shuo from accelerating.
But after the collision, Wang Shuo didn’t lose his balance or slip as Maro had expected.
After just a brief stumble, Wang Shuo quickly steadied himself. Pushing off hard with both legs, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, instantly penetrating Maro’s defense and chasing after the ball he had just kicked.
Wolf was scrambling back in defense.
But Wang Shuo was faster. He reached the ball first and carried it into the penalty area.
Just as he crossed into the penalty area, Wolf caught up, his hands reaching out to grab his jersey, while the goalkeeper also charged out in time.
At that exact moment, Wang Shuo decisively shot with his left foot.
The ball sailed over goalkeeper Rafael Schäfer’s head and into the unguarded goal behind him.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!"
"He scored again!!"
"Only eleven minutes after the last goal, Dortmund have scored again!"
