At the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, 40 minutes into the first half, Hoffenheim's endless attacks failed to score a goal.
Amid the exclamations of the commentators and fans, goalkeeper Neuer blocked all of Hoffenheim's shots, and Hoffenheim's players lost some confidence.
But Lu Wenbin did not waver.
He still didn't believe that Neuer was really so good as to save all of Hoffenheim's shots.
If he was really that good, Schalke 04 wouldn't be ranked only seventh in the Bundesliga standings.
Through observations in the first 40 minutes, Lu Wenbin discovered that Neuer had a characteristic, which was that he loved to rush out of the small penalty area, or even the large penalty area, to disrupt the opponent's through balls or one-on-one shots.
Other goalkeepers usually cover the small penalty area, or at most the large penalty area, but Neuer's defense range extends beyond the penalty area, making him a sweeper among goalkeepers.
Neuer's characteristics dictate that he often stands in the large penalty area, rather than in the small penalty area or even on the goal line.
Lu Wenbin admitted that Neuer was the strongest goalkeeper he had ever met in the game. He had a wide coverage area, good positioning, and quick reaction. Even long shots were often saved by him.
But Lu Wenbin thinks that there are several types of long shots.
One is a straight and powerful long shot, with no angle or height, which wins only by speed and power. This type of shot is most likely to be saved by Neuer who has quick reactions.
The second type is the curve ball, which has a chance to bypass Neuer's defensive range, but the curve ball is not easy to control the power and final landing point. In mobile warfare, there is no sufficient preparation time for the penalty kick like a direct free kick, and it is easy to bypass Neuer and go around the goal frame at the same time.
The last type is the long-range lob shot, which has no speed and power, and other players cannot control the force well, so the ball can easily go directly over the crossbar and turn into a plane.
But Lu Wenbin's 20/20 shooting attributes and his control over the ball contact position and strength can be said to be the best in football.
When Lu Wenbin takes a long-range lob shot, the chance of hitting the goal frame decreases due to the longer distance, but it is still much higher than that of other teammates.
Previously, because Hoffenheim's most threatening Lu Wenbin often rushed into the penalty area, Neuer did not dare to stay too far away from the goal line and the small penalty area.
But there is a tactic in Chinese military strategy called luring the snake out of its hole, which Lu Wenbin feels is more suitable for the current situation.
Lu Wenbin took the initiative to retreat, giving Neuer the illusion that he was far away from the goal and his threat was reduced. Perhaps he would stand further forward, giving himself more opportunities to shoot from long range.
Therefore, in the next few minutes, Lu Wenbin began to run without the ball in the area between the center line and 30 meters from the Schalke 04 goal, looking for opportunities to make long-range lobs.
Because in this area only Entes was closely guarding Lu Wenbin, Krstajic, as a central defender, generally would not follow him so far.
So Lu Wenbin can get more opportunities to receive the ball and shoot, and experiment with his ideas.
However, the time left to the end of the first half was too short.
In the last 5 minutes, Lu Wenbin only broke away from Entes and received a pass from Eduardo to complete a shot.
As a result, because Neuer's position was not very forward this time, he ran back to the goal line and hugged the ball directly in his arms, and no one paid attention to it.
Everyone thought that Lu Wenbin just took a random shot in the midfield.
Then the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.
After a 15-minute break, the two sides changed sides and Lu Wenbin continued to run without the ball in the midfield where only Entes was marking him most of the time.
Seeing this scene, Schalke head coach Rutten smiled, and the commentator who supported Schalke also explained happily:
"Lu was successfully frozen by Schalke 04's double-man defense tactics. He could not find any opportunities within 30 meters of the goal and was forced to retreat to the midfield to look for shooting opportunities. However, at that distance, even if he got a chance to shoot, it would be difficult to score."
The amazing long-range shot that Lu Wenbin scored against Bielefeld was generally considered to be a lucky shot and has no reference value.
Schalke 04 supporters thought that Lu Wenbin was forced to retreat to the midfield by Rutten's double defense, and felt quite complacent. No one thought that Lu Wenbin was practicing his own strategy of "luring the snake out of its hole."
Neuer also didn't think so much. He just saw that Lu Wenbin was away from the penalty area and the threat was reduced, so he began to rush out of the penalty area more frequently to serve as his sweeper goalkeeper.
Even when he does not rush out of the penalty area, Neuer's position is often in the large penalty area, ready to rush out of the penalty area at any time.
This is an atypical goalkeeper with a very unique and outstanding personal style.
This is exactly the effect Lu Wenbin wanted to achieve.
With only Entes marking him closely, Lu Wenbin indeed had more opportunities to receive the ball and shoot in the midfield.
In the 52nd minute of the second half, Lu Wenbin received a pass from Salihovic in the midfield and was about to shoot, but the ball was knocked away by Entes with a flying tackle, and there was no foul.
In the 65th minute, Schalke 04 got a chance to counterattack. Winger Asamoah made a cross from the bottom, and center forward Kuranyi headed the ball, but he was unlucky and the ball hit the crossbar and bounced back into the penalty area. Hoffenheim defender Jancker cleared the ball to the midfield with a big kick.
At this time, because Schalke 04 was attacking, most of the players from both sides ran to Hoffenheim's half and midfield. The two central defenders of Schalke 04 were out of the 30-meter range of the goal. Neuer also moved to the penalty area line and looked forward, hoping that his teammates would score a goal.
After the ball was cleared by Jancker to the midfield, Neuer did not retreat. He was waiting for the opponent to counterattack and then he rushed out to clear the ball as a sweeper!
He likes this style of play.
The ball cleared by Jancker was headed over by Salihovic and passed to Ibisevic.
Ibisevic did not break through with the ball himself, nor did he pass the ball to Demba Ba who was running forward. Instead, at Lu Wenbin's wave, he passed the ball horizontally to Lu Wenbin who had shaken off Entes' close defense near the center circle.
After Lu Wenbin looked at Neuer's position in advance, he did not stop the ball at all, but shot directly from more than 40 meters away from the goal.
When the ball soared into the sky and flew towards the Schalke 04 goal, Rutten stood up from the bench and Neuer's face changed drastically. He began to run back towards the goal from the penalty area line.
However, Neuer's position was too far forward and the ball was flying much faster than Neuer.
As soon as Neuer ran to the small penalty area line, the ball had already passed over his head and fell into the empty goal.
The CCTV commentator excitedly said: "The ball went in. Lu Wenbin scored a 40-meter-long lob shot from midfield. He is an expert in long-range lob shots! Neuer, who likes to rush out of the penalty area and stands in the front, was hit by Lu Wenbin's lob shot into the empty goal!"
Chinese netizens commented on Neuer in the comment section with great joy:
"I told you, Neuer, to stand so far forward. Now you've been taught a lesson, haven't you?"
"Lu Wenbin is really amazing. He can even hoist it in from such a distance!"
"Speaking of which, Lu Wenbin has scored several midfield lobs. He is really an expert in long-range lobs!"
"This kind of ball is inspiring just by looking at it, it's awesome!"