Chapter 17 A narrow victory over Leverkusen(1/2)
Hearing Dieter Heijing's words, all the team members raised their heads in surprise. This was not something Dieter Heijing would say.
In their minds, Dieter Heijing should scold them first and then encourage them.
Finally, let me tell them that we still have a one-goal lead and will continue to defend and counterattack in the second half. We must defend well!
But Budit Heijin didn't play according to the routine, and everyone couldn't understand it in one sentence.
It’s over. Isn’t this because he is extremely disappointed with us and the head coach has given up on himself?
Dieter Heijing felt baffled when he saw everyone’s reaction.
"Don't look at me with that surprised look! I didn't say anything wrong!"
"Leverkusen's momentum has been unleashed. If it hadn't been for the halftime break, the score would have been tied or even overtaken!"
"With your messy defense and messy offense at the end of the first half, what kind of success can you achieve!"
"After the second half, no matter how hard Leverkusen attacks, everyone should not panic and try to control the ball!"
"Don't be anxious when counterattacking. Leverkusen's defense must have had a big problem today, otherwise we wouldn't have scored three goals in the first half!"
"In the end, I believe it will be us who laugh last!"
With the support of the head coach, the Wolfsburg generals became active again and encouraged each other. In the second half of the game, we must give him all the medicine he needs.
In the home team's locker room, Leverkusen's players are also very motivated and must impress those car sellers.
Tell them the Bayer Arena is not a place for them to run wild!
Amidst all the harsh words from both sides, the second half of the game began.
After the opening, Leverkusen, which had the home advantage, launched rounds of offensives amid the loud singing of the fans.
Wanting to firmly control the initiative in the game, it was obvious that Wolfsburg was not to be outdone. The two sides began to fight for the ball.
Leverkusen midfielder Brandt plays as an attacking midfielder to press Alexander-Arnold, who is holding the ball behind him.
The double defensive midfielders Rolfes and Castro restricted De Bruyne and cut off the passing space between him, Schurrle and Zhao Jinge.
Leverkusen wants to continue to put more pressure on Wolfsburg's core players in possession through further competition for the ball in the center line.
Use offense as defense so that you don't have enough energy to launch a counterattack.
After being intercepted several times, De Bruyne shouted to Wolfsburg's midfielders to start recycling.
Zhao Jinge and Schuerle were supporting each other about ten meters away from De Bruyne. No matter how fast your Leverkusen players ran, they couldn't move the ball as fast.
Short passes below 15 meters are less likely to be intercepted.
Arnold no longer takes the ball alone in the backcourt, but cooperates with De Bruyne. De Bruyne and Arnold have formed a tacit understanding in the past period of cooperation.
In the past, Arnold and De Bruyne played in the midfield, one behind the other. As a defensive midfielder, in order to stabilize the defense and assume the responsibility of playing the ball in the backcourt, Arnold rarely stepped forward.
But if De Bruyne pulls back a little, and his own position is slightly forward, it will naturally be different.
The two stood together in the middle of the midfield, cooperating with each other to sort out Wolfsburg's offensive rhythm.
Arnold liberated De Bruyne, covering up his shortcomings of poor confrontation before going to the Premier League to experience. At the same time, he also shared De Bruyne's ball-playing tasks.
It not only prevents De Bruyne from being marked one-on-one by the opponent's midfielder, but also allows him to focus more on delivering the fatal shot.
When Brandt ran back and forth to harass De Bruyne, De Bruyne transferred the ball to Arnold's feet, and then took the next step through movement and the situation on the field.
Leverkusen forward Delmic retreated to harass, and Wolfsburg's two full-backs stepped forward to participate in the offensive support.
In the space in the midfield and backfield, Wolfsburg will never give up the ball easily and must control the football at its feet.
Faced with pressure, De Bruyne mostly plays the ball directly after receiving the ball, crosses it or passes it back. Most of them are safe balls to ensure that the ball is not lost.
But hidden behind this mediocre transfer of the ball is a world-class midfielder who has not yet reached his peak, with unlimited killing intent!
After Arnold passed the ball back to his feet again, De Bruyne got rid of Brandt's defense, followed by a direct pass and sent the ball to Zhao Jinge's feet.
Zhao Jinge, who was holding the ball with his back, had just touched the football with his feet when he was violated by a Leverkusen player and was hit hard to the ground by Son Heung-min!
The referee immediately blew the whistle to indicate a foul and awarded a free kick. Sun Xingmin did not argue and immediately returned to the center line.
Xuerle on the side seized the opportunity of a free kick before Zhao Jinge got up and kicked the ball to De Bruyne, who had already passed the center circle.
De Bruyne picked up the ball near the center circle, stopped the ball and sent a long overhead pass.
The football went directly over the head of Leverkusen's defensive midfielder, looking for Zhao Jinge who had already climbed up and made a crazy advance on the right!
De Bruyne's long pass was very comfortable. Zhao Jinge ran in front of Leverkusen's penalty area, blocked Leverkusen's right back Bonisch with his back, and removed the football with his chest.
Then, the moment the football fell, he used the instep of his outside foot to knock the ball to Vierinha, who was running behind him. From stopping the ball to passing the ball, his movements were all done in one go, concise and elegant!
Vierinha crossed the line at high speed and drove the ball straight into the penalty area. Leverkusen defender Spasic's block was obviously a step too late.
Vierinha's dribbling in made the entire Leverkusen defense start to recover, but he made a cross pass more decisively.
On his right, Zhao Jinge, who had already shaken off Bonisch, rushed over, met the ball and pushed the ball easily into the goal.
"GOAL!!!! Zhao who cannot be described in words! He scored again! And he scored twice!"
"Since the defender Vierinha changed his position from winger this season, his performance has been amazing. He is a full-back, but he is also a hidden winger!"
"Wolfsburg leads Leverkusen 4-2, and they currently have the situation on the field firmly in their own hands!"
After scoring the goal, Zhao Jinge was once again surrounded by men. After celebrating, everyone also shouted that they wanted to score another goal for Leverkusen.
Leverkusen, who lost another goal, were a little frustrated, but they did not lose their fighting spirit. The most intense game was about to take place.
After Leverkusen kicked off, they did not press too high and began to pass the ball continuously in their own half and near the center line.
I want to use this to attract the attention of Wolfsburg's midfielder. Wait until Wolfsburg's formation is slightly stretched.
Then slowly penetrate forward to see if there are any good scoring opportunities.
In the 67th minute of the game, Bellarabi dropped back from the frontcourt to dribble the ball. After taking a few steps, he distributed the ball to Son Heung-min on the left.
Then Bellarabi and Brandt quickly moved towards Wolfsburg's penalty area.
At the same time, Drmic also began to draw Wolfsburg's defensive attention through his movements in the penalty area.
After Son Heung-min got the ball, he turned on the small motor and rushed forward at high speed. Schuerle, who kept chasing after him, was unable to catch up with Son Heung-min who was running with the ball.
This gave Son Heung-min an opportunity to face Ricardo Rodriguez one-on-one. Faced with Rodriguez's block, he easily passed him with a shake and change of direction.
After walking to the baseline and looking at the situation in the penalty area, he chose a half-high pass and sent the ball directly into the penalty area, trying to find Delmic.
After passing the ball, Son Heung-min ran non-stop towards Wolfsburg's penalty area.
Drmic was closely guarded by Knoch, and his running brought Knoch into the deep area, but the trajectory of the football was behind them.
Gustav returned to the penalty area to grab this point, but Brandt always attracted his attention. Brandt kept harassing him, which ultimately prevented him from reaching the ball's landing point in time.
Drmic played a screen, and Brandt and Bellarabi grabbed the ball behind him. Nardo and Gustave could only watch helplessly, and Bellarabi, who was in a more advantageous position, grabbed the ball's landing spot.
After rushing into the penalty area, Bellarabi hit the football with a powerful volley. The contact between his feet and the football was perfect, and the football blasted towards the goal like a cannonball!
Wolfsburg goalkeeper Benaglio hurriedly blocked the ball with his body, but the powerful and heavy shot gave the football a strong momentum.
The football bounced out when it came into contact with the body. Son Heung-min who rushed into the penalty area took a chance and made a steady push. Son Heung-min scored another goal and got a hat trick!
"GOAL!!!! Leverkusen hasn't given up yet! They didn't sit still and wait for death! They still gave a tough counterattack!"
"Sun! Scored the first hat trick of his Bundesliga career!"
In the 72nd minute, when resolving a Wolfsburg attack, Leverkusen's right back Hilbert made a huge clearance from the backcourt.
The football flew directly from Leverkusen's penalty area to the front of Wolfsburg's penalty area!
Drmic started early, grabbed the spot before Wolfsburg's defensive players, and used his head to rub the ball to Bellarabi who came to respond.
Bellarabi headed the ball away from the defense and pushed the shot from 13 meters in front of De Bruyne's crotch and into the gate guarded by Benaglio!
"GOAL!!!! Incredible game! When Wolfsburg led 3-0 in the first half, no one would have thought that this game would end in a 4-4 draw!"
"Is this the end of Wolfsburg's eight-game winning streak in the league?!"
"The tenacity of the Leverkusen people taught us a vivid lesson!"
In the 78th minute, Spasic fouled Dost and was sent off for a total of 2 yellow cards.
Leverkusen is missing a central defender, which is definitely good news for Wolfsburg's offensive line.
They began to seize the opportunity to bombard the Leverkusen half in the final minutes.
With Leverkusen's defense unstable, they could only make some counterattacks at every opportunity.
Wolfsburg seized a great opportunity during a transition from defense to attack. After Nardo and Gustav completed a wonderful zone defense.
Gustave forced Son Heung-min to make a breakthrough, but when he was passed, Naldo came out from behind and cut off the football from Son Heung-min's feet.
Immediately afterwards, Naldo handed the ball to Vierinha, who was catching the ball from the side and counterattacking. Vierinha dribbled the ball straight into the frontcourt.
The ball was given to De Bruyne, who had already started to press forward, and he moved to the right through De Bruyne's diagonal pass.
Zhao Jinge made a precise long pass without anyone marking him. Dost, who ran back from the penalty area, headed the ball over. Schürrle, who crossed into the penalty area, broke through Leverkusen's defense.
Leverkusen's right back Hilbert was forced to make a tackle because he had lost his position, but unfortunately, he did not get the ball.
The referee decisively awarded a penalty kick and showed Hilbert a yellow card.
To be continued...