Lu Wenbin's goal in the 88th minute helped Hoffenheim to equalize one point, making the score between the two sides Hoffenheim 1-2 Udinese.
But that’s not enough.
After Lu Wenbin turned over and got up, he did not celebrate. He rushed to Udinese's goal to pick up the ball, ran back to the midfield and put the ball in the center circle, signaling the opponent to kick off quickly.
Lu Wenbin's teammates, coaches, the German commentator in the commentary box, and Hoffenheim fans in the stands also did not celebrate loudly, but just applauded.
Because of the current score, it is really hard to feel like celebrating.
Only the commentators and guests in the live broadcast room of China's CCTV-5 excitedly announced to the audience that this was the second goal scored by a Chinese player in the European competition.
The first goal scored by a Chinese player in a European competition came when Sun Jihai played for Manchester City in the Premier League.
On August 15, 2003, when Manchester City slaughtered the Welsh TNS team 5-0 in the first leg of the League Cup preliminaries, Sun Jihai scored the first goal by a Chinese player in a European competition with a header in the 60th minute.
Before and after Sun Jihai, although there were Chinese players such as Jia Xiuquan, Liu Haiguang, Shi Jun and Gao Leilei who had appearances in the League Cup, no one had ever scored a goal.
Sun Xiang and Dong Fangzhuo also got the chance to play in the UEFA Champions League for PSV Eindhoven and Manchester United respectively, but failed to score any goals.
Sun Jihai's header at Manchester City in 2003 turned out to be the only goal scored by a Chinese player in European competitions.
Now, Lu Wenbin finally scored the second goal by a Chinese player in the European competition. It is no wonder that the CCTV commentators and guests were so excited.
Chinese fans in front of the TV were also sincerely happy for Lu Wenbin's goals and achievements.
As for whether Hoffenheim will be eliminated from the UEFA Cup by Udinese, it is not within the scope of concern of Chinese fans.
At present, Hoffenheim has no Chinese fans yet.
Chinese football fans are all fans of Lu Wenbin, or they pay attention to Hoffenheim's games because of Lu Wenbin.
As long as Lu Wenbin performs well, no one cares about Hoffenheim's life or death.
Everyone hopes that Lu Wenbin will perform better and Hoffenheim's results will get worse, and then Lu Wenbin will naturally transfer to their favorite top team.
This is the general idea of Chinese fans, the best of both worlds.
…
Domestic fans don’t care about Hoffenheim’s life or death, but Lu Wenbin himself cannot help but care.
He also wanted to keep up the good work and score another goal to help the team equalize the score, so as to retain more hope for the second round of the game and also retain more hope for his League Cup championship and treble achievements.
However, when he scored the goal it was already the 88th minute and there was little time left.
A few minutes later, the referee cruelly blew the whistle to end the game. Udinese relied on their solid Italian defense to hold on to their 2-1 away victory.
Hoffenheim, who had no experience in European competitions, paid the price of a home defeat in the first European competition in the club's history. It also resulted in the team's first defeat since the start of the season, ending their winning streak in all competitions.
Fortunately, Lu Wenbin finally scored a goal, and the difference between the two sides was only 1.
If Lu Wenbin hadn't scored a goal at the last minute, the second round of away game would have been even more desperate for Hoffenheim.
Now, Lu Wenbin has scored a goal, narrowing the gap in the total score, and Lu Wenbin himself may be able to complete the upgrade and bonus points after the next Bundesliga game against Dortmund, so there is still a possibility of a comeback.
In the second round, we will go to Italy to beat Udinese away to advance to the UEFA Cup group stage, which is not really hopeless.
Of course, this is just Lu Wenbin’s own idea.
To the outside world, Lu Wenbin's goal in the 88th minute was just a way to save face for Hoffenheim.
In European competitions with statistics, the proportion of teams that can turn the tables and advance in the second round away from home even if they lose at home despite having all the advantages of time, place and people in the first round is less than 5%.
Teams that played at home first and then away in more than 95% of their games and lost at home were eventually eliminated.
From the outside world's perspective, Hoffenheim's first European campaign in history has ended ahead of schedule. Even if the second round of matches is not over, it will be of no use.
This is also in line with Hoffenheim's identity.
It is only natural that a country club that has never played in a European competition was eliminated by Udinese, another top league team with more experience, in its first European competition.
Although Hoffenheim is currently ranked first in the Bundesliga and Udinese is ranked seventh in Serie A, the season has just begun and the ranking is not of much reference value, not to mention that they are in two different countries and leagues with completely different styles.
In the end, the German commentator could only say with regret that Hoffenheim still had a chance, but the Italian media had already announced without hesitation that the second round had lost suspense.
Udinese's players, coaches, and even fans in the stands all had smiles on their faces and celebrated happily.
Ozcan, Baker, Eduardo, Ibisevic and others had tears in their eyes and were very unwilling.
Ralph had reminded them of the difference between European competitions and the league before the game, and everyone took it seriously. They did not become arrogant or underestimate the enemy, and everyone tried their best in this game.
Unexpectedly, they ended up losing the game at home, making the second round almost suspenseful.
Sometimes, fate is so cruel that you can't get a good result just because you try your best.
Because others may work harder than you and have better luck than you.
However, Salihovic, as the captain, was not discouraged, and Lu Wenbin, who had the system as his trump card, would be even less discouraged.
The two called their teammates together one by one, then walked to the sidelines to apologize to the Hoffenheim fans in the stands who had come to watch the club's first European game in history with great anticipation, but witnessed their team being defeated by their opponents.
What Lu Wenbin and others did not expect was that almost no Hoffenheim fans who witnessed the team's defeat left the stadium, but all stayed.
After the players walked to the stands, everyone, led by the fan group, shouted the names of the team members one by one.
Every time a name was called, the fans applauded three times.
Finally, everyone shouted together: "Long live the Holy Village!"
An unexpected defeat not only did not cause Hoffenheim to lose the support of the fans, but instead won the hearts of more fans.
Lu Wenbin also had mixed feelings, and his determination to beat Udinese in the second round and advance to the UEFA Cup group stage became even stronger.
Even if it is not for his mission, just for these ordinary fans, Lu Wenbin must lead his teammates to complete the miracle of away game comeback.