Chapter 052: Hoffenheim's Battle for Redemption (Part II)
Eduardo's direct free-kick goal surprised Hoffenheim fans, although the team's tactics may have changed a little, but in essence, Hoffenheim is still the team that is all about attack, and they can still score crazy goals in the game!
With a 2-1 lead at home, the current Hoffenheim players are more confident, and now they are full of confidence in winning the opponent at home, and they believe that this game must belong to Hoffenheim! Now, the Hoffenheim players seem to feel that the team is out of the doldrums, they are now finding the feeling of scoring goals, and they now seem to be recovering the feeling of winning.
However, Hoffenheim's happiness seemed unlikely to last long, and this time it took another four minutes for Wolfsburg to level the scores, when Wolfsburg full-back Costa provided the assist after receiving a long ball from a team-mate, and his cross set up Dzeko's goal. The two teams once again returned to the same running line, and the score on the field became 2-2 draw!
It can be said that Dzeko's goal was indeed quite a morale blow to Hoffenheim, and it is better to be tied by the opponent once than to be equalized, but it is indeed a frustrating thing to be equalized by the opponent twice in a row. Perhaps Hoffenheim's backline is really in the middle and lower reaches of the Bundesliga, but two consecutive leads, even the joy of leading has not been long, and even the emotions have not been completely released, they can only smile wryly and watch the Wolfsburg players celebrate the goal at Karl Benz Stadium.
At the end of the first half, Hoffenheim bitterly accepted the fact that they were equalized twice in a row in the first half, and now they can only return to the dressing room with a wry smile to adjust their form. Of course, it is more important to adjust your emotions. Because it's obvious. The second goal was a big blow to Hoffenheim's motivation because they were already in a more sensitive period, and they were hit one after another, which caused Hoffenheim's morale, which was just recovering, to take a considerable hit.
The atmosphere in the locker room of the home team was extremely depressing, even Xiao Qing, who was more optimistic by nature, at this time he just leaned back in his chair and covered his face with a towel. Xiao Qing feels really bad now, he knows that the team must be very depressed now, and he naturally knows that the current team must have some concerns. Because they really can't afford to lose!
Hoffenheim is clearly in an extremely difficult time now, and if you break through this difficulty, then maybe it will be a sea and a sky, and if you fall here, then it is very likely that you will not be able to get up. Hoffenheim now has a lot of concerns, their background is insufficient, their foundation is not enough, so in an extremely fast sprint, they may fall harder because they rush too hard, a disaster that may make them unable to get up!
Hoffenheim was thinking too much. They were genuinely worried that this game might suffer a defeat that would break them down, as Wolfsburg's attacking power made them tremble. Because Wolfsburg looks like they simply can't take down.
"We are Hoffenheim, a team that has grown up in the homeland of Hope. We used to be the lowest league team, we were in the Bundesliga last season, and I think a lot of people didn't think we would be in the Bundesliga now, including you, including me. 'Rangnick has made some adjustments to the tactics and of course he knows that it is more important to make some adjustments to the psychology of the players now, because the pressure on the players at Hoffenheim is too great, and now they are carrying a heavy burden on themselves and the pressure that makes them breathless. We're Hoffenheim, we're the most attacking team in the Bundesliga, we've had a crazy show of goals, we're top of the table and we're the team that is aiming for the league title! ”
"Guys, wake up!" Rangnick suddenly roared, this is one of the few times since Xiao Qing met Rangnick to see this elegant head coach so angry, "You are just a promoted polo team, you are just players who don't have much experience!" It's true that we're the leaders now and we're really looking forward to winning the league title! But that's just a beauty goal, it's the motivation for us to move forward, and it shouldn't just be our pressure! ”
"Don't be influenced by the voices from the outside, don't think that we should be the best team! We've been through a lot of hardships that no other team in the Bundesliga has ever experienced, and we're the most ordinary and lowest team. So now, good grades are naturally what we are looking forward to; But even if it's a loss, we're okay with it! Rangnick spoke to the Hoffenheim players and chose to give the players an account of the team's most difficult time.
'It's good enough for us to stay in the top flight this season, and of course we're good enough for the results, so maybe we can go for more results. We are now looked down upon by many people, but we must know that they were quite enthusiastic about us some time ago; So forget the voices of the guys who don't have a position, we just need to do our own thing. Rangnick said helplessly, "It may be a bit demoralizing to you, but we have to recognize some realities, we may not be strong enough to win the league title now, so we don't need to put pressure on ourselves." The team is actually very happy with the results they have achieved so far, and of course if you can play better, then I think you may be able to get more attention, you can get a better career prospects, and of course I think you will have a bigger prize money. But the league title, we can dream and aspire to, but it's not something we have to aim for, because we weren't a serious contender from the start. ”
Rangnick's words really made the Hoffenheim players obviously stunned, they definitely did not expect that the head coach Rangnick would say such potentially demoralizing words at this time; But I didn't know it was Weishenme, although it was hit by the manager, but the Hoffenheim players felt a clear sigh of relief.
At the beginning of the second half, it was clear that the Hoffenheim players were in absolutely different shapes, or that their mental outlook had changed dramatically; Originally, although Hoffenheim's performance in the first half was quite satisfactory, the cramped and nervous state they showed in the game was still quite obvious, but in the second half of the game, Hoffenheim's players were obviously a little relaxed.
That's not to say that the quality of the Hoffenheim players has dropped, they still worked hard in the second half, but this time they don't have the same nervousness and carelessness as before. It's a kind of mental relaxation, a more relaxed attitude towards the game. Maybe the current Hoffenheim players have put something down, so they can show more mental tolerance in the game.
The Hoffenheim players let go of the pressure in their hearts that had taken their breath away, and it is true that Rangnick's words may be a little discouraging, but it is only in this way that the Hoffenheim players suddenly realize how ridiculous they were before. No one is asking them to win the league title, that's just a topic of hype in the media; While Hoffenheim's players can see the league title as their way forward, it should definitely not be a reason for them to forget about themselves.
There has been a noticeable change in the mentality of the Hoffenheim players now, but this has not led to any decline in their performances in the game, or even better performances. Putting away the unnecessary pressure, Hoffenheim's players were able to find their rhythm in the game. Yes, they're Hoffenheim, they're a grassroots team, they're a team that needs to attack; They can afford to lose, they're not afraid to concede, and they're even more hungry to score!
In the seventy-third minute of the game, Hoffenheim, who suddenly accelerated the pace of attack in the second half of the game, finally showed their sharp fangs, and Hoffenheim, who had formed a pressure on Wolfsburg in the front, finally scored.
Eduardo advanced with the ball in the middle, and when he was chased and intercepted by the opponent, Eduardo saw Xiao Qing in front of the penalty area open his hand to ask for the ball, and Eduardo also directly picked up the pass, although Xiao Qing's chances were not particularly good.
Maybe it's because Eduardo's pass is a little big in a hurry, but Xiao Qing can't care about these at this time; Although Wolfsburg defender Barzagli jumped up against the ball and wanted to clear the ball with a header, at this time, in the exclamations of the whole audience, he saw Xiao Qingzhu running and jumping.
Xiao Qing is very sufficient, Xiao Qing's speed is very fast, and Xiao Qing's bounce is also excellent, especially in the case of running. So Barzali was a little afraid, he knew that Xiao Qing would definitely bump into him, so he needed to protect himself.
The players in Wolfsburg desperately signaled that Xiao Qing was fouled, but the referee was not moved at all; Xiao Qing jumped very high, almost half a head taller than Barzagli, so after Xiao Qing lightly hit a ball, he did collide with Barzagli.
The expected whistle did not sound, and Barzagli only saw that Xiao Qing did not seem to be affected by the powerful impact just now; Xiao Qing, who got up quickly, rushed into the penalty area and volleyed in Barzagli's incredible gaze!
Although the Wolfsburg players are still signaling that the goal is invalid because it was a foul first; But the referee stretched out his hand and pointed straight to the center circle, which also made Carl Benz Stadium explode again, because Hoffenheim is now 3-2! (To be continued......)