Time slowly came to April 7, the evening of the game day.
The Rhein-Neckar Arena was packed, with thousands of fans without tickets wandering outside.
Everyone wanted to cheer for the team on the spot and witness Hoffenheim advance to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Nearing 19:45, the weather was cloudy and the incessant heavy rain finally stopped, and the competition was about to begin.
Lyon's strategy in this game was the same as the previous one, which was an extreme defensive counterattack of 541, trying to continue to restrict Lu Wenbin, and then compete with other Hoffenheim players for goals.
There is no other way.
If Lu Wenbin is not restricted, the number of goals scored by Lu Wenbin alone may be more than that of the entire opposing team. It is not possible not to restrict him.
Lyon almost succeeded in the first round, until Lu Wenbin scored a free kick in the injury time. Everyone felt very unlucky.
The first round of the match between Lyon and Hoffenheim was one of the few games in which Lu Wenbin was most restricted, and it is very worthy of reference.
For a striker like Lu Wenbin who scores goals so often, two or three people's close defense is indeed not enough.
Lyon used a 541 defensive counterattack formation, with enough people piled up in the backcourt, resulting in the area within 30 meters of the goal being full of people. Lu Wenbin's speed, positioning, etc. were of little use.
This is the only way to restrict Lu Wenbin.
As for the free kick that Lu Wenbin scored in extra time to equalize the game, it was just bad luck and there was nothing he could do about it, not a tactical problem.
The Lyon players also stood on the Rhine-Neckar Arena with full confidence, ready to fight hard away from home, try to keep Lu Wenbin scoreless, score a counterattack goal, and eliminate Hoffenheim on the aggregate score.
The Lyon players are full of confidence, but Hoffenheim are even more confident than them.
This is their home ground, the rain has stopped, and their ground offensive football can exert its greatest power.
Moreover, the sudden change in Lu Wenbin's dribbling and breakthrough ability in the past two days has greatly increased Lu Wenbin's threat.
In the past, Lu Wenbin basically relied on assists from his teammates. Even if he was fast, he might lose the ball if he couldn't dribble well. He rarely received the ball from the midfield and made a long run to score a goal.
But now, Lu Wenbin has nothing to lack.
He has the skills, speed, and physique. Apart from his poor headers, Lu Wenbin is a combination of Ronaldo and Ronaldinho at their peak.
Such strength naturally gives teammates and coaches full of confidence.
Not only was Ralph full of confidence, he also told everyone that if they got the right to kick off at the beginning of the game, Lu Wenbin would directly take the ball and shoot at the goal, taking advantage of the fact that the opponent was unaware of Lu Wenbin's greatly increased breakthrough ability and catching the opponent off guard.
It would be even better if we could break the Champions League fastest goal record of 10.12 seconds set by Makaay in the 2006/2007 season.
The result was also gratifying. Salihovic actually got the right to kick off in the pre-match side selection ceremony.
Lu Wenbin and all his teammates were ready to raid their opponents.
I don't know whether it will succeed or not, but it's worth a try.
Because no one outside knew that Lu Wenbin's dribbling and breakthrough skills suddenly became so terrifying, there was a great possibility that he would catch Lyon off guard.
At 19:45 on the evening of April 7, with the referee's whistle, the second round of the 2009/2010 Champions League quarter-final between Hoffenheim and French Ligue 1 Lyon officially began at home.
Ibrahimovic, who was responsible for the kick-off, kicked the ball to Lu Wenbin in the center circle. After receiving the ball, Lu Wenbin did not pass it back as usual, but immediately rushed towards the Lyon team with the ball.
Just outside the center circle, Lyon striker Gomis, who was closest to Lu Wenbin, had a flash of surprise in his eyes, but did not take it seriously. When he saw Lu Wenbin rushing towards him with the ball, he just rushed forward as a routine and pretended to stop Lu Wenbin.
But as a forward, Gomis naturally has poor defensive skills. Lu Wenbin passed him with a simple feint and dunk, and continued to rush towards Lyon's half.
Ibisevic and Demba Ba also ran towards Lyon's half on both sides of Lu Wenbin to distract the opponent's defense.
Gomis didn't care and ignored Lu Wenbin who broke through him and ran towards Hoffenheim's half.
As the only striker in the defensive counterattack, he must be in the front. In case there is a chance of counterattack, Lyon will not be unable to find a point to pass the ball.
Gomis is a forward and is not good at defense, so no one was surprised that he was passed by Lu Wenbin in one shot.
The nearest Lyon midfielder Bastow rushed over from the diagonal, trying to intercept Lu Wenbin.
As a result, Lu Wenbin passed the ball without stopping, and his 20/20 speed allowed him to rush from the other side of Barstow like the wind.
Bastow stopped suddenly and reached out to grab Lu Wenbin.
This position is too far from the goal. Even if Lu Wenbin is pulled down, he will not get a yellow card, and the opponent's free kick will not pose any threat.
Therefore, Bastow pulled it without any burden.
As a result, as soon as his hand touched Lu Wenbin, Lu Wenbin broke free.
Lu Wenbin's speed was beyond his expectation. Basto could only turn around and chase him back, but Lu Wenbin's speed made it impossible for him to catch up. Even with the ball, his speed was not slower than his running without any support.
This time, the pass against Bastow made everyone in the stands and in front of the TV's eyes light up: this kind of pass is rare from Lu Wenbin.
But it’s not over yet.
After passing Basto, Lu Wenbin did not pass the ball to his teammates Ibrahimovic or Demba Ba on both sides, but continued to move forward quickly with the ball.
Although Bastow was chasing frantically behind, he was unable to get close: Lu Wenbin was too fast.
However, Lyon's double defensive midfielders Jim and Toulalan had blocked Lu Wenbin's way forward and did not care about Ibrahimovic and Demba Ba running on both sides.
This is Lyon's tactic. Even if it leaves other Hoffenheim players open, they must try their best to stop Lu Wenbin.
In normal games, when faced with this situation, Lu Wenbin usually passes the ball to his teammates around him, then he runs without the ball to create an open space, waits for his teammates to assist, and then shoots directly.
The commentators, the audience, and the players of the Lyon team were all prepared for this.
As a result, Lu Wenbin did not do that this time.
He first raised his foot and pretended to pass the ball to Ibrahimovic who was following on the left, which led Jim on the left to take a step forward to intercept Lu Wenbin's pass.
As a result, Lu Wenbin's ankle shook as his foot landed, and he pushed the ball to the right with the outside of his right foot, preparing to break through from the other side of Turalang.
Turalan was very focused. When he saw Lu Wenbin push the ball outside, he immediately shifted his center of gravity and moved to the right, ready to intercept.
As a result, the ball that Lu Wenbin kicked out with his right foot was suddenly pulled back by Lu Wenbin, and he pushed forward with his left foot, and the ball passed through the gap between Jim and Turalan who were caught off guard.
Ronaldinho's signature move: the bull's tail pass.
Moreover, Lu Wenbin did it exactly right. It was fast and deceptive, and Tularan was fooled in no time.
(asking for monthly ticket)