King of the Zone

The day before the match against Benfica, Dortmund announced the 18-man roster for the next day's UEFA Cup match, Cheng Hai was on the list, no surprises.

The next day, match day, in the evening, 2 hours before the game, Dortmund submitted Klopp's starting lineup to the media.

As expected by the media, Cheng Hai did not appear in the starting roster. It seemed that he would still sit on the bench and wait for the second half to come on as a substitute.

The head coach of Benfica learned about Dortmund's starting lineup from the media, and was not surprised. He felt that this was the natural way for Cheng Hai, who was not physically fit, to play.

After the first round, they have been conducting targeted training with Cheng Hai coming off the bench in the second half as a countermeasure.

The tactics in the first half were still the same as in the first round, striving for goals to even out or even surpass Dortmund's away goal advantage.

Then, wait for Cheng Hai to appear in the second half before turning to defense.

It's just that even in the first half, they will be very careful and will not be as bold as at home.

They will only attack under the premise of being as safe as possible and strive for away goals, but they will not blindly pursue goals, but let holes in their defense line be discovered and used by Dortmund.

After all, they are leading now, and they are two goals ahead, holding the initiative to advance.

Although I dare not say that I will definitely win, Benfica still has sufficient confidence in advancing to the quarter-finals.

Soon, the seats in the Westfalenstadion were slowly filled, and players from both sides began to warm up before the game.

However, towards the end of the warm-up, Dortmund's starting striker Lewandowski seemed to twist his foot, but was quickly helped off by his teammates and did not attract the attention of the Benfica players and coaches who were warming up in the other half.

In fact, Lewandowski's sprained foot was a premeditated injury, but it was just to give the media and fans a "legitimate reason" to suddenly change the starting player after the game, so as not to be criticized as immoral.

Soon, when it was time to play, the starting players of both sides left the locker room, came to the player tunnel, and led the little caddy to go out.

At this time, the Benfica players were surprised to find that Lewandowski, who was supposed to start at Dortmund, disappeared and was replaced by Cheng Hai.

Everyone talked in a low voice, and immediately the staff next to him ran out of the channel and went to the bench to report to the head coach.

The head coach of Benfica heard that Dortmund's starting striker has changed, from the original Lewandowski to Cheng Hai.

He suddenly realized that Klopp had tricked him, and he was very angry.

However, at this time, it was too late for him to make corresponding player changes based on Cheng Hai's starting lineup.He could only tell the starting players to shrink their lineup in the first half and not to attack lightly after the team completed the appearance ceremony, all in order to prevent Cheng Hai.

Leading by two goals, as long as they can withstand Cheng Hai's attack, they are also likely to win the final victory and advance to the quarterfinals.

It's just that this is a bit of a test for Benfica's starting players.

After all, these starting players were dispatched with the purpose of Cheng Hai not playing at halftime, and the tactics of the drill were not aimed at defending Cheng Hai.

This has brought great challenges to the on-the-spot adaptation and tacit cooperation of the Benfica starting lineup players. It only depends on whether they can adapt to this sudden change.

When the Benfica coach and players were making tense tactical adjustments, the commentators who got the final starting lineup and were broadcasting the starting players of both sides were also taken aback.

Everyone said:
"A surprising scene appeared. Dortmund's starting striker Lewandowski did not qualify for the final list. I don't know if it was because of the sprain during the warm-up just now. Lewandowski was helped by his teammates. It may be that sprain that prevented him from starting the game."

"Dortmund's starting striker is Cheng Hai, a super talent who is now well-known in Europe, ushered in his first starting game at the club."

"Cheng Hai's start is very surprising, and I don't know if he can persist in playing for at least 46 minutes in the first half without cramp and falling down."

"If Cheng Hai can continue to play the first half, he can rely on the intermission time to fall into a deep sleep, recover quickly, and play one or two 10 minutes in the second half like he did when the national team played in the Asian Games and Asian Cup."

"In this way, the number of appearances of Cheng Hai has almost tripled. Maybe we can see Cheng Hai perform a hat-trick."

"However, at this time, compared to us, the most surprised and angry ones should be the Benfica players and coaches!"

"Cheng Hai's starting game definitely disrupted their tactics and countermeasures for this game."

"I bet Benfica never expected that they would be the subjects of Cheng Hai's first start in his club career."

"It can be seen from their starting lineup that they have the same idea as in the first round, preparing to score goals in the first half, expand the total score and score away goals, and then replace them with defensive players after Cheng Hai came off the bench in the second half to defend."

"As a result, Cheng Hai's unexpected start has completely disrupted Benfica's pre-match arrangements, and I don't know if they can cope with this unexpected scene."

Regardless of whether Benfica can handle it or not, the 8 Hornets fans at home are very excited and happy to see it.

Everyone was excited when they saw that it was not Lewandowski who was originally scheduled to lead the ball boy, but Cheng Hai, who has scored 31 goals for the team in 38 games for the club this season and has been a starter so far.

Ever since Cheng Hai left the player tunnel and stepped onto the field, the fans in the stands have not stopped shouting and singing for him.

Cheng Hai's first appearance brought the game to a climax before it even started.

Commentators, fans, reporters, teammates, opponents, etc., countless people are looking forward to what Cheng Hai will show in the first start of his club career.

Cheng Hai himself was quite excited.

Although the fitness coach had clearly told him that playing at least 46 minutes in the starting game was very risky, and there was a possibility of cramping or even injury, Cheng Hai didn't care.

Following the Olympic team and the national team, he finally achieved his goal of starting in the club.

You know, after the first round with Benfica, he was also criticized by the media and fans, and he already had an urge to score crazy goals to eliminate Benfica and prove himself.

And Klopp's decision is exactly in his mind.

He can't wait to start the game, to score more goals and make a big news in his first start for the club, maybe six or seven 10 minutes.

2011年3月16日晚上20:00，随着主裁判的一声哨响，2010/2011赛季欧洲联盟杯八分之一决赛多特蒙德VS本菲卡的第二回合比赛在威斯特fa伦球场正式开始。

At the beginning of the game, Dortmund, who were playing at home, pressed forward under the leadership of Cheng Hai and Barrios, and began to bombard Benfica indiscriminately.

Cheng Hai's speed, physique, running without the ball, grabbing points, bouncing, heading, breakthrough skills, etc., did pose a great threat to Benfica, forcing them to shrink their formation and concentrate on defense to avoid being scored by Cheng Hai.

Even the two forwards almost retreated outside the penalty area to participate in the defense.

However, the configuration of Benfica's starting lineup for this game is not prepared for a dedicated defense.

Although it has a defensive nature, the proportion of counterattacks is also very large. After all, they also want away goals.

Therefore, whether it is the two forwards, the midfielder, or the full-back, they are all players who are stronger in offense than defense.

The tactics practiced a few days ago were also based on the defensive counterattack without Cheng Hai in the first half, instead of being oppressed by Cheng Hai as he is now and can only defend with all his strength.

However, the players and tactical drills and tacit cooperation of this lineup have caused their defense to be full of loopholes.

Although sometimes dense defense on the court is a headache, just like Dortmund faced Benfica in the last game.

But in this game, Benfica's intensive defense failed to achieve the desired defensive effect, because their starting players, tactical drills, and tacit cooperation were not in place.

In just 2 minutes of the opening, there was a fatal loophole in Benfica's defense.

Borussia Dortmund sent the ball wide in the attacking position, and Gross Kreuz slashed to the bottom line after a two-and-one hit the wall with Barrios and went past the full-back.

The Benfica winger, who hastily made up for the defense, was anxious to grab, and was broken through by Gross Kreutz with a spike, and then dribbled the ball inside.

The central defender who was originally defending Cheng Hai and Barrios in the penalty area had to send out one person to intercept Gross Kreutz's inward cut, and then the returning midfielder defended Cheng Hai who was wandering in the penalty area.

But Cheng Hai's ability to run without the ball and grab points is too bad.

Moreover, the cooperating drill with Gross Kreutz was also very skilled. The two barely communicated with each other with eye contact and gestures.

Because the defensive ability of Benfica's returning midfielder couldn't keep up with Cheng Hai's ability to grab points, he was a step slower, and Cheng Hai rushed to the rolling route of the ball first.

The shot from the penalty area line was so close, and Cheng Hai tried his best to control his foot to shoot at an angle even when he shoveled the shot between lightning and flint.

Although the angle is not too tricky, but because of the short distance and fast speed, he finally avoided the ten fingers of goalkeeper Edel Bate and rushed into the goal from the right side of Bate's body.

In fact, at this time, some commentators had just finished reading the starting rosters of the players from both sides, and they were discussing with the guests about Cheng Hai's first start in his career. Unexpectedly, Cheng Hai scored a goal.

Then, the commentators in the commentary booth suddenly became excited and shouted loudly:

"Toooooooooooooooor..."

"The ball is in!"

"Oh my god, it was Cheng Hai who scored the goal for the first time in a club match!"

"It was too fast. Cheng Hai scored a goal just 2 minutes into the game!"

"Dortmund has already tied the total score to 2-3. As long as one more goal is scored, Dortmund will be able to eliminate Benfica and advance to the quarterfinals with the advantage of away goals with a total score of 3-3."

"The game situation has become extremely unfavorable for Benfica!"

Indeed, amidst the crazy celebrations of Dortmund players and fans, Benfica became extremely depressed from the players to the coaches.

In a general two-round knockout match, if you have a two-goal lead in the first round, even if it is an away game in the second round, your chances of advancing are much higher than your opponent.

Unexpectedly, Dortmund suddenly changed the starting player and used Cheng Hai's offensive ability to break through Benfica's goal in the opening 2 minutes.

Now, the game situation is indeed extremely unfavorable for Benfica.

Because the total score is only one goal away, and Dortmund has an away goal, as long as Dortmund scores another goal, the promotion situation of the two sides will immediately reverse.

Therefore, when Cheng Hai and his teammates were celebrating, the Benfica players seemed a little overwhelmed.

On the one hand, he was a little confused by Cheng Hai scoring a goal so quickly, and on the other hand, he was really confused: he didn't know how to play when he was only one goal ahead.

Benfica's head coach was actually a little confused. Ever since he saw Cheng Hai replace Lewandowski in the starting lineup, he didn't know what to do.

It was the same at this time. He wanted to defend the one-goal lead and also wanted to attack and score away goals, which made the head coach somewhat at a loss as to what to do.

Fortunately, the referee forced him to make a choice.

With no Benfica players protesting, Cheng Hai and others celebrated for about half a minute. In the end, the referee couldn't stand it anymore and stepped forward to intervene, ending Dortmund's crazy celebration and letting them return to their own half. Benfica kicked the ball in the middle.

Seeing the referee calling Dortmund's players to go back and start the game soon, the head coach of Benfica was heartbroken and gave instructions to the players to continue to defend, hoping to keep the 3-2 lead by one goal.

If this score can be maintained until the end, then Benfica can still advance to the quarterfinals.

Therefore, after the game restarted, Benfica continued to shrink their formation and concentrate on defense, hoping to keep the total score of 3-2.

At the same time, Cheng Hai's performance of scoring a goal in the first 2 minutes also allowed the Benfica players to raise him to the point where he must be desperately marked.

Therefore, no matter inside or outside the penalty area, there are usually one or two people around Cheng Hai to mark him closely, and there are people not far away who are ready to defend at any time.

As long as Cheng Hai holds the ball, he will usually be surrounded by three or four people.

Under such circumstances, no matter how strong Cheng Hai's physique is and no matter how good his breakthrough skills are, it will be difficult for him to stand out from the encirclement and enter the penalty area to score a goal.

Cheng Hai was under the strictest guard of the opponent.

However, does Cheng Hai only work in the middle lane?
Will not!
Cheng Hai can also switch sides, and he can also make crosses from the bottom. He has a lot of skills!
Seeing that he couldn't break through the middle and his ground passing skills were not good enough, Cheng Hai naturally began to change positions with his teammates Mario Goetze and Gross Kreuz from time to time.

Attacking from the center, there are three or four people surrounding and scrambling, but there are no sideways.

On the wing, Cheng Hai's speed and breakthrough skills are like ducks in water.

There is no need for the cooperation of teammates. As long as one or two people don't attack at the same time, if they come one by one, Cheng Hai is simply amazing.

For a while, the speed is raw, for a while, the ball is passed, for a while, Matthews' fake moves, and for a while, fried meatballs.

Although sometimes even if the breakthrough is successful, the teammates can't catch the bottom pass, but the number of times is too many, and there will always be a successful one.

After all, Barrios is the second shooter in the team, and his ability to compete for the top and header in the penalty area is also quite good.

After failing several bottom crosses, Cheng Hai finally made a breakthrough on the wing to the last full-back Ceara in the 13th minute.

Moreover, when breaking through, Cheng Hai also used the "Rainbow Extraordinary" that made the fans excited.

Several times before, Ceara was almost collapsed by Cheng Hai's Matthews' fake moves and fried meatballs, so this time he concentrated on paying attention to the changes under Cheng Hai's feet.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Hai suddenly made a rainbow, and picked the ball over his head with his heel.

Frustrated, Ceara wanted to push Cheng Hai to the ground, but Cheng Hai's strong physique and full balance made his plan come to nothing.

Amidst the cheers and cheers from the Hornet fans, Cheng Hai successfully broke through Ceara and made a pass.

Cheng Hai's full cross and long pass skills in the air make every pass he makes is actually very threatening.

It just depends on whether the teammates can perceive Cheng Hai's intention to pass the ball, move in time, grab the landing point and head the ball.

After several failed crosses, this time Barrios cooperated with Cheng Hai's cross to a certain point, and appeared in time at the location where the ball landed. He jumped high and headed the ball into the goal under the charge of an opponent's central defender.

Barrios's header was too close to the goal and so powerful that goalkeeper Bate was powerless and could only watch the ball hit the net.

The moment Barrios headed the ball into the Benfica goal, the entire Westfalenstadion erupted in an instant. Countless people clapped their hands vigorously and shouted excitedly with all their strength to vent their excitement.

Because this ball means that Dortmund has tied the total score of the two sides to a 3-3 tie, and Dortmund still has an away goal advantage.

It is the existence of this away goal that allows Dortmund to eliminate Benfica and advance to the quarter-finals with the advantage of more away goals when the score is 3-3.

In other words, when Cheng Hai assisted Barrios to score Dortmund's second goal in the game, the game situation between the two sides has undergone fundamental changes.

Now, it can be said that the one behind has become Benfica, not Dortmund.

You know, at this time the second round only played 13 minutes.