At the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Lu Wenbin ran into an open space in the penalty area, but this time Salihovic did not pass the ball to Lu Wenbin because he wanted to help Andreas Beck.
At this time, Baker had returned to normal and actively participated in the wing attack.
While Lu Wenbin, Ibisevic, Demba Ba, Eduardo and others firmly attracted the attention of all Stuttgart defenders near the penalty area, no one noticed Baker who quietly cut in from the wing.
So, Salihovic made a feint and then passed the ball to the empty right corner of the penalty area, where Baker was heading at high speed.
The Stuttgart players looked in the direction he was looking at and were surprised to find that the traitorous defender Beck was actually attacking from Hoffenheim's backcourt.
However, by the time they realized this, it was too late to rush over to stop Baker from shooting.
Baker, who was left unmolested, did not stop the ball. Instead, he swung his leg and kicked the ball directly into the goal, venting all his frustration and anger at being called a traitor by Stuttgart fans in this kick.
The ball took off from the ground, passed through the crowd in the restricted area, and flew into the goal in the blink of an eye.
After the ball entered the net, goalkeeper Levin arrived late, but it was too late to stop Baker's goal.
“Toooooooooooooooooooor…”
The commentator Custer shouted and excitedly explained to the Sinsheim audience in front of the TV:
"Long shot, Hoffenheim's No. 2 defender Beck made a powerful long shot from outside the penalty area, blasting Salihovic's pass into the goal of his old club, helping Hoffenheim lead Stuttgart 1-0. Stuttgart fans in the stands cursed Beck as a traitor to Stuttgart, but we like it!"
Hoffenheim fans in front of the TV applauded and celebrated, echoing: "Yes, we like Baker, Baker is Hoffenheim now!"
At the scene, more than 20,000 Hoffenheim fans in the stands cheered and celebrated by shouting Beck's name at the top of their voices. They used this way to congratulate Beck on his first goal for Hoffenheim and to deliberately anger Stuttgart fans.
However, Baker in the stadium did not celebrate loudly after the goal, but just clapped calmly.
Although Stuttgart fans were scolding him, and he decided to abide by professional ethics and give his best for Hoffenheim, it does not mean that he has no feelings for Stuttgart.
After all, from 2000 to 2008, he spent a full eight years in Stuttgart's youth training camp and first team.
Scoring a goal for his old club is his professional ethics, but not celebrating is his attitude of gratitude.
Lu Wenbin, Salihovic and others also understood him and did not celebrate loudly. They just surrounded him and patted him on the shoulder, then everyone returned to their own half and waited for Stuttgart to kick the ball off the center circle.
Once Hoffenheim scored the first goal, the game entered a familiar track.
Because if the lagging opponent wants to equalize the score, they will have to press forward and deploy more people in the frontcourt, which gives Lu Wenbin an opportunity.
In the 33rd minute, Salihovic, Demba Ba and Eduardo made a series of short passes near the penalty area, disrupting Stuttgart's defense.
Then, Eduardo, a Brazilian with excellent skills and often exquisite performances, unexpectedly kicked the ball with his heel and passed it to Lu Wenbin, who suddenly stopped and turned in the penalty area, shook off the defender and ran into the open space.
From last season to this season, Lu Wenbin and his main teammates have become more and more tacit in their cooperation.
Therefore, Lu Wenbin's sudden stop, turn and Eduardo's heel pass were just right. Lu Wenbin didn't even stop the ball and kicked it into the goal comfortably.
Although goalkeeper Levin rushed over, he still failed to stop Lu Wenbin's precise shot that went straight to the blind corner.
This is the terrifying thing about Hoffenheim and Lu Wenbin now.
In fact, the shooting opportunities they created had no advantage compared to other teams, but the key lay in Lu Wenbin's finishing shot.
Perhaps other teams may try their best to create ten shooting opportunities in a game and only score one or two goals, or sometimes not even score a goal, but Lu Wenbin can score a goal with just two or three shots.
This goal efficiency is really very high in the top league and can be said to be the best.
Some of his die-hard fans have begun to label Lu Wenbin as the God of the Forbidden Zone, meaning that he is more powerful than Van Nistelrooy's King of the Forbidden Zone.
Fanny is the king, but Lu Wenbin is the god!
However, Lu Wenbin is young after all, and he doesn't have any outstanding achievements. He has not played many games, and the data support is far from sufficient.
Therefore, this title is just a name given by his die-hard fans in private with the nature of personal worship, and has not yet been recognized by the media and other fans.
However, if things continue to develop in this way, one day the media will probably start calling Lu Wenbin the God of the Forbidden Zone.
…
After Lu Wenbin scored, Hoffenheim led Stuttgart 2-0 and played more calmly.
Next, although Stuttgart fought back frantically, trying to score a goal or even equalize the score, they were unable to break Hoffenheim's goal.
Of course, Hoffenheim did not score any more goals.
After 1 minute of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half, and both sides entered the halftime break with a score of 2-0.
After a 15-minute break at halftime, the two sides changed sides and continued the game.
Just at the beginning of the second half, in the 48th minute, Salihovic was fouled by Stuttgart midfielder Ranich outside the penalty area, winning Hoffenheim a free kick.
However, the free kick that Lu Wenbin launched with his system skill hit the crossbar and bounced back into the penalty area. Ibrahimovic's header also went over the crossbar, which was a pity.
Soon, the game came to the 65th minute, and Ralph took the lead in replacing Ibisevic with substitute center forward Paljic to save strength for the next League Cup game.
As long as Lu Wenbin remains on the field, he can continue to maintain pressure on Stuttgart's defense, making them dare not easily press forward to help the frontcourt.
However, even though the Stuttgart players were very careful to mark Lu Wenbin, Lu Wenbin still got a good chance to shoot in the 78th minute.
Of course, this time it was not that he ran into the open space and got the shooting opportunity through the pass from his teammates, but that Demba Ba's shot was saved by goalkeeper Levin and fell into the penalty area.
At that time, everyone went to watch Demba Ba's shot and Levin's save, and Lu Wenbin was in a short period of unguarded period.
He predicted in advance that Demba Ba's shot might not go in, and the possible landing point of the ball saved by Levin.
As a result, when Lu Wenbin ran to that position, Levin really saved Demba Ba's shot, and the ball fell right in front of Lu Wenbin.