Speed Against Speed, Stunned Dortmund! [100 Monthly Ticket Bonus Chapter!]

After the match began, Dortmund, as usual, planned to deal with Werder Bremen using High Press and relentless running.

But unexpectedly, their opponents showed no fear and actually fought back with an all-out attack.

The pace on the field was blistering; the ball rarely stayed under either side's feet for more than ten seconds before being snatched away.

This unusual situation made Klopp restless.

He glanced suspiciously at the Werder Bremen bench, seeing their Head Coach Thomas Schaaf sitting there calmly, showing no reaction to what was happening on the pitch.

It seemed this was their tactical arrangement!

They wanted to play an attacking game?

Hmph, Werder Bremen probably didn't know how to spell "death"!

Any team daring to trade blows with Dortmund would end up in a miserable state.

With that thought, Klopp gestured to his players on the field, signaling them to speed up the game even further.

They wanted an attacking battle?

Fine, he'd give it to them!

Seeing Dortmund's players pick up the pace, Schaaf not only showed no tension or worry but instead revealed a smug smile.

That fool Klopp had taken the bait!

Speed up?

That was exactly what he wanted!

Today, Schaaf had made some adjustments to the starting lineup, pulling Sokratis Papastathopoulos from the defense and replacing him with Lukimya, while putting the young rookie Füllkrug up front.

These two shared a common trait: they were tall, physically strong, and highly aggressive in pressing.

Clearly, bringing them in was meant to boost the team's physicality and pressing ability.

Werder Bremen's players weren't technically strong, certainly not on par with Bayern Munich.

But could Dortmund really claim to be much better?

Dortmund's good results came from their aggressive style—running like madmen all over the pitch for the entire game, crashing into opponents, relying on their young players' stamina and drive to literally run other teams into the ground!

When it came to pure technique, could Dortmund really compare to Bayern Munich?

Yet last season, Dortmund had beaten Bayern three times, which showed just how ruthless Klopp's tailor-made tactics for Dortmund were!

If they played the full match, even if Werder Bremen fielded all young players, they definitely couldn't outrun Dortmund.

But they only needed to go all-out for the first five minutes. In that short window, Werder Bremen's players could absolutely keep up with Dortmund's pace.

So, after Dortmund sped up, the situation on the field didn't change.

Dortmund still couldn't hold onto the ball, and neither could Werder Bremen.

Both sides kept fouling in midfield, with players from each team getting knocked over left and right. Even Lin Quan was taken down twice in just two minutes.

As the key player in Werder Bremen's victory over Bayern Munich last match, Dortmund's players clearly understood his threat.

So they marked him tightly and pressed aggressively, using physical contact and even fouls to prevent him from receiving the ball comfortably.

Lin Quan rubbed his slightly sore shin from being kicked and couldn't help complaining internally:

What kind of football match was this?

It felt like playing bullfighting in Spain!

In this fast-paced duel, Dortmund, with better coordination and familiarity with this style, gradually began to gain the upper hand.

In the third minute, Bydgosczy dribbled to the edge of the penalty area.

Just as he lifted his foot to pass, Werder Bremen's center-back Lukimya stepped in, using his physical advantage to shove him aside and steal the ball.

After winning the ball, Lukimya immediately passed it to captain Fritz, but Dortmund's midfielders quickly swarmed him.

Fritz didn't dare hold onto it; he passed it straight away, sending the ball to winger Elia before the pressing players could get their feet in.

Elia sprinted with the ball, charging toward Dortmund's half.

Seeing the counterattack, Dortmund's players didn't need any reminder—they all dropped back in perfect sync, moving like a well-oiled machine!

What excellent tactical discipline!

On the sidelines, Coach Schaaf eyed Klopp warily.

That guy—how did he manage to mold this group of young players into such an iron-willed army?

Elia sprinted over ten meters before being stopped by Dortmund's full-back Kirch.

At the same time, from his left and behind, two Dortmund players closed in to trap him.

That was Dortmund's tactic: using more active running to create numerical advantages in local areas, constantly surrounding the ball carrier.

If you couldn't outrun them, your counterattack would never get going. Once trapped, unless you had Messi's dribbling and beating ability, you'd definitely lose the ball.

Elia certainly didn't have that kind of skill, so he didn't dare linger and immediately passed the ball to the advancing De Bruyne.

Before De Bruyne could even receive it, an opponent had already charged at him.

He saw the opposing player closing in, so he merged the reception and pass into one motion, sending the ball to forward Arnautovic before the defender could block it.

It was a beautifully executed play.

Dortmund's players certainly had stamina.

But no matter how well they could run, a person's speed could never match that of a football.

So as they pressed Elia and De Bruyne, the number of defenders around the other Werder Bremen players naturally dwindled.

"Great ball!"

"No wonder he's a rising star scouted by a Champions League-winning team—De Bruyne handled that pass with real skill!"

On the CCTV commentary desk, He Wei couldn't help but praise as he watched De Bruyne's clever lobbed pass, which both evaded the opponent's press and found a teammate in open space.

Beside him, Xu Yang added:

"Let me explain for some viewers: De Bruyne is a midfielder Chelsea bought from Genk for eight million pounds during the January Winter Break this year.

He's only twenty-one, still young, with huge room to grow. If he develops well, he might even take over Lampard's spot someday!"

He Wei countered, "Lampard is a B2B midfielder, while De Bruyne looks more like an attacking playmaker, maybe even a winger. He doesn't match Lampard in defensive coverage or midfield range, so it might not be a direct succession."

Inside the box, Arnautovic received the ball, fended off Dortmund defender Hummels' challenge, and laid it back to a teammate charging in.

Nineteen-year-old youngster Füllkrug, like a tank charging at full speed, broke free from his marker outside the penalty area and slid in from close range to slam the ball into Dortmund's net.

The shot was too fast; Dortmund's goalkeeper had no time to react, only watching the ball hit the net.

The score became 1-0, and it had only been four minutes since the whistle blew!

The massive Westfalenstadion fell into a dead silence in an instant, as if struck by a silencing spell.

The Bumblebees' fans stared in disbelief, unable to trust their eyes.

Just four minutes into the match, and their team was already trailing at home?

PS: The last two chapters were transitional, and everyone said they weren't enough, so I'll add an extra chapter for now!

Also, to encourage more recommendation votes, here's an extra update rule:

For every 1,000 recommendation votes accumulated, I'll add one more chapter!