Hoffenheim's formation in this game was 433. Lu Wenbin, Parjic and Demba Ba started as the three forwards, Salihovic and Copado partnered as the double attacking midfielders, and Eduardo, who was banned domestically, was in the stands.
After the start of the game, Hoffenheim took advantage of the first kick-off to launch an attack on Cologne, hoping to score an early goal.
Hoffenheim's strength is definitely far stronger than Cologne's, but perhaps it was the pressure of being the world's attention and having to win the championship that caused the players to get a little excited and nervous in the opening stage, and their movements were distorted, including Lu Wenbin.
In the 8th minute, Lu Wenbin broke away from the defense of Cologne defender on the penalty area line and received the pass from Copado and shot directly without stopping. As a result, the ball flew high over the crossbar and went straight into the stands.
This is a very rare thing for Lu Wenbin.
Since the shooting attribute was increased to 20/20, he would generally hit the goal frame when shooting within 30 meters of the goal without interference. At most, the shot would slightly deviate from the goal when he was too focused on the angle, but it would not deviate too far.
This time the ball flew high over the crossbar and went straight into the stands, which showed how deformed his touching position and movements were.
After shooting the goal, Lu Wenbin patted his head, looking incredible.
Although he had the system plug-in and was confident and had no doubts about his future achievements, Lu Wenbin was only 18 years old after all. It was also the first time he was so close to the championship of the top five European leagues, so it was inevitable that he was a little too excited and his movements were deformed.
Apart from Lu Wenbin, the performance of other teammates was not much better.
Some of the other teammates were excited like Lu Wenbin, who was about to win the top league championship for the first time, while others were nervous due to excessive pressure.
In the 14th minute, Salihovic passed a good ball into the penalty area. Paljic and Demba Ba ran over at the same time, but neither of them saw each other. There was only the ball in their eyes.
As a result, they failed to grab the ball, and the two men collided with each other and fell in the penalty area, allowing the Cologne defender to easily clear the ball.
Within 20 minutes, Hoffenheim, who played with three forwards, did not have a single shot on target.
Only the free kick taken by Lu Wenbin hit the goal frame and bounced out of the bottom line, posing the greatest threat.
Of course, Cologne didn't score a single goal either.
They played a defensive counterattack, but failed to score a goal in the few counterattacks.
Among them, No. 11 forward Novakovic had a threatening shot in the penalty area that hit the goal frame, but the angle was too straight and was easily confiscated by Ozcan.
However, 20 minutes into the game, the players gradually got into the game state, and the stronger Hoffenheim started to score goals.
Although Cologne played a defensive counterattack, with many defensive players in the backcourt and small space, the effect of off-ball running was slightly lower than in an offensive battle, but Lu Wenbin, whose physique has increased to 18/18, is no longer afraid of any physical confrontation.
In the 27th minute, Lu Wenbin received a pass from Salihovic with his back to the goal in the penalty area, despite the close defense of Cologne defender Worm.
Then he pretended to pass the ball to Paljic, which prompted another player marking him, Matip, to move his body towards Paljic.
But Lu Wenbin's foot knocked the ball behind him, and the ball rolled between Worm's legs. Lu Wenbin then leaned on Worm's body and completed a beautiful turn in the penalty area.
This is a rare little technical skill in the penalty area for Lu Wenbin, which caused the commentators in the commentary booth to exclaim in surprise.
"Ah, Lu dribbled past the defense and turned around in the restricted area!"
"It's a rare sight. Lu used his heel to knock the ball in the penalty area and turned around to break through the defense of Vorm and Matip!"
"Lu knocked the ball and turned to face the goal, good chance!"
Indeed, after knocking the ball with his heel and turning around from the other side of Worm's body, Lu Wenbin was basically facing the goal head-on.
The other Cologne players did not expect that Lu Wenbin could unexpectedly use this trick to complete the turn when facing the double close defense of Vorm and Matip. There were only the goal and the goalkeeper in front of Lu Wenbin. It was indeed a good opportunity.
Although goalkeeper Mondragon had already chosen the best position, and although Worm turned around and grabbed Lu Wenbin's shoulders to interfere with his shot, he still managed to keep his balance and completed the shot before he lost his balance and was pulled to the ground by Worm.
But it was useless. The ball was shot into the goal through the gap between the goalkeeper and the near post by Lu Wenbin, whose shooting attribute was as high as 20/20. Mondragon's outstretched foot missed the goal by a hair's breadth and failed to block it.
In the 27th minute, Lu Wenbin scored the first goal of the game for Hoffenheim with an unexpected heel-kick.
“Wow…” All the fans in the stands stood up instantly, and the applause, screams and cheers were deafening.
The commentator at the Rhine-Neckar Arena even shouted loudly on the radio: "Tooooooooooooooooor..."
After shouting for half a minute, the commentator finally changed his tone and shouted: "In the 27th minute, Hoffenheim scored the first goal. The goal was scored by No. 9..."
"Lu-Lu-Lu!" Tens of thousands of fans inside and outside the stadium responded enthusiastically, and Lu Wenbin's name resounded through the sky.
Many commentators from TV stations in various countries, including the German Sports TV, stood up from the commentary booths to express their appreciation for Lu Wenbin's goal after he dribbled past the opponent with his heel.
The commentator of China's CCTV-5 gave Lu Wenbin all the praise he could think of, and he was excited and proud of Lu Wenbin's outstanding performance.
As the first core of Hoffenheim, Lu Wenbin is about to lead a country club that cannot be found on the map to complete the miracle of winning the championship as a newly promoted team!
In Asia, whether it is South Korea, Japan, Iran or Saudi Arabia, no player from any country has such dazzling performance and results as Lu Wenbin!
As long as Lu Wenbin leads Hoffenheim to win the championship today, he will definitely be the undisputed No. 1 star in Asia. No wonder the commentator of CCTV-5 is so generous in praising him!
On the court, Lu Wenbin also celebrated passionately with his teammates!
Lu Wenbin's goal undoubtedly opened the door to victory for the team!
As long as Hoffenheim scores a goal, they will take the initiative and the next game will be much easier!
Hoffenheim celebrated for about half a minute, and then the game resumed. Hoffenheim, who had returned to normal, performed better.
Although Cologne is ranked 11th, a bit far from the relegation zone, they have not completely gotten out of the relegation zone based on points.
Therefore, the Cologne team, which was trailing 0-1, began to counterattack more actively and no longer defended stubbornly.