"Li, you're not hurt, are you?"
"I'm fine. Let's celebrate! This is the time to celebrate!"
They copied De Bruyne's usual celebration, raising both fists and jumping up and down.
The away stand immediately responded with even louder applause.
Li Luo gradually understood why he had vaguely heard so many people calling his name before kickoff... Many Manchester United fans wearing ordinary clothes had come here looking for emotional comfort.
But he had no time to get distracted now.
Wolfsburg still hadn't found another way to break through Di Matteo's heavily modified mid-block.
Thinking about it carefully, Manchester United had sent him to Wolfsburg to "level up" for a reason.
He was experiencing an era of tactical diversity in the Bundesliga.
He was getting firsthand experience of different opponents' high, mid, and low defensive blocks.
When he returned to the Premier League, perhaps every tactical evolution over the next few years would be built on those three defensive lines.
As for why Wolfsburg?
Perhaps it was because Mr. Hecking's tactics were simple.
The Schalke fans soon recovered. Rather than blaming or complaining, they loudly encouraged their players. "Wir Leben Dich!!!" "Wir Leben Dich!!!" "Wir Leben Dich!!!"
It meant, "We live for you."
The slogan was printed on the back of Schalke 04's shirts.
That emotional bond made the Veltins Arena one of Europe's most intimidating grounds.
Still built like a beanpole, Goretzka helplessly explained to his teammates that Li had eyes all over his body. One sudden stop with his back turned had thrown Goretzka off balance. Even more frighteningly... when Li accelerated again after stopping, his stride frequency was outrageous, just like Robben's.
They were both eighteen.
Why was he so much better?
The Japanese player, Atsuto Uchida, finally understood how his old friends in the J.League had felt.