After the match between Hoffenheim and Dinamo Zagreb, another group match in Group D that started at the same time also ended. Spartak Moscow unexpectedly lost to Nijmegen at home.
Tottenham Hotspur has a bye in this round.
After the fourth round of the UEFA Cup, Hoffenheim ranked first with 9 points and 5 goal difference, and Tottenham ranked second with 6 points and 2 goal difference.
Nijmegen and Spartak Moscow both have 3 points and 1 goal difference, but Nijmegen is in the lead thanks to the direct victory in the fourth round of the group stage between the two teams. The two teams are ranked third and fourth respectively.
Dinamo Zagreb ranks last in the group with 3 points and 5 goal difference.
Dinamo Zagreb has already played all four rounds of group matches. They will have a bye in the last round and don't even have a chance to continue the game and turn the tables.
Therefore, Dinamo Zagreb, which ranked last after the fourth round, has actually been eliminated early.
There are three qualifying spots among the five teams in the group stage. With Hoffenheim qualifying early and Dinamo Zagreb being eliminated early, the remaining teams are Tottenham Hotspur, Nijmegen and Spartak Moscow competing for the last two qualifying spots.
Of course, Tottenham, with 6 points and a goal difference advantage, is in the best situation.
However, these have little to do with Hoffenheim, which has already qualified and has a high chance of winning first in the group.
The most important thing for Hoffenheim at this time is to prepare for the 16th round of the Bundesliga against Bayern Munich.
Lu Wenbin still remembers the German Cup final last season. He was almost targeted by Bayern. In the end, he relied on a lucky midfield lob and a free kick that was taken with a system skill in overtime to help the team win the championship with a difficult 3-2 victory.
Bayern Munich's overall technical and tactical level, as well as the individual strength of its stars, are very different from other opponents it has encountered in the Bundesliga and the UEFA Cup.
This is a truly world-class club, clearly not on the same level as other Bundesliga teams.
With the system as his backing, Lu Wenbin can play against other teams with ease.
But against Bayern Munich, even if his shooting reached 20/20 and his off-ball running reached 19/19, he could not guarantee that he would lead the team to victory.
Maybe he can continue to score goals, but he can't guarantee whether the team can win.
Even if he himself had continued his performance in the previous UEFA Cup group match against Dinamo Zagreb, he might not have been able to score a goal.
Therefore, after a poor performance in the fourth round of the League Cup group stage, Lu Wenbin also realized his problem of excessive indulgence and suspended his entanglement with Kate.
Take a two-day break first, actively engage in training, and get through Bayern Munich first.
There is no doubt that the match between Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim at home is the most important focus of this round of the Bundesliga.
Although Hoffenheim has already secured the half-time championship in advance, the half-time championship is not completely equivalent to the Bundesliga championship at the end of the season. There is still a 1/3 chance that the championship will fall into someone else's hands.
Especially in the special league of the Bundesliga, if you want to win the Bundesliga championship, you have to compete with Bayern Munich no matter what.
This is not only a test of the team's strength, but also a test of the team's confidence and morale.
As for Bayern Munich, which regards the Bundesliga as its own backyard, they naturally want to defeat Hoffenheim, shorten the points gap, and then complete a major reversal and win the championship in the second half of the season.
Bayern has sufficient foundation and experience, and is very good at chasing and pressuring opponents, coming from behind and winning.
Therefore, on the evening of December 6, the Allianz Arena, which can accommodate 66,000 spectators and hosted the opening ceremony of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, was packed.
Not only were there countless Bayern fans filling the stands to cheer on the Southern Stars, but there were also over 4,000 Hoffenheim fans, which exceeded the total population of the village where Hoffenheim was based.
This is the time when the largest number of Hoffenheim fans traveled to an away game. On the one hand, it proves the importance of this game in everyone's mind. On the other hand, it also proves the appeal and cohesion of Hoffenheim's current results to the fans.
At 20:30 on the evening of December 6, the first match of the 16th round of the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich's home game against Hoffenheim, was broadcast live throughout Germany and dozens of countries around the world.
When the game started and Lu Wenbin ran to Bayern's half, there was an uproar at the scene and in front of the TV. The professional commentators and special guests looked at each other in disbelief.
Because when other weaker teams in the Bundesliga and the UEFA Cup did not treat Lu Wenbin in this way, Bayern Munich, as a world-class powerhouse, actually sent two defenders to closely guard the 18-year-old Lu Wenbin.
From the beginning of the game, Bayern's No. 16 defensive midfielder Oter stuck to Lu Wenbin.
Unless Lu Wenbin retreats to the front of his own restricted area, Ottel will follow Lu Wenbin closely even near the center line.
This is the person who was responsible for defending Lu Wenbin in the German Cup final last season and has experience in dealing with Lu Wenbin.
In that game, apart from that unexpected lob shot from midfield and the direct free kick, Lu Wenbin was really blocked by Oter and didn't score a single goal.
Now Lu Wenbin's off-ball running ability and physical fitness have been greatly improved, but Bayern Munich head coach Klinsmann is even more extreme.
Not only did he continue to send the experienced Oter to closely guard Lu Wenbin, but he also sent central defender Demichelis to provide close assistance after Lu Wenbin entered within 30 meters of the goal.
As long as Lu Wenbin enters within 30 meters of the goal, he will always be accompanied by Oter and Demichelis, two full-time defensive players who can play as the main force for Bayern.
This is simply the treatment for a world-class superstar. Even ordinary forwards from Real Madrid and Barcelona cannot enjoy such treatment.
This shows how much Bayern Munich and Klinsmann value Lu Wenbin.
But in fact, Lu Wenbin does not have the strength of a world-class superstar, at least in terms of speed he is still far behind.
As long as Ottl and Demichelis focused and kept their eyes on Lu Wenbin, with Lu Wenbin's speed, even if he had a high off-ball running attribute, he could not escape the close defense of the two.
When being closely guarded by one person, Lu Wenbin can also use unexpected back and forth running, change of direction and other methods to briefly break away and create an opening.
But among the two of them, Lu Wenbin's chance of escaping was greatly reduced and compressed because his speed attribute was only 11/11.
Even if one person was thrown away by his sudden change of direction, another person would immediately pounce on him, leaving Lu Wenbin no chance to run out of space to receive the ball.
Lu Wenbin, who only had one shooting opportunity after 20 minutes of the game and missed the shot due to interference from Demichelis, was eager to increase his speed to 20/20.
In that case, even two people wouldn't be able to defend him.
Because he can rely on his speed to overpower his opponents and leave everyone behind.
Now, two of Bayern's top defenders were concentrating on marking him, making Lu Wenbin feel helpless.
This was even more helpless than when Lu Wenbin felt against Udinese's catenaccio in the first round of the UEFA Cup.
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