Before the group stage between Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal, everyone was surprised when the two teams announced their line-ups, as both sides rotated some of their main players.

As for Borussia Dortmund, it is understandable that they are now being bitten tightly by Bayern Munich in the league, and the standings between the two teams can only be decided by the winner of one game, so with the top spot in the group now almost certain, it makes sense to save their efforts to the league - unless they lose to Arsenal in this game and Anderlecht in the next game.

However, Arsenal is now basically in the league title hopeless, keep the top four, he has no reason not to fight again in the Champions League, although the possibility is very small, but as long as they win two games in a row, Dortmund lose the next game, they can qualify for the top of the group.

In this regard, many people understand that Arsene Wenger has already decided that the fight for the top spot in the group is hopeless, so he has also rotated his players to save energy for the Premier League after Christmas, when the other leagues are still playing in the winter break.

Shen Peng and Mbappe both started in this game, and Klopp originally wanted to rotate Shen Peng, but Shen Peng is now seizing the time to practice with Mbappe, and his physical fitness is no problem at all, so he still plays this game.

Both sides played well in the first half and didn't score, but Shen Peng and Mbappe's several collaborations still made Arsenal's defense chaotic, so that Arsenal's defense ate a total of two yellow cards in the first half to be able to defend, one of which was a substitute back, it was nothing to eat cards, anyway, he didn't have to play in the knockout stage; But the other is the main central defender Mertesacker, who has already received a yellow card in the previous game against Anderlecht, and if he receives another yellow card in the later games, he will be suspended.

Regarding the yellow card suspension rule for Champions League matches, if you receive two yellow cards in one game, you will be suspended for one match thereafter; Accumulating three yellow cards in different matches will also result in one suspension, and thereafter it will also become one suspension for every two yellow cards, i.e. the fifth, seventh, and ninth yellow cards will be suspended.

Now, Mertesacker is facing a situation where he will miss the knockout rounds if he is suspended for another game in the rest of the game, which Wenger does not want.

So Wenger said: "You defend with all your strength in this game, don't worry, even if you get a yellow card, don't be afraid to miss the next game against Galatasaray, we can guarantee the group qualification, the knockout stage needs you." ”

Although Wenger didn't say it explicitly, the meaning was already obvious, that is, let Mertesacker shuffle the yellow card!

Reshuffling is not uncommon, and many teams will use it, such as shuffling players with yellow cards after qualifying from the group in the fifth game of the Champions League, missing a group stage, and ensuring their appearance in the knockout round.

However, in general, don't make it too obvious, otherwise you will be subject to an additional suspension penalty from UEFA.

Dortmund's attack in this game was too strong, to defend Shen Peng, Mertesacker still didn't think the number of yellow cards was enough, so there was no deliberate yellow card at all.

After the start of the second half, Mertesacker's defense was very active, and his movements were a little big, so that Shen Peng had no chances.

In the 58th minute, Mbappe advanced with the ball on the side, and before the opposing player pressed, he passed the ball diagonally to Shen Peng.

Now that the two of them pass the ball between each other, they don't have to look at each other, which makes it even more difficult for the opponent's defenders to judge.

Because most players will look at the position of their teammates before passing the ball; If you want to pass someone, you will pay attention to your feet, so when you are defending, you can generally predict the opponent's next move.

And now when defending Mbappe and Shen Peng, I don't know whether they are ready to break through or pass the ball next, just like Ronaldinho a few years ago, he likes to look at the other side when passing, and this kind of passing is very confusing.

Shen Peng was about to burst into the penalty area after receiving a pass from Mbappe, when Mertesacker rushed over from the side and knocked Shen Peng to the ground with a tackle.

Under the protection of Shen Peng, the ball was not tackled by Mertesacker at the first time, and he also paid attention to protecting himself and did not let himself be tackled, but he was still knocked to the ground by Mertesacker, who slid over by inertia.

The referee blew the whistle at this time and ran over, he had already shown a yellow card in the first half, and if he gave Mertesacker a yellow card, it would make Arsenal play with one less man, plus the boos of the fans at the scene, so he hesitated for a moment, just gave Mertesacker a verbal warning, and did not take out the card.

This made some Dortmund players very dissatisfied, and they went to the referee to theorize, but in the end they were persuaded by some experienced players in the team.

Jurgen Klopp also pressed the fourth official on the sidelines, but to no avail.

It took almost two minutes before Dortmund kicked off again.

In the 70th minute of the game, the two sides were still 0-0.

A draw would now be an acceptable result for both teams, and in that way, the two sides will reach the knockout stages together, with Borussia Dortmund guaranteed to top the group.

However, due to the previous events, the players on both sides played a little angry and vowed to win the game, and even, near the end of the game, the attacks on both sides played more ferociously, giving people the illusion that they were about to score.

At this time, Shinji Kagawa got the ball in the middle, saw Shen Peng on the side running forward, and passed another diagonal pass to Shen Peng, and after Shen Peng got the ball, he immediately broke through on the side.

There are few people on the side, which is suitable for breakthroughs, which is also the reason why Shen Peng came to the side.

I saw that after he got the ball, he ran almost to the sideline all the way to the bottom line, and there seemed to be no intention of cutting inside and crossing.

"What is this kid doing?" Bwach, who was on the sidelines, couldn't help but ask when he saw it.

Klopp smiled when he saw this, "He probably thinks it's easier to break through on the wing." ”

As soon as the words fell, at this time, Shen Peng had already relied on his speed to eat Arsenal's fullbacks, and came all the way to near the bottom line.

However, although he broke through the full-back, he was stuck by the replacement of the central defender Monreal, and he was not allowed to take it in.

Seeing this, Shen Peng directly got up and was about to cross, Monreal instinctively raised his foot to resist, but the next moment he regretted it.

Because Shen Peng used Cruyff to turn around, after bypassing Monreal, although this position is still not easy to cut in, he can already pass the ball calmly.

Razor Pass!

The ball arced in front of goal, bypassing Arsenal substitute goalkeeper Martinez and Dortmund's substitute centre-forward Ramos, and flew to the other side, where Mbappe burst out and slotted home with a gentle push.