Chapter 410: Chapter 89: Faster Than Messi! Who Needs to Dive? Frenzied Atletico Madrid! Klopp: Wang Shuo, I Freaking Love You

For this particular match, although Flores was using a 4-4-2 formation, Atletico Madrid’s defense started right from their forwards.

Since they were struggling to get results in La Liga, the Sheet Army had pinned all their hopes on the UEFA Europa League and the King’s Cup.

This spurred their players to fight with extraordinary desperation during the match, with the entire team pressing frantically for the ball.

But the most important factor was the speed of their defensive retreat.

Nearly every time Dortmund carried the ball past the halfway line, Atletico Madrid had already fallen back into a full defensive line.

And Dortmund themselves weren’t a team that excelled at passing and possession.

As a result, moving the ball out of the midfield became increasingly difficult.

Combined with the fact that the Atletico Madrid players were very hands-on, it was no wonder Götze had nearly lost his composure moments ago.

Although they were leading 1-0, the lead was far from secure.

Götze, like the rest of the Dortmund players, was relatively young and prone to impatience.

Wang Shuo turned and glanced at the scoreboard in Westfalen Stadium.

Almost 23 minutes had passed!

Aside from the opening goal, for the rest of the match, forget goals—the two teams had barely even managed any shots.

The match was intense, but both sides prioritized defense. Their specific tactics were meticulous, and the players’ execution was spot-on.

But Dortmund was feeling more pressure than Atletico Madrid.

The prospect of their second-half stamina was a sword of Damocles hanging over the Dortmund players’ heads.

’I have to do something!’ Wang Shuo thought.

...

Finding it difficult to penetrate the midfield, Atletico Madrid began to resort to more long balls.

They primarily targeted the space in behind the two flanks.

In the 25th minute, under intense pressure near the halfway line in his own half, Shahin was forced to pass back to Subotic.

The Dortmund center-back launched a long ball down the left flank, trying to get it in behind Uyfalusi.

Reus surged forward at high speed, but Uyfalusi got to the ball first, heading it away.

The two sides engaged in a back-and-forth press near the halfway line, and possession changed hands frequently.

The game grew extremely heated.

In a rush, Raul Garcia tried to pass to Aguero, who had dropped back to receive the ball.

However, he mishit the pass.

When Aguero tried to control the ball, his touch sent it straight toward the Dortmund left flank.

Before Aguero could charge at him, Schmelzer immediately passed the ball back to Hummels.

Aguero continued to press relentlessly.

But Hummels immediately passed it to Shahin, who then played it back out to Schmelzer on the left side of the halfway line.

Just then, Reyes came charging over.

Schmelzer, with no other options, was about to pass it back when he heard Wang Shuo shout.

"Here! To me!"

Wang Shuo had actually dropped back from the forward line, finding an open space near the left side of the halfway line to call for the ball.

Schmelzer passed it over without a moment’s hesitation.

Reyes immediately gave chase.

Even before receiving the ball, Wang Shuo was aware of Reyes’s movement.

With his back to the direction of attack, he met Schmelzer’s pass with the inside of his left foot, taking a deft touch that spun his entire body around to the left.

Aguero, having dropped back from his forward position, charged after Wang Shuo.

The Argentine was fiercely competitive and refused to accept the hype around Wang Shuo’s recent meteoric rise.

As soon as he was in range of Wang Shuo, he recklessly threw himself into a slide tackle.

’Both you and the ball are staying right here!’

But Wang Shuo had already seen him coming.

After taking the touch and turning with his left foot, he made a smooth cut with his right, perfectly evading Aguero’s slide tackle.

Just as he cut past Aguero, Wang Shuo knocked the ball from his left foot back to his right, perfectly dodging the onrushing Reyes.

Wang Shuo even deliberately shoulder-checked Reyes in the chest.

The power advantage of his National Level [Foundation] was on full display in that moment.

Wang Shuo exploded with power, knocking Reyes nearly off balance.

And Wang Shuo?

He was completely unfazed, having successively dribbled past the sliding Aguero and the pressing Reyes to charge forward with the ball.

"A beautiful croqueta!!"

"Let’s see what comes of this Dortmund attack."

Wang Shuo dribbled diagonally toward the center, but by now, Atletico Madrid’s two lines of defense had already fallen into position.

Raul Garcia and Paulo Assunção were both back in position, blocking Wang Shuo’s path.

Undaunted, Wang Shuo continued to charge forward with the ball at top speed.

Just as he was about to run into their defensive zone, Wang Shuo suddenly played a diagonal pass and shouted, "Marco."

As he shouted, Wang Shuo was also gesturing for Reus to pass it back.

He then abruptly accelerated, bursting through the gap between the two defenders, Raul Garcia and Assunção.

Without the ball, the two Atletico Madrid midfielders were no match for Wang Shuo’s speed.

Besides, their attention had been drawn to Wang Shuo’s pass.

Reus received the ball just behind Raul Garcia.

The moment he received it, Uyfalusi was already on his back, preventing him from turning.

Without hesitating or even taking a touch, Reus played a one-touch pass back into the path of Wang Shuo’s forward run.

"A beautiful one-two!"

"Wang Shuo receives it and continues the attack!"

Wang Shuo quickly ran onto the ball, knocked it forward, and continued his sprint at top speed, bearing down on the Atletico Madrid center-backs.

Both Domingos and Pereira were continuously backpedaling.

The two center-backs maintained a compact distance between them, wary of Wang Shuo trying to break through.

Flores had said it himself: in a one-on-one situation, Wang Shuo was one of the most dangerous attackers in the European Football Scene.

Hadn’t there been countless cases of defenders being taken apart by Wang Shuo in one-on-one duels?