In the stands, amid a sea of Dortmund fans in yellow jerseys, sat a young man in a sharp suit.
If Lin Quan had been there, he would have recognized him at once. He was the Chelsea scout Lin Quan had previously seen by the training ground—George Evans.
He had chosen to watch this match in person not only to assess De Bruyne's performance at Werder Bremen and determine whether he had met the club's expectations and could be recalled to play for the team.
He also had another purpose, just as Lin Quan had guessed: to scout Dortmund's starting striker, Lewandowski, for Chelsea and evaluate his ability and match fitness.
The Pole had performed brilliantly for Dortmund last season, appearing in 34 league matches, scoring 22 goals, and providing another eight assists.
Although his goal tally ranked only third in the Bundesliga, not one of those 22 goals had come from a penalty, making them exceptionally valuable.
As long as he could maintain last season's superb form this year and prove he was no flash in the pan, he would join the ranks of the world's elite strikers.
According to the transfer market's valuation of Lewandowski, the Pole was currently worth around 30 million euros. That was not too expensive, and Chelsea should be able to sign him if they made a move.
But based solely on his performance so far in the first half, there was nothing about Lewandowski that made George's eyes light up.
Instead, the kid whose free kick had flown wide and struck him in the head was delivering a stunning performance on the pitch.
After seeing Lin Quan's display, George could not help adding another section to his scouting report, carefully recording Lin Quan's outstanding performance in this match.
He knew that a player of this age was not the kind of ready-made asset Chelsea urgently needed at the moment.
But just seeing the immense potential that could not be concealed in the other boy made him feel that failing to recommend him to the club would be a dereliction of duty!
On the pitch, Dortmund's state of wanting to attack while fearing they would concede continued for more than ten minutes.
Only when the match reached the twentieth minute, with the first half nearing its end, did they finally adjust.
So what if they lost?
If they did not attack, they would definitely lose. If they attacked, they might still turn things around.
Besides, the opposition's running no longer seemed as energetic as it had been at the start, and they had not produced any more of those sharp attacks from the opening minutes.
That allowed Dortmund's players to breathe a small sigh of relief. They put aside their concerns and resumed their full-pitch pressing tactics.
The facts proved that when Dortmund carried out Klopp's tactics with conviction, their attacking firepower was among the very best in European football!
In the 22nd minute, Reus, Dortmund's expensive new signing from Borussia Mönchengladbach that summer, stepped forward.
He received a pass from a teammate, shook off his marker, and unleashed a powerful shot from inside the penalty area to beat Werder Bremen's goalkeeper.
It was a beautiful strike, and the goalkeeper had no chance at all.
The score became 2:1, with Dortmund still one goal behind.
At the instant the goal went in, the atmosphere throughout Westfalenstadion exploded!
Eighty thousand fans unleashed a terrifying roar that seemed capable of tearing the stadium roof away. The passion suppressed for more than twenty minutes finally had a chance to erupt.
On the South Stand, the thirty thousand supporters who had been singing the club anthem nonstop since the match began, never falling silent even while their team trailed, raised their voices to another level.
Countless fans pounded their chests, held their scarves high, and roared as they sang You'll Never Walk Alone.
As they sang at the top of their lungs, a massive flag slowly unfurled.
It was a huge yellow club flag emblazoned with the letters BVB!
At the sight of that flag, Dortmund's already fired-up players seemed like Saints infused with limitless strength. Their blood boiled, and their fighting spirit surged to its peak.
"What a terrifying home atmosphere!"
Füllkrug shrank back slightly and spoke with some fear.
Lin Quan nodded faintly, deeply shaken as well.
Only now did he truly witness the power of this devil's stadium.
That kind of immediate sensation could never be experienced through a television broadcast.
He glanced at his teammates. The first half was not even over, yet quite a few of them were already gasping for breath.
Especially those who had not rested well the night before. Their stamina had not fully recovered to begin with, and they had increased the tempo to trade fast attacks with the opposition in the first half.
Combined with the oppressive atmosphere of the opponent's devilish home ground, it had drained them heavily.
This could not go on!
Lin Quan looked toward the sideline. Coach Schaaf remained expressionless, showing no sign of making adjustments.
The match continued. Having scored once, Dortmund's players had now fully found their rhythm.
They seemed to possess endless energy as they continued their High Press assault.
Werder Bremen, meanwhile, gradually began to struggle to keep up with the opposition's pace.
Less than two minutes after the previous goal, Dortmund won the ball with a tackle in the attacking third. Lewandowski played a one-two with Reus, received the return pass in the penalty area, and used his powerful body to score through the defender's interference.
Dortmund scored again!
The score was levelled by the opposition in two minutes!
And that was not all. Dortmund's mad performance was not over yet.
Just one minute later, Lewandowski received a pass from Reus, beat everyone to the ball in the penalty area, and headed it past Werder Bremen's goalkeeper once again.
The score became 3:2. Dortmund had scored three goals in three minutes and completed the comeback!
Dortmund had completely gone mad!
Now it was Werder Bremen's players who were stunned.
They looked at the stadium, as lively as an erupting volcano, then at Dortmund's players, whose faces were filled with madness and ferocity.
Every one of them was utterly dejected. In just three minutes, they had not only handed over the enormous advantage they once held, but had also fallen into an extremely difficult position.
Dortmund's attacking firepower filled them with dread!
They began to doubt themselves: could they really defeat such a terrifying team?
Fortunately, there was not much time left in the first half. Once Dortmund finished celebrating, fewer than three minutes remained.
If not for the lack of time, Werder Bremen, who had already been battered into doubting their lives, might very well have conceded again!
At halftime, Coach Schaaf looked at his downcast players and could not help sighing.
He clapped his hands to draw their attention, then began to speak.
"Your performance in the first half was excellent. You executed the tactics we prepared before the match perfectly. Although the final score was not ideal and we failed to hold on to our huge advantage, that was not your responsibility. The responsibility lies with me!"
In the final minutes of the first half, some players had clearly been unable to run anymore.
To make matters worse, he had set up a strategy to trade attacking blows with Dortmund in the first half.
That caused players whose stamina had already been insufficient to expend even more energy during the match, greatly shortening the amount of time they could hold on.
He bore an inescapable responsibility for the team's collapse in the final stage.
And Schaaf did not avoid the issue. He admitted his mistake in front of the players.
"Coach, we..."
Captain Fritz opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but Schaaf raised a hand to stop him.
"Clemens, no need to say anything. There isn't much time. Listen to me!"
He took out the tactical board and drew up the tactics they would execute in the second half.
"Dortmund are not invincible. Our two goals in the first half are proof of that!"
"So this is how we'll play in the second half. I'll take off several players who have expended too much energy and bring on a group with fresh legs.
But they won't be going on to attack.
They'll be going on to defend.
We will use absolute defense to smother their attack. The team cannot concede again!
When the match reaches the final five minutes, raise the tempo again and hit them like we did at the start of the first half.
We don't need many goals. Just one goal will be enough to drag them into a Penalty Shootout!
And once it reaches a Penalty Shootout, let God decide who wins and who loses!"
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