Of the two German Cup quarter-finals that kicked off simultaneously on February 26, the German Sports TV station selected the Dortmund vs. Hoffenheim match for nationwide broadcast.
Because Dortmund's Westfalen Stadium, Hoffenheim's five-game winning streak after the winter break, and Lu Wenbin's scoring in every game are more attractive than the game between Stuttgart and Jena.
However, judging from the performance at the beginning of the game, the live commentator Hans Dickensen saw no chance for Hoffenheim to reverse Dortmund as a Bundesliga 2 team, which made him a little disappointed.
After Dortmund No. 9 Valdes opened the scoring in the 11th minute, Dickenson said calmly:
"It's a goal! In the 11th minute, Dortmund, playing at home in Westfalen, scored a goal by their No. 9 striker Nelson Valdes, leading Hoffenheim 1-0 at home. If Hoffenheim had continued with this performance until the end of the game, I would not be surprised at all that they were eliminated by Dortmund."
The Dortmund fans in front of the TV cursed in dissatisfaction: "Fuck, it's not surprising that we are leading that country money team. The commentator just wanted an upset. Damn Dickenson!"
…
At the scene, the cheers and screams from tens of thousands of Dortmund fans continued, as if they were going to shake the stadium down, leaving the visiting players and fans in awe.
However, Lu Wenbin was not afraid.
With the system plug-in, Lu Wenbin has a psychological advantage no matter facing any opponent or the opponent's fans.
Therefore, Lu Wenbin was not intimidated by Dortmund's goal and the huge cheers from the home fans. Instead, he called his teammates together and loudly encouraged their morale:
"Guys, we are behind now. The most we can do is lose. There is nothing to worry about. There is no worse situation than this. But think about it, if we can finally reverse and beat the Bundesliga giants Dortmund away at the Westfalen Stadium, what will those opponents in the Bundesliga mean to us? Not only will we advance to the semi-finals of the German Cup, but we will also be invincible in the Bundesliga and successfully promoted to the Bundesliga. Everyone cheer up and fight them to the end!"
If it were an ordinary young player, I'm afraid no one would listen.
But Lu Wenbin scored in every game before this, bringing his total number of goals for the team to seven, with three assists. He was the biggest contributor to the team's five-game winning streak after the winter break, and everyone was convinced by Lu Wenbin.
Coupled with Lu Wenbin's aura as a junior leader, what he says has an influence on his teammates no less than that of captain Salihovic.
In addition, the first captain Salihovic was injured and unable to play in this game, so no player on the field had overwhelming prestige.
Lu Wenbin has the brilliant results of the previous five games as a foundation, as well as the bonus of a leadership aura, so his words are naturally as effective as those of a captain.
Therefore, after Lu Wenbin finished speaking, no one questioned Lu Wenbin's qualifications and prestige, but instead naturally thought about what Lu Wenbin said.
"Lu is right. We are already behind, and the worst that can happen is we lose the game. What is there to be afraid of?"
"If we can pull ourselves together and beat Dortmund to advance to the German Cup semi-finals, we will be able to impress the entire nation."
With this thought in mind, Hoffenheim's players forgot the pressure brought to them by tens of thousands of Dortmund fans in the stands, and turned the pressure into motivation to defeat Dortmund at the Westfalen Stadium and advance to the semi-finals.
After the restart, the performance of the Hoffenheim team returned to normal, and some people became excited and started to perform beyond their normal level.
On the other hand, after Dortmund easily took the lead with a goal in the 11th minute of the game, some players inevitably felt a little bored, thinking that this opponent from the German second division was too weak and not worth taking seriously at all.
Coupled with the media hype before the game, the entire Dortmund team felt that there would be no problem for them to advance and they didn't have to worry about Hoffenheim.
Even Lu Wenbin, who had scored in every game before, was unconsciously relaxed in their defense.
In their minds, Lu Wenbin scored every goal in the previous games only because the opponents he met were at the level of the German Second Division. Today, facing Dortmund at the Westfalen Stadium and facing the boos of tens of thousands of fans, Lu Wenbin would not be so amazing.
It’s been more than 10 minutes since the start of the game and Lu Wenbin hasn’t even taken a shot
Perhaps, amid the boos of tens of thousands of Dortmund fans at the Westfalen Stadium, Lu Wenbin had even forgotten how to shoot!
However, they soon found out that they were wrong: the careless Dortmund players soon witnessed Hoffenheim's offensive firepower and Lu Wenbin's precise shooting in the penalty area.
Just five minutes after Valdes scored, Hoffenheim launched their first counterattack of the game.
The ball cleared in the backcourt fell at the feet of right winger Francisco Copado, who ran with the ball on the wing to the end line and then passed the ball into the penalty area.
Ibisevic quickly followed up and rushed into the penalty area and jumped high to fight for the first point.
It was originally a counterattack, and because of their contempt for Hoffenheim, most of Dortmund's players pressed forward, leaving few people in the backcourt.
Then, the only two remaining Dortmund defenders, Amedik and Kovac, also went to defend Ibisevic who was rushing forward and was about to grab the first point.
Seeing that Ibisevic was about to get the first point, goalkeeper Ziegler also adjusted his position, standing between Ibisevic and the goal, ready to block his header.
However, they all forgot about the short-statured Lu Wenbin who was quietly following behind Ibisevic as a shadow striker.
Under the pull of Amedik and Kovac, Ibisevic felt that his waist was weak and he could not head the ball. Even if he headed the ball, it would not have much power and might not hit the right spot and fly over the crossbar.
In addition, the opponent's goalkeeper Ziegler was still guarding between himself and the goal, so the attack angle was not wide.
So, when Ibisevic was about to head the ball, he suddenly retracted his neck, causing the ball to slip to the back post.
In normal offensive training, this kind of offensive routine is trained.
Ibrahimovic knew that if nothing unexpected happened, Lu Wenbin should be waiting at the back post for him to head the ball or miss the ball.
Sure enough, when Ibrahimovic fell to the ground and turned his head to look back, he saw that Lu Wenbin at the corner of the small penalty area had stretched out his legs and volleyed the ball sideways, hitting the football in mid-air.
At this time, another Dortmund central defender Hunemayer, who was chasing Lu Wenbin back from the midfield, just arrived.
Although he stretched out his foot behind Lu Wenbin, he was unable to stop Lu Wenbin's volley shot without stopping.
The ball flew past Hunemayer's toes like a cannonball and towards the goal.
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