Inter Milan got off to a dream start in the final as they took advantage of their opponent's mistake and scored a goal to lead Hoffenheim 1-0 just 6 minutes into the game.
No one blamed Yankel openly, and captain Salihovic even went up to comfort him.
However, his mistake was a huge blow to the entire Hoffenheim team.
If it was a normal game, mistakes would be made and they could be recovered in the next game. Hoffenheim also had precedents of falling behind and then coming back to win.
But this was the Champions League final and the opponent was Inter Milan.
Although it had only been a few minutes, Hoffenheim's players had already felt Inter Milan's defensive strength.
The Italian team's defense is well-deserved, and the madman Mourinho is not in vain.
Inter Milan's defense was better, tighter and more layered than Bayern Munich's in the Champions League semi-finals and the German Cup final.
It was difficult for Lu Wenbin to break through or run into space to get a chance to shoot, let alone other players.
Therefore, even being behind by only one goal brought huge psychological pressure to Hoffenheim players.
What's more, the ball was lost due to a low-level mistake made by his own teammate, which made it even more discouraging.
Now, Hoffenheim is behind.
It would be extremely difficult for them to score against Inter Milan, equalize the score, or even win the game.
Fortunately, Hoffenheim still has a super striker Lu Wenbin who scores many goals, so everyone has not completely lost confidence.
After the game resumed, Hoffenheim, eager to equalize the score, continued to attack Inter Milan's half. Lu Wenbin also kept dribbling or looking for opportunities to receive the ball and shoot.
However, Inter Milan did not give Hoffenheim any chance.
Their defense was really outstanding. After scoring a goal and taking the lead, the psychological pressure was released and the players became more flexible and performed better.
Under the blockade of Inter Milan's experienced defensive superstars such as Cambiasso, Zanetti, Lucio and Samuel, Lu Wenbin was never able to break into the penalty area.
His 20/20 dribbling ability allows him to break through relatively easily when he is one-on-one, but when the opponent is double-teamed by two or three players, and someone is waiting on the periphery to steal the ball, it is difficult for him to get through.
Lu Wenbin's dribbling ability can reach 20. The defensive abilities of Cambiasso, Zanetti and others are also not low, with current ability values of at least 18 or even 19 points.
It is very difficult, almost impossible, to score a goal by dribbling past two or three, or even four or five players in a row against Inter Milan.
As for running into the open space to catch the ball, that is also difficult.
Inter Milan's defense is too experienced and will not give Lu Wenbin too many opportunities.
Even if he runs into an open space, it is often fleeting. If the teammate with the ball does not pass the ball in time, the opportunity will slip away.
The Hoffenheim players obviously did not have the vision to seize the passing opportunities of the world class. Even if they occasionally saw the opportunities, the quality of their passes was not up to the top level.
If you don't pay attention to the strength and angle, your opponent will cut you off.
More than 10 minutes after the start of the game, Hoffenheim only got one chance to shoot, which came from Lu Wenbin's shot after a solo breakthrough and the pass to Ibisevic.
But Ibisevic's shot lacked power and was easily caught by goalkeeper Cesar, leaving Hoffenheim without even a corner kick.
Not only was the defense good, Inter Milan's counterattacks were also sharp.
While Hoffenheim was anxiously attacking, Inter Milan was planning a counterattack.
A one-goal lead is the most dangerous lead, not to mention that it is only the first half and there is no guarantee that they will win the championship.
Therefore, under the cover of layers of defense, Inter Milan has actually been planning to deal Hoffenheim another fatal blow.
In the 14th minute, Hoffenheim attacked. Salihovic held the ball and faced Maicon's defense, but he could not find a chance to break through.
After the aging Roberto Carlos left Real Madrid and withdrew from the mainstream European leagues, Maicon Douglas took over as the world's number one right back.
At this time, Maicon was at the peak of his career. He was good at both offense and defense, and could cover both ends of the offense and defense on the right side by himself.
Salihovic took the ball and tried to break through him and make a cross, but no matter what feints he made, the experienced Maicon remained unmoved and always blocked Salihovic's way forward.
Then, Inter Milan captain Zanetti also ran over from the middle and was about to be double-teamed by two world-class defenders from the opposing team.
There was no choice but for Salihovic to give up the breakthrough and turn around to pass the ball back to the midfielder Gustavo in the middle.
Stankovic, who was closest to Gustavo, immediately ran over to press the ball. Gustavo saw this and did not dare to stick to the ball.
Facing the ball passed by Salihovic, Gustavo pushed the ball and prepared to pass it to Eduardo on the other side, who would organize the attack.
However, Sneijder, Inter Milan's No. 10 organizer between Gustavo and Eduardo, guessed his passing intention.
The moment Gustavo passed the ball, Sneijder, who was jogging, suddenly accelerated, fell to the ground and intercepted the ball that Gustavo passed to Eduardo.
The harm of this ball could not be seen at this time, because both sides had had many such passes intercepted before.
Gustavo's expression just changed slightly, and he was ready to rush forward to counterattack.
But Sneijder's movements and reactions were faster than his.
Sneijder didn't kick the ball hard when he fell to the ground to intercept, so the ball was at his feet.
After blocking the ball with the instep of his foot, Sneijder immediately stood up and dribbled the ball past Gustavo who was trying to steal the ball.
Then, Sneijder looked up and made a long pass to Hoffenheim's half before Gustavo turned around again.
At this moment, with the direction and speed of Sneijder's through ball, the mood of the audience changed drastically.
Hoffenheim fans exclaimed, while Inter fans and neutral fans became excited.
Because Sneijder made a surgical pass.
The Italian commentator shouted: "Sneijder's through ball, great shot!"
Then, he stood up from the commentary booth, staring at the field without blinking, hoping that Sneijder's through pass could turn into a goal.
The German commentator shouted "Danger" while praying that Hoffenheim would be out of danger. Hoffenheim fans in the stands also booed loudly, hoping to disrupt Inter Milan's attack.
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