After the game started, Dortmund, as usual, planned to press high and run like crazy to deal with Werder Bremen.
But unexpectedly, Werder Bremen wasn't afraid at all and actually started attacking back.
The pace on the field was incredibly fast. The football hardly stayed at any player's feet for more than ten seconds before being snatched away.
This unusual situation made Coach Klopp restless.
He looked puzzled at Werder Bremen's coach bench and saw their head coach, Thomas Schaaf, calmly sitting there without any reaction to what was happening on the field.
It seemed like this was their tactical arrangement!
Wanting to play an attacking game? Heh, Werder Bremen must not know the meaning of fear!
Any team that dares to attack Dortmund will surely suffer.
Thinking this, Klopp gestured to his players on the field, indicating for them to further increase the pace of the game.
You want to attack? Then I'll indulge you!
Seeing Dortmund's players picking up the pace, Schaaf didn't show any signs of nervousness or worry on his face. Instead, he wore a proud smile.
Klopp fell for it, alright!
Speed up? Exactly what I wanted!
Today, Schaaf made some adjustments to the team's starting lineup. He withdrew Papastathopoulos from the defense line and replaced him with Lukimya. He also included the young striker, Felkrug, in the forward line.
These two players shared a common characteristic: they were tall, physically fit, and had high levels of aggression.
Clearly, adding these two was to enhance the team's physicality and pressing ability.
Werder Bremen's players indeed lacked strong technical abilities compared to Bayern Munich.
But are you Dortmund really that superior? Dortmund's impressive record is because their aggressive playing style is too intense. They sprint across the field like they're on adrenaline, relying on the stamina and determination of young players to exhaust other teams!
Are Dortmund really on par with Bayern Munich in terms of technique? But last season, Dortmund managed to beat Bayern three times, which is enough to show how formidable Klopp's tailored tactics for Dortmund are!
If played throughout the entire game, even if Werder Bremen replaced all their players with young ones, they wouldn't be able to outrun Dortmund.
But they were only pushing for the first five minutes. During this time, Werder Bremen's players could definitely keep up with Dortmund's pace.
So, after Dortmund sped up, the situation on the field remained unchanged.
Dortmund still couldn't hold onto the ball, and neither could Werder Bremen.
Both sides committed frequent fouls in midfield, with players from each team tumbling over each other. Even Lin Quan was brought down twice within a short two minutes.
As the hero of the previous game where Werder Bremen defeated Bayern Munich, Dortmund's players were clearly aware of his threat.
So, Dortmund marked him closely and fiercely contested, using various means including physicality and fouls to make sure he didn't receive the ball comfortably.
Lin Quan rubbed his slightly sore legs from being kicked and couldn't help but comment to himself: What kind of football game is this?
It feels like bullfighting in Spain!
In this fast-paced competition, Dortmund, with their better coordination and familiarity with this style of play, seemed to gradually gain the upper hand.
In the third minute of the match, Bidangu dribbled into the edge of the penalty area.
Just as he was about to pass the ball, Lukimya, Werder Bremen's center-back, made a tackle, using his physical advantage to push him aside and snatch the ball from under his feet.
After stealing the ball successfully, Lukimya immediately passed it to the captain Fritz, and Dortmund's midfielders immediately swarmed Fritz.
Fritz didn't dare to hold onto the ball, so after receiving it, he immediately passed it with one touch, sending it to Elya on the wing just before the Dortmund players closed in.
Elya sprinted with the ball towards Dortmund's half.
Seeing the opponent launch a counterattack, Dortmund's players didn't need reminding; they quickly fell back to defend, displaying remarkable coordination, like a well-oiled machine!
What an excellent execution of tactics!
On the sideline, Coach Shauf looked somewhat wary at Klopp.
This guy, who knows what method he used to train this group of young people to be like an iron-blooded army.
After running with the ball for a dozen meters, Elya was stopped by Dortmund's full-back Koch.
At the same time, two Dortmund players came towards him from his left and behind, ready to press him.
This is Dortmund's tactical approach, using aggressive running to create numerical superiority in local areas and constantly pressuring the ball carrier.
If you can't outrun them, you can't launch a counterattack. Once you're caught in their press, unless you have the dribbling and skill of Messi, you'll definitely lose possession.
Of course, Elya didn't have that ability, so he didn't dare to stick to the ball and instead passed it directly to the oncoming De Blauw.
Before De Blauw even received the ball, the opposing players rushed towards him.
Seeing the pressing opponents, he combined receiving and passing in one motion, passing the ball to the forward Arnautovic before the opponents could block him.
That was a beautiful handling of the ball.
Dortmund's players are indeed fast runners.
But no matter how fast they are, human speed is definitely not as fast as the ball's speed.
So when they were pressing Elya and De Blauw, naturally there were fewer defenders around other players of Bremen.
"Great ball!"
"No wonder he's a promising young talent scouted by the Champions League-winning team. De Blauw's handling of the ball is excellent!"
On the CCTV commentary, seeing De Blauw's clever chip pass that not only defused the opponent's press but also found a teammate in space, He Wei couldn't help but praise.
Next to him, Xu Yang added, "Let me explain to some viewers here, De Blauw is a midfielder Chelsea bought from Henk Club for £8 million during the winter transfer window this year.
He's only 21 years old and still very young, with enormous room for growth. If he develops in the future, maybe he can fill Lampard's shoes!"
He Wei disagreed, "Lampard is a box-to-box midfielder, while De Blauw looks more like an attacking midfielder or maybe even a winger. He's not as good defensively or in midfield coverage as Lampard, so there may not be a succession relationship between the two."
...
Inside the penalty area, after Arnautovic received the ball, he shrugged off the Dortmund defender Hummels's challenge and passed it back to his teammate who was following up.
The 19-year-old young talent, Phil Krug, was like a speeding tank, shaking off the defending players from outside the penalty area, then made a close-range diving shot, kicking the ball into Dortmund's goal.
The speed of the shot was too fast; Dortmund's goalkeeper didn't even have time to make a save, only watching the ball go into the net.
The score on the field became 1-0, and at this moment, only four minutes had passed since the start of the game!
The huge Westfalenstadion fell into a dead silence as if it had been silenced by magic, shock spreading across the faces of the Yellow Jackets' fans.
Just four minutes into the game, and their home team was already trailing behind?