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For the players, a win in one game can make them happy for a week until the next game comes. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 For a manager, a win in one game may only make them happy for one night, and the next day they will wake up and think about the next opponent.

Hoffenheim travel to Bielefeld in midweek, which is not a very strong opponent but is a difficult opponent at this time because Bielefeld is currently fighting for relegation and is a very, very difficult team to play against.

In addition, Rangnick has another difficulty, that is, the strength of the forward line is greatly reduced.

Ibisevic is absent, although everyone says that there is no Ibisevic, and we are here, Hoffenheim is a team, not a team of one person. But the best scorer on the team is injured, and it is impossible not to affect the attacking strength.

It was clear from the first half against Cologne that Chu Zhongtian and Salihovic created a lot of chances for the forwards, but whether it was Demba . Ba or Obasi and Sanogo did not take advantage of these opportunities. They tend to be overly impatient and a little lacking in self-confidence when given opportunities.

This is the biggest difference between Ibisevic and them, because of his crazy scoring form, so Ibisevic always seems to be very calm and confident in the game, so he can score repeatedly. And because he has repeatedly scored goals, he is more confident and can handle the ball more calmly...... It's a virtuous cycle.

It's a vicious cycle for Sanogo, who has been in a goal drought since scoring in his first game at Hoffenheim. The pressure on him made his play on the pitch impatient, and the more impatient he was, the less he scored, and the more he didn't score, the more impatient he became, so much so that he could have the evil thing of hitting the post three times in a game.

Against Cologne, if it weren't for Salihovic's set-piece to take the lead, it's hard to say what the final result would be. But you can't always expect Salihovic to step up and help the team with his free-kicks when the team can't open the game, it's unrealistic. While set-pieces are a scoring tool that is important to any team, that doesn't mean any team will bet all their bets on set-pieces.

So in the next three rounds of the league, the scoring ability will be the key to determining whether Hoffenheim can win the title.

Rangnick must find a way to undo the effects of Ibisevic's injury.

The players' idea is very simple, which is to play well, and as for how to play well, that's what the manager thinks. So they can be smiling and joking all the time in training. Returning to the top of the table with three rounds left in the league has made everyone feel good and it seems that victory is already in sight.

Now everyone is looking at the game against Bayern Munich as the final showdown, as for Bielefeld, they don't pay attention to it at all, even though the opponent is a relegation team, but we are also a team working hard for the title, they have motivation, don't we?

When everyone is motivated, it depends on who is stronger. In terms of strength, it is clear that Hoffenheim is superior. So Bielefeld is not a problem.

※※※ The match with Bielefeld is played in the middle of the week, on Thursday evening. The match with Bayern Munich is on Sunday evening.

Rangnick made changes to his starting line-up ahead of the game against Bielefeld and he is already preparing for the game against Bayern Munich. He gave up the 433 he had been insisting on, and Sanogo was not in good form and was reduced to a substitute, adding a midfielder Gustavo in midfield.

Rangnick has always had the idea of making Chu Zhongtian a free man, but the free man's side often needs a pure defensive person to protect him, this season because Hoffenheim's three strikers played too well before, Rangnick was reluctant to take any of them, so he could only play 433, so that Chu Zhongtian has no protector around him, he has no conditions to be a free man, because if he inserts assists too often, it will lead to a void in the air defense, and the opponent will pass directly behind him, You can face the centre-backs.

But now Ibisevic's injury has given him a chance, and the last game proved that the forward three is no longer good, and Sanogo is completely unable to replace Ibisevic's position. took him down in this game, and then gave Chu Zhongtian a defensive midfielder Gustavo in the midfield, he didn't have many opportunities to play this season, and this game also allowed him to find his form.

It's a coincidence, in the first half of the season, before Hoffenheim played Bayern, against Bielefeld, and it was Gustavo who got the chance to start after a long absence, and the result was so good that Rangnick decided to put him in the starting list for the game against Bayern, so that Chu Zhongtian could be freed up to play right midfielder and be responsible for containing Ribery.

It seems that this time against Bayern, Gustavo has another chance to play.

In most teams, being a substitute goalkeeper is the most miserable, because there are basically no opportunities to play. But the substitute goalkeeper at Hoffenheim was happier than Gustavo. Gustavo was the absolute main force in the team last season, and this season because of Chu Zhongtian, he was reduced to a substitute. And Chu Zhongtian's physical fitness and role in the team determined that he had few chances to leave the game early or be absent, and he played all the time of Hoffenheim's entire game after accumulating yellow cards or occasional red cards...... So Gustavo has always wanted to get the chance to play, and although Hoffenheim has a chance to win the Bundesliga this season, Gustavo wants more to play. For individual players, maybe the league title is not the most important thing, the most important thing is to be able to play. After all, there are not many professional players in this world who are willing to sit on the bench and do nothing for a salary.

In this match against Bielefeld, he regained the start, and it was at the same time as Chu Zhongtian, which made him realize that this might be an opportunity...... As long as he performs well in this game, then Coach Rangnick can make up his mind to follow this method in future games, and he wants to prove that he can play and coexist with Chu Zhongtian at the same time. Since Demba. Ba, Obasi and others can make Rangnick give up 442 and play 433 with excellent performances, why can't he use the same method to change Rangnick's tactics?

So Gustavo was very active and excited in the game, and even a little too excited.

Just ten minutes into the game, he picked up a yellow card for himself with an unnecessary midfield tackle.

This foul made Rangnick very dissatisfied off the court, because it was completely unnecessary, Chu Zhongtian was already waiting in front of the opponent's route with the ball, and he was nosy with this shovel.

Chu Zhongtianxia also shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands to Gustavo, expressing his incomprehension.

Gustavo didn't take Chu Zhongtian's statement seriously, and his mind was now full of ideas to perform well in the game and impress Coach Rangnick. He was almost like Gascoigne in the 1991 FA Cup final...... Gascoigne, who plays for Tottenham, was excited in the warm-up for the game, and later tackled Nottingham Forest's Charles in the game, not only giving the opponent a direct free-kick that resulted in the goal, but also causing himself to be injured and carried down, ending his own FA Cup final early, which was also his last game for Tottenham.

In the seventeenth minute, when Gustavo was dribbling forward in midfield, Bielefeld's midfielder Katongo came up to defend him and pulled his shirt, and Gustavo, who was completely oblivious, seemed to have forgotten the rules of the football game, and in order to get rid of Katongo's entanglement, he swung his right elbow sharply and hit Katongo in the face.

Katongo let go of Gustavo's jersey, but he was also knocked down on the field by Gustavo's ferocious elbow blow, and he didn't move!

"Oh God...... What happened on the field? Gustavo's elbow foul was terrible! And Cartoon ...... Looks like Cartoon is in shock......"

Gustavo, who elbowed the ball, did not stop, but continued to dribble the ball as if nothing happened, perhaps in his opinion, the opponent must have faked a fall, which was not a serious foul. Until he heard the referee's whistle, he was still a little dissatisfied, thinking that the referee's decision was wrong.

But soon he noticed that everyone was running behind him.

There were also some Bielefeld players who rushed towards him, and the expression on their faces did not look good, and he suddenly realized that the situation was not good, and he felt a little scared...... In his eyes, one of the Bielefeld players closest to him seemed to want to punch him, and at this moment, Chu Zhongtian was in front of him.

"Alright, alright!" He shouted, "Calm down! All calm...... Calm ...... "He's not afraid of fighting, he doesn't want to make his team less because of fighting, you must know that now is the critical moment for the championship, all the main players on the field are Hoffenheim's main players, no matter who is missing, it is a loss, not to mention that judging from Gustavo's foul just now, he is already destined to be sent off, we really can't have fewer people, if there are two less people, facing a team that swears to be relegated, this game is really not easy to play...... So he wants everyone to be calm, mainly for the benefit of his own team. It's not wise to have a conflict with the other party at this time.

After stopping Bielefeld's players, Chu Zhongtian asked his teammates around him to drag Gustavo out and not to mix in the crowd, which would only anger the opposing players. "Push him away!"

Hearing him, Salikhovich pulled Gustavo out. Of course, he didn't forget to complain: "What the hell are you doing, Gustavo?" That's an unnecessary move! ”

Before Gustavo's mind could react, he defended himself with some confusion: "He pulled my jersey ......"

"That's not an elbow strike!"

"I'm just trying to get rid of him ......"

"Say that to the referee, but I don't think it's going to work......" Salihovic grabbed him tightly and shook his head. With one less person, this game is difficult to play...... The conflict was under the control of Chu Zhongtian and others, and finally it did not happen. When Katongo went off the field for treatment, the referee also showed Gustavo a red card for the first time, which somewhat calmed the anger of the Bielefeld players.

Rangnick was even more angry off the field, not angry that the referee had sent him off alone, but angry at Gustavo's performance - I finally let you play, gave you a chance, and you reciprocated me?

Gustavo looked up at the referee's red card held aloft and his head thundered. He knew he was finished...... It was only at this time that his brain suddenly woke up and realized what he had done.

He turned his head to look at the dugout from the field, just in time to see Rangnick kick the water bottle away.

It seems that he did make a very strong impression on the manager, but it was not necessarily a good impression...... He walked off the pitch in silence with his head bowed, and the Schüco Arena in Bielefeld was greeted with an overwhelming boo, all in his honor.

Chu Zhongtian had just communicated with the referee on the field, and when he turned his head, he turned his head and saw the back of Gustavo leaving, he lowered his head and bent his back, looking like he was really a complete loser, coupled with those boos, he would not be popular here for a long time. But I don't know if he was also blacklisted in Rangnick's heart...... Gustavo's foul angered Bielefeld's players, and they launched a fierce attack on Hoffenheim's penalty area in the following game. Chu Zhongtian decided to temporarily avoid the edge and use defensive counterattacks to deal with the opponent after judging the situation on the court.

So he commanded the team to retreat and put on a defensive counterattack, hoping to seize the opponent and press the attack.

He made the right decision.

In the twenty-seventh minute, Chu Zhongtian made a long pass from the backfield to find Demba. Ba, the intention of this pass is obvious, it is not difficult to defend, so the opposing central defender Mijatovic intends to stop the ball with his chest in the penalty area and then pass it again. When he thought that the football hit his chest, he felt that it was not what he imagined, the power of the football was greater than he estimated, so the football was not obediently stopped by him, but hit him hard in the chest and bounced out.

This just gave right next to the demba. Ba had a golden opportunity when he got up and shot after a break from behind!

Bielefeld's goalkeeper Eilhoff did not expect his centre-back to make such a low-level mistake against Demba. Ba's sudden shot was poorly prepared and could only watch as the ball flew into the goal behind him...... 1：0！

Hoffenheim, who fought with one less man, took the lead!

The shouts of the Bielefeld fans, who had been cheering for their team, suddenly weakened.

The Hoffenheim crowd cheered, their voices temporarily overpowering the dominant home fans.

Until the end of the first half, the score remained unchanged, although Bielefeld stepped up the offensive afterwards, but after Chu Zhongtian's several accurate long passes created counterattack opportunities for his teammates, they also restrained a lot.

At half-time, Gustavo was seen in the dressing room, who seemed to have not recovered from the blow of his red card, sitting alone in his place, with his head bowed and looking very depressed.

Rangnick was also merciless in his criticism of Gustavo. Although the team is now ahead, the game is not over yet, and no one knows what the impact of Gustavo's red card will have on this game, if he loses because of his red card, then no one will stand up for him, no matter how harsh the criticism.

After criticizing Gustavo, Rangnick made changes to his team's tactics, and the team still had to attack in the second half because a one-goal lead was not safe. If he attacked, Chu Zhongtian would naturally be the key person. He had to step up and get involved in the attack, because he was too far away from the opponent and he was a limited threat. But when he went up, the back was empty, so Rangnick asked Weiss to make up from the wing to the middle and make a cameo for the time being.

In fact, Rangnick is already preparing for the next game, and Gustavo will definitely not be able to play in the next game, if he wants to insist on 442, he can only let Weiss play in the back. Just use this second half to test it and train the troops.

Before going on the field, Chu Zhongtian specially comforted Gustavo, he put his hand on Gustavo's shoulder and patted it gently, without saying anything. Of course, he knows the feeling of being a substitute for himself, and the feeling of wasting his time on the bench when he is obviously capable, but what can he do?

※※※In the second half, Bielefeld strengthened its offensive in order to avoid relegation. Hoffenheim did not retreat to the dead end, but took advantage of Bielefeld to press the gap behind the attack and continue to attack.

The two sides attacked each other for more than 20 minutes, and both got some opportunities, but they didn't take advantage of them, and the score was still 1:0, and Hoffenheim, who was playing away, was ahead.

Chu Zhongtian inserted the attack several times, but Weiss did not make up the defense in time, but the opponent seized the opportunity to counterattack. It was not for Chu Zhong to go up in the sky, nor if he didn't go up, so he had to keep communicating with Wei Si and telling him when he would come over to make up for his position...... Rangnick shook his head lightly from the sidelines, it seems that Weiss and Chu don't have such a tacit understanding yet, and there are only three days before the Bayern game, is it too late?

In the end, Rangnick saw that the team's offense was still not improving, and he couldn't lose the game, so he simply replaced Obasi with Vosa to strengthen the defense, intending to keep the advantage of this goal.

Bielefeld are attacking with all their might, hoping to equalise before the end of the game, and even a point is important for a relegation team. Because sometimes when you look at the relegation situation in the last round of the season, maybe this point plays a key role...... But their wish did not come true, and when the referee blew the whistle for the end of the game, the score was fixed at 0:1, with the home team in front and the away team in the back.

Hoffenheim still took three points away from home with one man less.

Now they can breathe a sigh of relief and get ready for Bayern Munich at the weekend...... The sprint for the league title has begun.

(To be continued)