Chapter 175: A brace in the Champions League final

Cheng Hai hugged his parents and celebrated for a long time, and then was pulled back into the field by his teammates to celebrate for a while, before being stopped by the referee amid the protests of the Barcelona players, and returned to his own half to wait for Barcelona to open the middle circle.

After the game restarted, Barcelona really did not rush to attack and equalize, but still controlled the ball firmly according to their previous rhythm, waiting for a good opportunity to attack.

And Dortmund's side, although they scored a counter-attack goal just now, is actually quite dangerous.

If Andres Iniesta's shot was a little more angled and Weidenfeller couldn't save, it wasn't Borussia Dortmund who opened the scoring, it was Barcelona who had taken the lead by one goal.

In addition, Hummels' big foot assist is also with a strong luck component, if it is not directly passed to the vicinity of Cheng Hai, I am afraid that this ball will not be able to counterattack.

In short, although Dortmund scored a goal and temporarily led by one goal, everyone was not complacent, but under Klopp's reminder, the defense was more careful, and they did not dare to be careless, giving Barcelona an opportunity to take advantage of.

At the same time, in order to make the defense more solid, Cheng Hai also took the initiative to retreat to the back position to participate in the defense.

Anyway, Dortmund has already taken a one-goal lead, and it should be Barcelona who is anxious, and Cheng Hai is not in a hurry at all.

And once Barcelona does not fall in the backcourt, but starts to attack, then Cheng Hai can play a role, using his super speed, defensive positioning, and tackling ability to force the opponent to make mistakes, and then form a counterattack.

Sure enough, after Cheng Hai withdrew to the back midfield, Barcelona's attack became even more difficult to play.

Under Cheng Hai's relentless physical strength and the world's fastest running and pressing, Barcelona's ball was difficult to pass to the front, and he could almost only fall in the middle and back.

It's not that you can't attack at all, but you don't dare to play easily if you don't have the certainty, for fear that if you can't attack, the ball will change hands and let Dortmund attack.

This is a hallmark of Barcelona's pass-and-possession tactics.

On the sidelines, seeing Cheng Hai's retreat and the disciples under his command finding it more difficult to find offensive opportunities, Guardiola's face couldn't help but look very grim.

Although they are only one goal behind, if they continue to play in this way, Barcelona will lose more and win less after all.

However, he did not dare to let the team strengthen the attack easily, because it would be easy to lose the ball, and the ball changed hands, allowing Dortmund to get the opportunity to attack.

In this game, the main reason why Dortmund did not have many offensive opportunities was because the ball was at the feet of the Barcelona players most of the time, and Cheng Hai wanted to attack without the ball.

The Barcelona players' ability to dribble and shoot is not as good as Cheng Hai's, and once attacked, the probability of the ball changing hands will be much higher than the probability of scoring a goal.

Therefore, Guardiola can only respond to all changes with the same and let the team continue to play like this first.

As a result, the rest of the first half turned out to be very dull.

Cheng Hai's presence in the midfield position makes it more difficult for Barcelona to find excellent opportunities to attack, and most of the time they can only fall to the ground in the midfield and brush the ball possession.

Barcelona's only few attacks in the first half, with only one shot on goal at the end, were also knocked away by Kele's interference.

Dortmund, on the other hand, have fewer attacking opportunities because it is difficult to get the ball. The few two counterattacks also ended up without a problem because Cheng Hai stood too far back and did not participate.

After one minute of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle for the end of the first half, and the two sides went into the break with a score of 1-0, with Dortmund temporarily leading by one goal due to Cheng Hai's counter-attacking goal.

At half-time, most of the commentators analyzed that the final winner of the game was more likely to be Dortmund.

Dortmund took the initiative by one goal after all.

Barcelona had to attack in the second half, but their shooting skills were not as good as Cheng Hai's, even Messi's goal frame hitting rate was far from Cheng Hai's.

And once the shot misses, the ball changes hands, allowing Dortmund to play a counterattack, especially with Cheng Hai involved in the attack, Barcelona is very dangerous.

But now Barcelona are behind and have to step up their attack in the second half.

Perhaps, we can only try our luck to see if we can surpass Dortmund in goals.

In the midst of everyone's discussion, after a 15-minute break, the two sides changed sides and fought again, without making substitution adjustments.

But tactically, Barcelona launched a fast attack at the start of the second half, and seemed to want to score when the game started and the Dortmund players were not focused.

Messi also played his part, coming up front on a couple of occasions to prove his ability.

Unfortunately, Dortmund did not have a problem with concentration.

In such an important battle for the pinnacle of Europe, they are all newcomers to the Champions League final for the first time, and they are only one goal ahead, how can they be negligent?

Therefore, although Messi has had several wonderful breakthrough performances, he has never been able to break through Dortmund's defense with several people, even if he assists his teammates, he has not been able to break through Dortmund's defense.

On the contrary, Dortmund, taking advantage of the failure of Barcelona's attack and the change of possession, launched several counterattacks, and almost assisted Lewandowski to score a goal in the 57th minute to expand the score.

It's a pity that Lewandowski has the same problem as the Barcelona players, that is, his shooting skills can't reach the accuracy of Cheng Hai, and the final shot is slightly above the crossbar.

Originally, Barcelona's plan was to open the game for more than ten minutes to see if they could break through Dortmund's goal.

If you score and equalise, you can take it easy and continue to defend with possession, even if you drag it to the penalty shootout. As a result, after more than ten minutes of attacking, Barcelona still did not score, and Dortmund's counterattack was also very fast and decisive, and the rhythm of attack and defense between the two sides changed much faster than in the first half, which made Barcelona feel a little unstoppable.

Coupled with the fact that they have not scored and are still in a situation where they are still behind the score, Barcelona can't stop, so they can only continue to pass the ball forward and try to attack Dortmund's penalty area.

But after Cheng Hai retreated to the midfield position and concentrated on defense, Barcelona's attack was really difficult to hit the Dortmund penalty area.

Even Real Madrid's luxurious attack line and the 343 attacking formation are difficult to break through the defense led by Cheng Hai, let alone Barcelona, which has a small number of people?

Although Messi's breakthrough ability is better, without the support of his teammates, Messi can't break through two or three, three or four people every time and shoot and score.

Even Cheng Hai is difficult to do this, let alone Messi.

The goals of five people in a row, whether it is against Cheng Hai, Messi, or Maradona, are all extraordinary and short-lived.

Not only did the attack fail to enter Dortmund's penalty area, but Barcelona often conceded goals and was counterattacked by Dortmund.

Although Barcelona had strong possession of the ball, they were behind and could not always be safely on the back foot.

And once you hit the front court, the probability of conceding a goal is much greater.

Although Cheng Hai is in the backfield and has not participated in many counterattacks, it is not completely absent.

You must know that Cheng Hai's speed is the first in the world!

Full physical strength can also support him to rush to the front court at the fastest speed.

A variety of skills with perfect full value can make him have a greater success rate in the counterattack process, whether it is with his teammates' passing and cutting cooperation or personal breakthroughs.

In terms of personal ability to break through with the ball, Cheng Hai is definitely the world's No. 1, even Messi and Maradona are much inferior.

Of course, Cheng Hai can't break through every time, and the opponent is not a stake. But Cheng Hai still has teammates to help, and he won't be stupid all the time.

Seeing that the time until the end of the game is getting less and less, Barcelona's attacks are playing more and more frequently.

In the 68th minute, Cesc Fabregas made a passing error under Cheng Hai's pressure, and the ball was tackled by Hummels.

This time Barcelona's attack was more in-depth, even Xavi and Iniesta stepped forward near the line of the big penalty area, and the two full-backs also assisted less than 30 meters from the bottom line.

The only people who stood near the center circle to prevent Dortmund from counter-attacking were Mascherano, Puyol and Pique.

It's a great opportunity to fight back!

Therefore, after Hummels had not yet broken the ball, but Cheng Hai had already seen his movement and judged that he could take the ball from Cesc Fabregas halfway, he immediately turned and rushed towards Barcelona's half at full speed.

As soon as Cheng Hai moved, Dortmund knew his intentions.

Therefore, Hummels didn't even stop the ball when he broke the ball, and directly pushed the ball to the feet of Shinji Kagawa, who was in the gap on the side.

Then Shinji Kagawa passed the ball diagonally to the feet of Cheng Hai, who was sprinting forward, before the opposing full-back counterattacked.

Cheng Hai's full-value off-ball running position allows him to run to the weakest place of the opponent's defense even when counterattacking.

Although Xavi, Iniesta and others all began to retreat quickly the moment they lost the ball, they could not catch up with the speed of Cheng Hai's forward insertion and the speed of Hummels and Kagawa Shinji's passes.

So, Cheng Hai was close to the middle line and received a pass from Shinji Kagawa without interference.

Diagonally five or six meters in front of him, there was Mascherano who was moving diagonally in the direction of Cheng Hai's advance, trying to jam Cheng Hai's breakthrough route.

There are also Xavi and full-back Alves on both sides who are quickly returning to the defense, and if Cheng Hai is held back by Mascherano for a moment, the two may be in place.

As for Puyol and Pique, who are further ahead, they are forced by Lewandowski and Gundogan's running position, and they have to continue to retreat, and they can't intercept Cheng Hai with Mascherano at all.

That is to say, in the case that Barcelona attacked the front, was suddenly cut off, and was quickly counterattacked by Dortmund, in the backfield of Barcelona, at this time, Cheng Hai, Gundogan, and Lewandowski have formed a three-on-three situation with Mascherano, Puyol, and Pique.

As for Barcelona's players Xavi, Iniesta, Alves, Butzques, etc., they are all slower than Cheng Hai.

It was a great opportunity to attack.

Mascherano naturally knew this, and he made up his mind to stop Cheng Hai even if he fouled.

It's a long way from the goal, and even if it's a foul, Cheng Hai can't take a free kick and send the ball directly into the goal.

As a result, just when Mascherano was mentally prepared for a foul, Cheng Hai took the ball to a distance of only three or four meters from him, and suddenly passed the ball diagonally.

Then Cheng Hai burst out on his own, using more speed to get around the off-ball running position on the other side of Mascherano.

Cheng Hai did not go to Mascherano at all, giving Mascherano a chance to break the ball or foul, or delay the time, but passed the ball to Gundogan, who was in a better position.

Cheng Hai without the ball, good height and weight, plus full value of physique and balance, Mascherano can't knock him down even if he tries his best.

When Cheng Hai was about to go around Mascherano, Mascherano really wanted to reach out and drag Cheng Hai down.

As long as Cheng Hai is dragged down, it will naturally be better if it is considered a foul. Even if the game continues, Gundogan and Lewandowski will not necessarily be able to break through the defence of Puyol and Pique.

Even if they form a shot at the end, their shooting skills are not as superb as Cheng Hai, and they may not be able to break through the goal guarded by Valdés.

Therefore, Mascherano's intention to pull Cheng Hai down even if he has no ball is no problem.

However, Cheng Hai did not give him a chance to foul.

Whether it is Cheng Hai's sprint speed, or Cheng Hai's physique and balance, they all exceeded Mascherano's expectations.

Mascherano stretched out his hand and only pulled the corner of Cheng Hai's jersey, and then pulled it hard, which not only did not let him drag Cheng Hai down, but was dragged by Cheng Hai's sprinting speed, but was dragged by Cheng Hai's super fast speed to lose his center of gravity and fall to the ground.

Mascherano's plan to foul and pull down Cheng Hai naturally failed, but he fell to the ground by himself, and even lost the opportunity to return to defense, so he could only watch Cheng Hai's back disappear.

At this time, Dortmund formed a three-on-two situation in the front, and the situation was even more favorable.

After breaking through Mascherano, Cheng Hai became the unmarked man.

Gundogan, who had just received a pass from Cheng Hai and was blocked by Pique, naturally did not hesitate, and immediately passed the ball to Cheng Hai, which is equivalent to Cheng Hai and Gundogan making a two-on-one Mascherano with a one-one.

When he received Gundogan's return pass, Cheng Hai had already stepped forward to a place only 20 meters away from the line of the big penalty area, which was already quite dangerous.

Puyol, who was originally running with Lewandowski on the left, had no choice but to give up his marking of Lewandowski, turned around and rushed diagonally in the direction of Cheng Hai's advance, trying to stop Cheng Hai.

Puyol also had the opposite in his heart to stop Cheng Hai even if he fouled.

As a result, like breaking through Mascherano, Cheng Hai did not give Puyol a chance to foul at all, but immediately passed the ball to Lewandowski after Puyol left Lewandowski, and then he became a no-ball running state.

Lewandowski received a pass from Cheng Hai on the left side and dribbled towards the Barcelona penalty area.

Puyol had no choice but to turn around again to intercept Lewandowski, and Pique, who was blocking Gundogan on the right, moved to the middle to intercept Cheng Hai and avoid Cheng Hai being unguarded.

But how can Pique defend alone?

Cheng Hai's physical fitness, speed, and ability to run without the ball completely surpassed Pique's reaction.

When Pique was running diagonally towards the middle of the penalty area and trying to intercept Cheng Hai, Cheng Hai suddenly changed direction when he was about to enter the penalty area and rushed towards the right rib of the penalty area.

Lewandowski, who dribbled to the left corner of the penalty area, suddenly stopped at this moment, adjusted a step, and then picked up a pass, avoided Puyol's pressing, and picked the ball over the head of Pique in the middle, and sent it to the other side of the big penalty area, the corner of the small penalty area.

Lewandowski provided an assist for Cheng Hai, who rushed to the right side of the penalty area.

Although Pique immediately wanted to rush to the right when Cheng Hai changed lanes, his speed and reaction were a line slower than Cheng Hai.

Before he could rush over to block the angle of Cheng Hai's shot, Cheng Hai had already met the ball passed by Lewandowski, and he didn't stop the ball and kicked the ball into the near corner of the goal.

You must know that Cheng Hai's "volley" skill is also full value!

This counterattack was too fast and comfortable, and Barcelona's fullbacks and midfielders barely had time to return to the defense, allowing Cheng Hai to complete this volley without interference.

Although Pique rushed in front of Cheng Hai with all his might, trying to fly to block the gun's eye and destroy the ball, he was still a step too late after all.

Cheng Hai's volley was powerful and fast, and the ball flew in front of Pique's outstretched toe like a sharp arrow, drawing an afterimage, and flew into the near goal with a bang.

Valdéz, who was originally preventing Lewandowski's shot on the left, failed to keep up with Lewandowski's pass and the speed of Cheng Hai's shot, although he made a save, but after all, he couldn't reach it, and finally could only watch the ball fly into the goal.

In the 68th minute, Barcelona's pass-and-control football still did not score a goal, but Dortmund had already scored a brace by Cheng Hai to help Dortmund take a 2-0 lead.

Seeing Cheng Hai kick the ball into the door of Barcelona with a volley, the commentators from all over the country in the commentary seat shouted loudly in their respective languages:

“Goooooooooooooooooooal……”

“Tooooooooooooooooooor……”

"The ball went in, it went in, it went ......"

"A brace!"

"Horrible goalscoring efficiency!"

Cheng Hai scored a brace in his first Champions League final to give Borussia Dortmund a 2-0 lead.

"It's just too strong."

"There are less than 30 minutes left in the game, Dortmund is two goals ahead, the title is in sight, Barcelona is in danger!"

'It's hard for Barcelona to cease a two-goal deficit in less than 30 minutes and keep Borussia Dortmund from scoring.

"Just see how Pep Guardiola and Barcelona will respond!"

"Before, both sides played a little too cautiously, and neither side dared to attack aggressively. But now there is no way, Barcelona who are two goals behind will not be able to attack on all fronts. Perhaps, it is at this time that the real exciting and intense competition really begins. ”