Chapter 263: Chapter 81: The Fiery Champions League! Golden Boy Award Rivalry! A Century-Defining Stopping the Ball!

Secondly, players who make it to this pitch have very strong individual abilities and take the Champions League matches extremely seriously.

They rarely make low-level errors, are very meticulous with every pass, and won’t engage in prolonged tussles or scrambles with their opponents during attack and defense, typically transferring rapidly.

The pinnacle of tactics!

Refined passing and scrambling!

This is the UEFA Champions League!

Yet beneath all this, there lies the strongest desire to win and score from every player; the field is full of undercurrents, and everyone is holding their breath, ready to deliver a fatal strike to the opponent.

An irrational pass that seems insignificant at the moment could possibly become the deadly spark that breaks the goal!

"Boom boom boom.....!"

The football is transferred rapidly, with both teams’ formations constantly rotating, and each player moves steadily within their system.

Ma’el had quite a few chances to hold the ball during this period, mostly during positional attacks.

Dortmund played relatively conservatively today, without adopting Klopp’s high-pressure tactic; they only engaged in aggressive pressing in localized areas, not pushing up the full line.

Thinking about it, they’re probably worried about Arsenal’s counter-attacks... After all, since Ma’el joined Arsenal, the team’s offensive power has significantly increased.

An average of around 3 goals per game is indeed very intimidating.

"Now it’s Ma’el with the ball, Dortmund’s defensive line is very tight, with Piszczek standing in front of him.

"He doesn’t choose to break through, under such circumstances, forcing past Piszczek wouldn’t make much sense, and the success rate wouldn’t be high.

"He brings it towards the middle, his ball protection is excellent, using his body to shield the ball from Piszczek, preventing him from approaching, and displaying good footwork... This is truly, my ball protection is like Henry!

"A diagonal pass towards the ribs! Beautiful! Gervinho was a bit late, or else this would have been a great opportunity!"

"....."

"Ma’el makes a comeback! This time opts to directly go deep past Piszczek! Piszczek was late in following, he hasn’t gained any advantages in the direct offensive and defensive match-up today!

"A crossing ball! Ah... The combination of Van Persie and Walcott is indeed mediocre in aerial duels; the ball’s placement was very good, but it was still cleared by Subotic!

"Ma’el indeed stands out, he brings a unique sense that seems to create opportunities that other players cannot.

"In Arsenal’s midfield position, there’s also a player who can score goals that others cannot."

"I hope the two can connect today to help Arsenal secure a precious away victory!"

"....."

Ma’el glanced at the dense defenders in Dortmund’s penalty area and felt a sense of difficulty, so he turned and ran back to his position, waiting for other attacking opportunities.

He mustn’t feel frustrated... With his personal ability, he will surely get a chance!

The Champions League matches are always tough; he needs to slowly adapt to the match rhythm before adapting to scoring.

As the match crossed the 30-minute mark, changes finally came, like something clicked in Dortmund, they started intensely pressing Arsenal’s half-field.

"Press press press!!"

"Charge!"

The tracks of the German Tank began rolling, with Dortmund players in yellow jerseys crossing into the half, unfolding high-pressure tactics like a swarm of bumblebees.

This is part of Klopp’s design; he didn’t passively wait for counter-attacking opportunities, but positioned the high-pressure tactics before the first half ended.

"Bang!"

"Clap!"

Arsenal players quickly felt somewhat uncomfortable, as the midfield and defense started frequently losing the ball, and Dortmund players continuously launched brilliant counter-attacks.

The on-field rhythm suddenly accelerated, and the intensity of the confrontation rose more than a notch!

"Götze is going solo towards the center! He wants to break through Mertesacker, it’s a bit difficult..... angled shot!

"Oh! Just a tiny bit off, the ball brushed past the goal post and went out, Götze is quite frustrated!

"Dortmund’s pressing is working well during this period, they’ve returned to the most familiar tactics from the league, built upon the players’ ample physical reserves; Klopp’s team has strict discipline and tenacity!"

"....."

"Again it’s Götze, he’s very outstanding today; he must know what this match means to him!

"Interplaying with Sven Bender, a one-touch transfer to the surging Schmelzer on the left flank! Crosses! Center position!

"Still Götze! An outside right-foot volley, his body’s very flexible!

"Just a bit shy, that shot almost crossed Szczeny’s ten-finger barrier into the net!

"It’s safe to say that Götze and Ma’el, these two young players, are the best performers of the half for both teams; one has extraordinary creativity, the other absolute impact.

"Let’s see who can score first! As for now, following the golden generations of ’85, ’86, and ’87, the generation of ’92 and ’93 isn’t bad either!

"The coming decade is bound to be a turbulent era in international football! As for what comes after, that remains uncertain."

"....."

As Dortmund suddenly presses up with an onslaught of quicksilver-like frenetic attacks, dangers slowly bury themselves in their defense.

Arsenal fielded four forwards today; only Gervinho retreated to defend, while the other three stayed forward on Dortmund’s defensive line, maintaining the three-man attacking group.

"Boom!!"

"Clang!!"

In the 43rd minute, with Götze’s inward-cutting dipping shot hitting the crossbar and bouncing back into the small penalty area, it bounced right into Szczeny’s arms.