When the game restarted, Hoffenheim's players were still a little dazed, confused by Xavi's through pass and Henry's lightning goal.
Fortunately, Ralph's pre-match instructions to the players on what to do to Ibrahimovic had an effect.
In the 5th minute, Ibrahimovic received the ball outside the penalty area and passed Gustavo, attracting the double-team of central defenders Nilsson and Jancker, and Messi ran into an open space on the right.
Ibrahimovic should have passed the ball diagonally to Messi before Nilsson and Jancker came around, and Messi could have easily received the ball and scored.
As a result, Ibrahimovic ignored Messi's positioning and chose to break through by force, but was blocked by Jancker and Nilsson. He failed to pass the ball and Ozcan caught it in his arms.
Barcelona missed an opportunity to expand its lead. The Barcelona fans in the stands sighed, and then many people complained about Ibrahimovic. The commentators also gave their comments.
"Ibrahimovic is still very independent!"
"Guardiola said that Ibrahimovic is the most suitable center forward for Barcelona. From a technical and tactical point of view, it is true, but from the perspective of cooperation on the field and in the locker room, I am afraid it is not the case."
"Ibrahimovic's personality is not suitable for surviving in a super giant like Barcelona!"
"Barcelona will not let Ibrahimovic be their core!"
On the court, Messi, who ran into an open space but failed to catch the ball, also complained to Ibrahimovic. However, Ibrahimovic ignored him and walked back with his head held high.
What Ibrahimovic was thinking was to be more patient and make his fake moves more realistic next time he dribbled past the opponent, instead of passing the ball to Messi or someone else.
He wanted to prove that he was better than both Henry and Messi. Henry's lightning goal at the beginning of the game was just taking advantage of the opponent's lack of concentration at the beginning.
The game continued. After being alarmed by Ibrahimovic, Hoffenheim's players finally woke up, began to concentrate on defense and launch a counterattack.
Hoffenheim's ability to win the Bundesliga, one of the top five leagues, the German Cup and the UEFA Cup ahead of schedule was not entirely due to Lu Wenbin.
Although Lu Wenbin plays a big role, he is not a striker and cannot really dribble the ball through the opponent's entire defense line and shoot successfully.
He is now a pass-feeding forward who relies on support and assists from his teammates.
If the other players of Hoffenheim were really hopeless and couldn't even assist Lu Wenbin, Lu Wenbin would not have been able to score so many goals, let alone lead Hoffenheim to complete the Hoffenheim miracle.
So, when Hoffenheim's players slowly entered the game state, although it could not be said that they were evenly matched, they began to make up for some disadvantages and started to attack Barcelona.
Barcelona's ball possession skills are indeed first-class, which is very different from other opponents Hoffenheim has encountered.
Most of the time, the ball was under Barcelona's control, and Hoffenheim players could only passively chase and defend. Once there was an opening, Barcelona would suddenly change the rhythm to create an opening and form a shooting opportunity.
Fortunately, Ibrahimovic is still very independent, and it is difficult to pass the ball once it is at his feet.
In addition, whether it is Ibrahimovic, Henry or Messi, the accuracy of their final shot cannot reach the level of Lu Wenbin.
Therefore, although Barcelona had more shots than Hoffenheim, they were unable to score a second goal to expand their lead.
Although Hoffenheim had few shooting opportunities, they did have some.
No matter how strong Barcelona is, they cannot completely control the ball under their feet, not giving Hoffenheim any offensive opportunities, and not making any mistakes.
In the 21st minute, it was Keita's dribbling ball that was intercepted by Salihovic, leading to a counterattack.
After grabbing the ball, Salihovic took a few steps and passed it to Eduardo. Eduardo dribbled past Yaya Toure and passed it to Demba Ba, creating a good shooting opportunity.
After receiving the ball at the edge of the penalty area, Demba Ba pretended to pass it to Lu Wenbin at the top of the penalty area. After shaking Pique, he suddenly dribbled into the penalty area and then shot in the penalty area.
Valdes caught the ball, but failed to save it from going out of bounds. Instead, the ball hit the post and bounced back into the penalty area near the penalty spot.
Seeing this, Lu Wenbin, who was closest, and Puyol, who was guarding him, rushed towards the ball at the same time, but Lu Wenbin, with his keen insight, started ahead of time and blocked his position little by little.
In addition, Lu Wenbin used his strong physique to push Puyol to the outside.
Even though Puyol pulled and tugged, he couldn't stop Lu Wenbin.
In desperation, Puyol could only tackle from the side, preparing to tackle the ball away in advance, without even caring about whether he would commit a foul and give the opponent a penalty kick.
However, Lu Wenbin also flew over and made a sliding shot the moment Puyol made the tackle.
The two tackled at the same time. Lu Wenbin, who was in a favorable position and half a step ahead, naturally took the initiative and tackled the ball first.
The ball was shoveled by Lu Wenbin to the other side of the goal. Although Valdés, who had fallen to the ground after saving the ball, had stood up and rushed out again, the angle of Lu Wenbin's tackle was too sharp and went straight into the blind corner.
Valdes ultimately failed to touch the ball, and it went into the blind corner of the goal in front of him.
German commentator Dickenson yelled with all his might: "Toooooooooooooooooooooooooor..."
"Goal! European Golden Boot winner Lu finally scored a goal! He was the first to shovel the ball into the goal under the defense of Barcelona captain Puyol, equalizing the score for Hoffenheim!"
Hoffenheim fans in the stands also stood up, applauding, screaming and cheering in celebration!
In the frustration of conceding a goal in the first minute of the game, Hoffenheim managed to keep their footing in the face of Barcelona's powerful overall offensive and did not concede any more goals. Instead, they even equalized the score. No wonder everyone celebrated like crazy.
As for the players on the field, they naturally went to find Lu Wenbin who had turned over and stood up to celebrate.
After Lu Wenbin completed the tackle and shot, he was hit on the foot by Puyol who followed him, but he was only hit on the shoe and was not hurt at all. After seeing the ball go in, he turned over and got up to celebrate with his teammates.
Looking at Lu Wenbin's back as he rushed to the sidelines surrounded by his teammates, the Barcelona players' faces became solemn.
Although this ball was just a point-grabbing move, the point-grabbing ability, confrontation ability, and shooting accuracy demonstrated by Lu Wenbin in this ball forced the Barcelona players to take it seriously.
In the defensive system of three central defenders and under the close defense of Barcelona captain Puyol, Lu Wenbin was still able to find shooting opportunities in the penalty area and his shot was fatal, which really made people pay attention.
Lu Wenbin’s European Golden Boot is indeed well-deserved.
They can look down on Hoffenheim, but they must never look down on Lu Wenbin.
I would like to recommend a football novel written by a friend, titled "The Elegant Killer", which starts with Serie A. Friends who are interested can go and have a look.