Chapter 356: Chapter 81: Worldie! Diving Header! The Difference Between a Genius and a Mortal! This Is Our Dortmund’s Football

"Lahm has the ball and hits a long switch over to the left flank."

"But Badstuber isn’t back on the left flank yet, leaving it a bit open."

"Demichelis is moving toward the left flank to receive the pass."

Lahm’s long pass was a little high and didn’t have much pace on it.

As the ball dropped into the open space on the left, Sven Bender immediately sprinted forward from the right side of the halfway line. He charged straight for where the ball would land, looking to challenge Demichelis.

Wang Shuo, still positioned between Lahm and Van Bitten, knew with just a glance. ’Sven Bender will never get to that ball.’

’But he could put pressure on Demichelis.’

With Sven Bender charging forward from the right side of the pitch, Demichelis couldn’t make a direct pass to find Badstuber on the left flank, or it would be easily intercepted.

The Argentine center-back was always cautious on the ball.

Realizing this, Wang Shuo instantly took off, running laterally along the defensive line formed by Lahm and Van Bitten.

He kept his eyes on Demichelis as he ran.

Sure enough, the Argentine got to the ball first and brought it under control.

Demichelis’s technique on the ball was decent. He controlled it, saw Sven Bender lunging at him, and initially looked to pass forward. But he quickly changed his mind, pulling the ball back. He turned, shielded the ball from Sven Bender with his body, and then played a pass back.

The moment Demichelis turned to shield the ball, Wang Shuo exploded with speed.

He broke from his lateral run, suddenly cutting diagonally toward the right of the penalty spot inside the box.

In that instant of sudden acceleration, Wang Shuo hit top speed and charged toward Butt.

A cry of alarm went up from the Bayern fans in the stands of the Allianz Arena.

Only then did everyone suddenly notice Wang Shuo’s run.

"When did he get there?"

"This is a dangerous back pass from Bayern!"

By the time Demichelis’s pass reached the edge of the penalty area, Wang Shuo had already stormed into the Arc Top District, just an instant away from breaking into the box.

This stunned Butt, who was coming out to collect the ball.

At that moment, Butt had no choice.

’Control it with my right foot?’

’That would just take me closer to Wang Shuo, giving him a chance to win the ball!’

Butt had no choice but to take the touch with his left foot.

But the crucial problem was that Butt was a right-footed player.

His left foot was practically useless.

Wang Shuo accelerated again, lunging at Butt while shouting, "Sven, press!"

This was where their chemistry and trust came into play.

As Wang Shuo charged at Butt, Sven Bender read his signal and immediately closed in on Demichelis.

Under normal circumstances, the most logical thing for Bayern would have been for Butt to simply kick the ball out for a Throw-In.

At worst, it would have just meant handing possession over to Dortmund.

A Throw-In is a much better outcome than a dangerous situation right in front of the goal, isn’t it?

But Butt had no time to think.

Wang Shuo was on him in a flash, forcing him to make a split-second decision.

Van Gaal’s coaching philosophy was all about maintaining possession.

And with no time to think, Butt simply passed the ball back to Demichelis with his left foot.

In his mind, Demichelis’s position should have been a safe option. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

But the moment he made the pass, his face drained of color.

Because as the ball traveled, he saw a yellow jersey step between him and Demichelis.

"My goodness! A disastrous mistake in the pass from Butt!"

"He’s passed it directly to Dortmund’s Sven Bender!"

"Dortmund has won the ball high up the pitch."

"Look at this! Sven Bender makes the interception, gets the ball under control, and drives into the penalty area."

"Butt comes rushing out!"

"Sven Bender chips it!"

As the chipped pass descended toward the edge of the six-yard box, Wang Shuo charged forward to meet it. He launched himself into a diving header, his entire body flying through the air.

The ball arrived perfectly in front of him. He thrust his head forward, connecting squarely with the ball and powering it into the unguarded net.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"

"It’s a goal!!!"

"In the 12th minute of the first half, Dortmund have scored another!"

"My goodness, in just 12 minutes, Dortmund have scored three goals!"

"It’s 3-0!"

"This is simply unbelievable!"

"Since the opening whistle, Dortmund’s relentless attacks have completely shell-shocked Bayern Munich."

"Their suffocating high press, in particular, has forced Bayern’s back line into a series of errors."

"That pass from Butt was an absolutely terrible decision!"

"Even just kicking the ball out of play would have been better than this."

"Of course, it’s hard to blame Butt entirely. When Demichelis made the pass, Wang Shuo was already pressing relentlessly upfield."

"This is exactly what we were talking about. Dortmund’s suffocating pressure and fast-paced blitz have completely stunned Bayern, throwing them completely off their rhythm!"

"Who could have imagined that Bayern Munich, playing on their home turf, would concede three goals in just the first 12 minutes!"

...

At the Allianz Arena, Dortmund had gotten off to a perfect, dream-like start!

By pressing high up the pitch, they capitalized on Bayern’s error-strewn opening defense. With goalkeeper Butt and his defenders still reeling, Dortmund scored again and again.

Meanwhile, out on the flanks, neither Badstuber nor Lahm could effectively support Robben and Ribery under the constant pressure from Dortmund’s attacks.