Chapter 357: Chapter 81: Wonder Goal! Diving Header! The Difference Between a Genius and a Mortal! This Is Our Dortmund’s Football

Grosskreutz and Kuba were both playing more like wide midfielders.

They worked with Schmelzer and Owomoyela on the flanks to shut down Bayern’s wings.

And in the midfield, the presence of three defensive midfielders meant Bayern couldn’t gain even the slightest advantage.

This was especially true for Santana.

The Brazilian center-back, who had underperformed previously, was incredibly solid in this match, completely freezing out Gomez.

Even after going up 3-0, when Dortmund eased up on their attack and Bayern stabilized to mount a counteroffensive, Santana still didn’t give Gomez an inch.

Throughout the entire first half, Bayern Munich was completely unable to create any effective scoring opportunities.

How absurd was it?

Bayern’s first shot of the entire match didn’t come until the 28th minute.

Nearly half an hour!

In the first 15 minutes, Dortmund’s possession reached as high as 63%.

The game was almost completely one-sided.

Afterward, Bayern gradually stabilized their possession, but their defense remained shaky.

Dortmund frequently threatened Bayern’s goal with long-range shots.

In the 34th minute, Wang Shuo even sent a chipped pass over the top, and after a quick forward run, Grosskreutz found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, Butt.

But who would have thought that Grosskreutz, trying to aim for the far corner on his one-on-one, would miss the target entirely!

Grandcross dropped to his knees inside Bayern’s penalty area and slammed his head onto the turf.

Meanwhile, Bayern’s most threatening attack of the entire first half was a long-range shot from Robben in stoppage time, after cutting inside from the right wing.

It was a high-quality long shot, but it was saved by a diving Ziegler.

In the end, at halftime, Dortmund held a temporary 3-0 lead!

...

BANG!!

The massive sound made everyone in the cramped away-team locker room turn to look at Klopp.

The Dortmund head coach clenched his fists and slammed them down hard on the low table Bayern had prepared for the away team with food and drinks, nearly shattering it.

"See that? Did you see that? This is our Dortmund football!"

Klopp, fists still clenched, pumped them repeatedly in front of him as he questioned everyone before him.

His excited expression and euphoric mood instantly ignited the adrenaline of every Dortmund player!

Yes, that’s right. This was Dortmund football!

"We scored three goals in the first half."

"The first goal took us only 36 seconds!"

"Thirty-six seconds! Do you have any idea what that means?"

"The second goal came from a quick counter-attack, a cross from the right flank, and the brilliant teamwork between Wang Shuo and Kuba!"

"The third goal came from our relentless pressing, forcing the Bayern players to make a mistake under our pressure."

Klopp recounted the process of all three goals in one breath.

He was trying to help the players recall the passion they felt after scoring those successive goals in the first half.

"This isn’t luck!"

"This isn’t a coincidence!"

"And it’s definitely not by chance!"

"These three goals were earned by every one of us! We earned them with our tireless running, with our sweat, by staying true to our beliefs, and by fighting for it with everything we had!"

At this, Klopp spread his hands open. "Can you feel it? Far away in the north, in Dortmund, how many fans are going wild for our three goals? Can you feel it?"

All the players nodded one after another.

Whether they truly felt it or not, at that moment, everyone was infected, incited by Klopp’s passion and his speech.

Including Wang Shuo.

"The war has only just begun!"

"A 3-0 scoreline is the most dangerous scoreline in the world."

"In Istanbul in 2005, AC Milan lost the Champions League final after leading 3-0!"

"Do you want to end up like AC Milan? Do you want to be recorded in the history books as the backdrop for one of Bayern’s great comebacks? Do you want to be nailed to the pillar of shame?"

Everyone shook their heads in unison.

"Remember, we are facing Bayern!"

"They’re used to being on top. They see themselves as the overlords of the Bundesliga. They won’t accept defeat, they won’t bow their heads."

"In the second half, they’ll be like a wounded beast from the Black Forest, enraged and charging at us with no regard for anything else. They will try everything to tear us apart!"

"They have the best stars in Germany, and even in the European Football Scene—Ribery, Robben, Gomez, Van Bommel..."

"If we let these guys play their game, we will be completely crushed!"

Wang Shuo was moved by Klopp’s words, but he didn’t lose his senses.

But looking around, he saw that his teammates were all fired up.

He had to admit, Klopp’s image, his words, and his body language made him a truly masterful orator—full of passion, yet also logical.

"So what should we do?"

Klopp asked the question he wanted all the players to think about.

"We need to be just like we were in the first half! Put enough pressure on the opponent, keep ramping up the intensity, and make them feel our Dortmund football once again!"

"Pressure! Pressing! Run until you can’t run anymore!"

"Don’t give the opponent any room to breathe! Don’t let them organize even one decent attack!"

"Every single time, we need to be like hungry hounds, rushing in to bite down on the ball at their feet, win it back, and launch a counter-attack!"

"Bayern has the best stars in Germany, and even in Europe."