When Cologne started to launch more counterattacks, Hoffenheim naturally had more spaces and opportunities in the backcourt.
In the 38th minute, Cologne attacked, but the No. 7 attacking midfielder Cevic was accurately intercepted and the ball fell to the feet of the full-back Beck.
After stopping the ball for a moment, Baker made a long pass and transferred the ball to Copado on the midfield, and Hoffenheim began to counterattack.
The formation that Cologne had just used to attack retreated like a tide, but could not keep up with the speed of Hoffenheim's attack.
After receiving the pass from Baker, Copado did not waste time dribbling the ball. He just stopped the ball and then turned around and passed it diagonally to Paljic in the middle of the frontcourt.
Then, Paljic faced two choices, Lu Wenbin with two people following him on the left or Demba Ba with only one person guarding him on the right, both of whom rushed into the penalty area.
Paljic first made a move to pass the ball to Lu Wenbin on the left, causing the defender Jeromere who was defending him to nervously take a step back towards Lu Wenbin, but Paljic then kicked the ball into the empty space on the right side of the penalty area.
Demba Ba rushed into the penalty area and shot the ball before defender Mohammed could defend him, and the ball went straight to the far corner.
Paljic thought Demba Ba would shoot at the near corner, so his center of gravity shifted towards the near corner. By the time he saw the path of the ball shot by Demba Ba, it was too late and he could only watch the ball fly into the goal.
In the 38th minute, Parjic assisted Demba Ba to score Hoffenheim's second goal. Hoffenheim led Cologne 2-0 at home!
There was a huge cheer in the stands, and the fans shouted "Champions" and were very excited!
Hoffenheim is getting closer and closer to the championship.
Not long after Demba Ba scored the goal, the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.
During the half-time break, the fans in the stands did not stop, but kept shouting championship slogans or doing the Mexican Wave to celebrate.
Commentators from various countries also commented that the Cologne team, which had no fighting spirit, could no longer prevent Hoffenheim from winning the championship early at the Rhine-Neckar Arena.
Although Cologne has not yet completely recovered, they are ranked 11th in the standings. Unless they lose all the next few rounds of the league and their subsequent opponents win all, Cologne will be pushed into the relegation zone.
But in fact, the probability of any one of the situations occurring is extremely low, and the probability of both situations occurring at the same time is almost impossible. Cologne has not yet been relegated only in theory.
Moreover, judging from the relegation points in previous years, Cologne's current 35 points are basically safe.
There is basically no problem with relegation, but in the fight for the top European competition spots, Cologne has too big a points gap, so it is simply impossible.
Therefore, in fact, Cologne is a standard mid-table team that has no hope of competing for a place in the European Cup and no worries about relegation in the later stages of the league.
When they meet their mortal enemy, they might fight to the death, but when they meet other teams, they will have no fighting spirit!
Hoffenheim has secured the Bundesliga title.
After a 15-minute break, the two sides changed sides and continued the game.
As many commentators and reporters had expected, Cologne did not launch any counterattacks in the second half. They continued to focus on defense as they did in the first half, trying not to lose by a big margin.
Then, we would occasionally counterattack when we got the chance. It would be nice if we could score a goal and improve our stats, but we didn’t feel frustrated if we didn’t score.
Only Hoffenheim continued to attack.
They also wanted to score a goal to completely seal the victory and their Bundesliga title.
In the 62nd minute of the second half, Hoffenheim won a corner kick.
Copado's corner kick was not grabbed by Hoffenheim players, but was headed out by Cologne defender Mohammed.
But Mohammed did not use his full strength due to the interference of Paljic, and his header was not powerful enough, so the ball did not fly far. The second landing point was near the penalty spot, just behind Lu Wenbin.
It is impossible to jump up and head the ball. Even if you manage to raise your head and head the ball towards the goal, it will be a header with no power and extremely slow speed, which will basically not pose a threat.
In a flash, Lu Wenbin had an idea, half turned around, jumped backward, then kicked his right foot upwards, hit the ball hard, and made a back-hook volley shot.
This is a move that cannot be trained and can only be performed by players during the game based on actual circumstances.
As for shooting accuracy, the body is in the air, so there is naturally no question of shooting accuracy. You can only try your best to kick the ball in the direction of the goal behind you and try your luck.
In that second, based on the landing point of the ball and his own position, Lu Wenbin suddenly came up with the idea of a back-hook volley shot, and then his body involuntarily made the back-hook motion.
As for whether the ball goes in or not, he no longer cares.
It was the first time I performed this move in a game, and it was good enough that I could kick the ball.
However, Lu Wenbin was not sure, but the commentators and fans in the stands saw it clearly.
Everyone became excited when they saw the ball fall towards Lu Wenbin's position and Lu Wenbin made a back-hook volley shot.
This is one of the most spectacular and difficult shots on the football field. All football fans will love it, especially when you see it live.
After seeing Lu Wenbin jump up and shoot with a hook, commentator Dickenson yelled, "Lu, hook shot!"
Then he saw the ball leave Lu Wenbin's feet and fly straight to the left side of the goal.
Goalkeeper Mondragon made a save, but Lu Wenbin's hook was very powerful. Although the angle was not sharp, it still rushed into the goal before Mondragon's hand arrived.
Seeing the ball go into the net, Dickenson stood up from the commentary booth and screamed with all his might: "Toooooooooooooooooooooooooor..."
The other commentators in the commentary booth also stood up excitedly and explained:
"The ball went in. Lu made a volley shot from the penalty area and the ball went in!"
"Scored twice. Lu scored twice in this game, and each goal was more exciting than the other!"
"One heel shot, one overhead kick, and both goals went in! He is truly a super shooter!"
"3-0, Lu Mei scored twice to help Hoffenheim lead Cologne 3-0 and lock in the victory. Hoffenheim will definitely win the Bundesliga championship this season three rounds in advance!"
The moment Lu Wenbin's overhead kick went in, tens of thousands of fans in the stands erupted like a volcano, with huge cheers, applause, and screams, which merged into the shouts of tens of thousands of fans in the square outside the stadium.
The names "Lu-Lu-Lu" and the shouts of "Long live Hoffenheim", "Champions" and so on were heard continuously.
At this moment, Lu Wenbin, who scored twice and helped Hoffenheim lock in the victory and almost had the championship salad plate in his arms, is the god of Hoffenheim!