Chapter 378: Chapter 84: A Surprise! A European Do-or-Die Battle! The Turin Massacre! The Old Lady’s Dirge! The Bundesliga is Vindicated

Without losing any speed, he cut diagonally to the left, shook off Cannavaro, and came face to face with Buffon in the Juventus six-yard box.

When Wang Shuo caught up to the ball, he took a series of quick, small steps to adjust his position. He feinted a left-footed shot to the far corner, then suddenly changed his technique and blasted a shot from close range.

Buffon’s reaction was incredibly fast, but he had just been faked out by Wang Shuo and had shifted his weight. Although he reacted instantly and made a diving save, the ball still slipped under him and into the Juventus goal.

"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"

"It’s in!!!"

"Just 76 seconds into the match!!"

"Dortmund strikes again with their signature blitzkrieg!"

"In just 76 seconds, the team from the Bundesliga has breached the Juventus goal!"

"A quick strike from Wang Shuo opens the scoring for Dortmund!"

"1-0!"

...

If the opening goal could be considered a fluke, then Juventus’s subsequent counter-attack only served to reveal the Old Lady’s age.

This was most evident during their counter-attack in the 4th minute after winning the ball upfield.

Salihamidzic got the ball on the right wing, shook off Schmelzer, cut diagonally towards the center, and passed to Diego.

Diego received the ball in the center, about 30 meters out, and dribbled forward before passing to Trezeget.

But as Trezeget charged into the penalty area, Hummels beat him to it, sliding in to tackle the ball away.

Juventus’s entire offensive buildup was noticeably slow, with a bit too much dribbling.

In the 6th minute, Juventus’s Grosso sent another long pass from the left, switching the play to Zebina on the right flank.

Zebina then passed it to Marchisio.

This kind of wide switch of play is designed to stretch the opponent’s defensive line.

So, as Marchisio received the ball, Salihamidzic quickly made a forward run into open space.

Marchisio played a through ball into the right side of the penalty area.

But just as Salihamidzic received it, Hummels had already tracked back in time to close down the shooting angle. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

In the end, the former Bayern winger took a long shot that flew high over the bar, posing no threat to the goal whatsoever.

Juventus’s switch of play was just too slow!

Grosso’s long pass, in particular, had too high an arc and lacked pace.

Given the speed of Dortmund’s positional shifts and transitions, that kind of pass was unlikely to pose a real threat as long as the team stayed focused.

After Juventus squandered two consecutive attacking opportunities, Dortmund was quick to retaliate.

They even taught Juventus a lesson in offensive tempo.

It started with another interception in midfield.

Kuba drove the ball down the right wing to the outside of the penalty area’s right corner, then cut a pass across to Götze.

Götze was facing the goal. Even before receiving the ball, he had scanned the penalty area. Seeing no shooting opportunity for himself, he immediately spotted Wang Shuo and sent a diagonal pass his way.

Just as Wang Shuo had gestured, the pass went straight to his right foot.

With his back to Cannavaro, Wang Shuo intended to control the ball with his right foot, turn, and immediately fire a shot with his left.

But the highly experienced Cannavaro challenged him from behind, causing his first touch to be slightly off. The ball popped high into the air.

Meanwhile, Lillorotale rushed over to clear the danger.

In that instant, Wang Shuo’s reaction speed was pushed to its limit.

As the ball came down, he swung his right foot again—not to shoot, but to flick it to the side, causing Lillorotale’s attempted clearance to meet nothing but air.

In the next moment, Wang Shuo took a quick step sideways, again with his back to the goal, and pulled the ball back with the inside of his right foot.

The ball was now in front of him, safely under his control.

Immediately after, Wang Shuo laid the ball off sideways.

At that moment, Grosskreutz came charging up, cutting in diagonally from the right side of the Arc Top District toward the penalty spot. He met Wang Shuo’s pass and unleashed a thunderous shot.

The ball rocketed into the right side of the Juventus goal.

Buffon’s attention was completely focused on Wang Shuo, leaving him unable to react in time to the powerful shot from Grosskreutz’s late run.

2-0!

And the match was only in its 9th minute!

"This is a classic Dortmund blitzkrieg!"

"Everyone knows Klopp’s teams are masters of the fast start, but Juventus clearly intended to come out attacking in this match as well."

"But based on the first ten minutes of play, not only has the Juventus offense failed to threaten Dortmund, but their attacks have exposed their own defensive frailties."

"The biggest issue is that Juventus is losing possession in midfield far too often, and they’re letting Dortmund pass through the middle with ease. That’s a recipe for disaster."

"We all know how incredibly fast Wang Shuo is. Letting Dortmund cut through the midfield is just asking for him to exploit that speed, isn’t it?"

...

No one could have expected Dortmund’s offense to be so devastatingly effective in this match.

Especially Wang Shuo.

With a goal and an assist, he was the brightest star shining on the pitch of the Turin Olympic Stadium tonight!

After taking a 2-0 lead, the Bumblebees didn’t sit back but continued to keep Juventus under pressure, looking to press their advantage.

Juventus, on the other hand, simply couldn’t find an answer.

The Old Lady was living up to her name.

A squad of aging players, they simply couldn’t keep up with Dortmund’s pace.

In the 18th minute, Salihamidzic had the ball on the right flank in a one-on-one with Schmelzer, hesitating over whether to take him on or pass the ball.

But the young and energetic Schmelzer didn’t give him a moment to decide, rushing in and stripping the ball from him.