The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 258 - 67: A Blessing in Disguise! Miraculous Right-Brain Thinking! 1 vs 3, Wang Shuo Scores Again! Klopp’s Belief
They signed Petit and several other veteran players who still had plenty to offer.
This allowed Cologne to successfully secure promotion to the Bundesliga.
This summer, Cologne’s biggest deal was signing the Prince of Cologne, Podolski, from Bayern Munich for 10 million euros.
At the same time, they also signed Maniche from Atletico Madrid on a free transfer.
Sordo was known for his defensive tactics.
As a newly promoted team making their league debut away at Dortmund, Cologne’s tactical setup was extremely cautious.
Sordo deployed a 4-5-1 formation.
He even deployed a trio of defensive midfielders—Petit, Maniche, and Pezzoni—making it clear that they intended to defend resolutely to the very end.
However, Cologne’s two center-backs were still old rivals Wang Shuo had faced in the 2nd Bundesliga: Mackenna and Muhammad.
They had faced each other in the Second Bundesliga before, but times had changed.
Now, Wang Shuo was the Bundesliga’s renowned "twenty-million-euro man."
He was also last season’s Bundesliga top scorer.
Therefore, everyone at Cologne was on high alert.
Facing Cologne’s resolute defending, Dortmund’s own problems were exposed.
Unlike the unstoppable momentum they had against Landes and Weiden, Dortmund struggled against Cologne’s iron-clad defense. Although they leveraged their home-field advantage and high-pressure tactics to easily take control of the match, the team’s play was still rather chaotic.
Cologne was clearly a cut above Landes and Weiden in terms of quality.
Dortmund was able to win the ball back, even high up the pitch.
But after winning it, they made too many unforced errors in their passing and control.
The players still lacked on-field chemistry, and their off-the-ball movement wasn’t sharp enough.
All of this was to be expected, really.
Transitioning from Christopher Dom’s 4-4-2 to Klopp’s 4-2-3-1, and from a low-block defense to a high-pressing system, Dortmund’s players clearly needed more time to adapt.
Klopp had told Wang Shuo this would happen from the very first day of the season.
Despite being heavily marked, Wang Shuo was constantly trying to find or create opportunities.
On the right wing, Kuba had the ball several times but failed to get past Cologne’s left-back, Pierre Worm.
On the left, Reus couldn’t find a way past Cologne’s Slovenian right-back, Blake, either.
They both had pace and dribbling skills, but they struggled to create chances to break into the penalty area.
Against a compact 4-5-1 with three defensive midfielders, it was difficult for them to utilize their speed.
Crosses from the wings?
Double-teamed by Mackenna and Muhammad, Wang Shuo was also struggling to make an impact.
The midfield?
With Petit, Maniche, and Pezzoni forming a three-man defensive midfield, there was no space for Foyelner or for Shahin making runs from deep.
Breaking down a packed defense is a notoriously difficult problem in world football!
It was an even greater challenge for this newly assembled Dortmund side.
The first half ultimately ended 0-0.
Klopp began to make substitutions in the 70th minute.
He made a double substitution.
First, he brought on Grosskreutz for Kuba.
Then, he brought on the Brazilian, Tinga, for Foyelner.
After the substitutions, Dortmund’s formation shifted to a 4-3-3.
With the wingers playing wider, Tinga and Shahin put pressure on Cologne’s trio of defensive midfielders.
The advantage of this was that Wang Shuo was able to find more space.
Just five minutes after the substitution, Kael attempted a through ball, but he and Wang Shuo weren’t on the same page. The ball never reached its target, as Mackenna stepped in first to block it away.
But Dortmund retained possession.
Tinga won the ball and quickly passed it to Shahin.
Wang Shuo had just made a sprint and was now walking slowly, deliberately giving his opponents the impression that he needed to catch his breath.
This was perfectly normal; after all, it was the 75th minute.
Wang Shuo first started walking back toward his own half. After passing Mackenna, he saw Tinga pass to Shahin. He then changed direction, casually drifting laterally toward Muhammad.
The entire time, he looked as if he were just taking a stroll.
He gave off the impression that his stamina was nearly depleted.
Moreover, he wasn’t just watching his teammates; he was also observing Mackenna and Muhammad. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
Sure enough, his act lulled the two center-backs into a false sense of security.
At the very least, they weren’t marking him as tightly anymore.
This was exactly the opening Wang Shuo wanted.
The instant Shahin received the ball, Wang Shuo assessed the situation in a flash. He immediately raised his right hand, gave Shahin a shout, then abruptly spun and made a sharp, diagonal run in behind Muhammad.
Wang Shuo’s sudden burst of speed caught Mackenna completely off guard, but he immediately gave chase.
And Muhammad?
Shahin played a through ball with his left foot, sending it straight past Muhammad’s left side.
This drew Muhammad’s attention.
He instinctively turned to follow the trajectory of the pass.
But he could no longer catch up!
The entire Westfalen Stadium erupted in a collective gasp.
Wang Shuo sprinted at top speed, cutting diagonally in behind Muhammad.
Shahin’s pass was perfectly weighted, arriving right at Wang Shuo’s feet.
But Mackenna and the right-back, Blake, were both scrambling back to defend.
Wang Shuo latched onto Shahin’s pass just to the left of the penalty arc. With his first touch, he nudged the ball with his left foot, carrying it into the box and bringing it under control.
Mackenna positioned himself squarely between Wang Shuo and the goal, while Blake circled around from behind to cover the central space.
"One against two!"
"Now let’s see how Wang Shuo handles this!"
"Will he shield the ball and wait for his teammates to arrive?"
"Reus is making a run up the left flank."
But Wang Shuo didn’t want to wait. He wouldn’t give his opponents any time to react.
