The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills

Chapter 277 - 70: National Derby! Van Gaal Is Mad! The Germans’ Dream Is Shattered! A Great Comeback?

As Robben stood in the center circle to kick off with Gomez, he saw Ribery’s hawk-like gaze from just outside it.

The two locked eyes, and it was as if sparks flew between them.

’It’s our time to shine!’

’We can’t let that kid from Dortmund hog the spotlight all by himself!’

’That’s right, I came to the Bundesliga to dominate, not to be a prop in that kid’s highlight reel!’

’Let’s play well, link up!’

’Agreed!’

Though they were separated by some distance, a single glance was all it took to understand each other’s thoughts.

When the match restarted, Dortmund continued their high-pressing game, hoping to overwhelm Bayern in one fell swoop.

But Bayern was not to be outdone.

Just two minutes later, Bayern created a chance on the left flank.

Ribery charged forward with the ball all by himself, breaking through to the left side just outside the box.

The French star, known for his scar, faced four Dortmund defenders alone.

He first tried to dribble toward the byline. When that failed, he came to a sudden stop, pulled the ball back, and then tried to force his way through the defense again.

Exploiting a lapse in the defensive line, Ribery threaded a cross through a gap in the players.

Fortunately, Subotic got into position just in time, beating Gomez to the ball and clearing it out of the penalty area.

It was an incredibly dangerous moment, though.

Dortmund launched a few attacks of their own.

Then, in the 9th minute, after Dortmund lost possession in the attacking half, Van Bitten passed the ball to Lahm.

After advancing a few steps with the ball, Lahm suddenly launched a long, diagonal pass to switch the play.

He switched the ball from the right flank to the left half-space in Dortmund’s territory.

Ribery calmly brought the ball under control.

Owomoyela immediately closed him down.

Dortmund’s defensive line shifted over quickly as well.

Kuba, who was further upfield, also tracked back immediately to help defend.

Owomoyela was tasked with preventing Ribery from going down the byline, while Kuba blocked his path to cut inside.

This defensive coordination was something Dortmund had drilled extensively during the two-week international break.

But this was Ribery they were dealing with.

He first feinted a move toward the byline, throwing both defenders off balance. Then, he abruptly changed direction and cut inside, shaking both of them off at the same time.

However, Dortmund was prepared for this.

Sven Bender instantly appeared behind Kuba, nearly intercepting the ball as Ribery pushed it forward.

But Ribery’s reaction was faster; he quickly passed the ball back.

Schweinsteiger moved up to receive the ball before passing it forward and to the left.

Planic had already surged forward into the winger’s position. With his back to the direction of attack, he met Xiao Zhu’s pass and flicked the ball with the outside of his left foot, sending it looping into the left side of the penalty area.

Meanwhile, Ribery, who had just been trapped outside the penalty area, had already made a run into its left side.

It was a high ball, and he was once again facing Subotic. Ribery executed a beautiful touch with the outside of his left foot, bringing the ball down perfectly in front of him as he accelerated to chase it.

Subotic, not daring to be careless, immediately gave chase.

But unexpectedly, the Frenchman came to a sudden halt, startling Subotic into stopping as well.

Then, just as quickly, Ribery took off again.

This constant stop-start motion was murder for the tall, powerfully built Subotic, and Ribery managed to create a sliver of space for himself.

The French player sent in a waist-high cross with his left foot.

In the center of the box, Gomez, who was being marked by Hummels, couldn’t get to the ball in time.

The ball zipped across the face of the goal toward the far post.

Just as everyone thought the danger had passed, a red blur cut diagonally toward the far post at incredible speed and tapped the ball with his left foot, sending it into the goal past Weidenfeller.

Arjen Robben!

"GOAL!!!"

"Bayern has tied the game!"

"In the 9th minute, Ribery breaks through on the left and delivers a brilliant pass, assisting Robben to tie the score!"

"It’s 1-1!"

"What a brilliant first ten minutes!"

"We’re seeing a very fast-paced game!"

"Both teams are on the front foot, playing beautiful, attacking football. The offensive pressure is relentless!"

"Most importantly, we’re not just seeing great teamwork, but also brilliant individual performances from the star players!"

...

Even after Bayern tied the game, the pace of the match didn’t slow down.

Both sides continued to trade blows, attacking relentlessly.

In the 12th minute, after seeing Bayern lose possession outside Dortmund’s penalty area, Wang Shuo ramped up the pressure.

He made the decisive choice to drop deeper.

Because Dortmund was playing a 4-3-3 formation today, there was no number 10 in the midfield.

This meant he needed to take on more responsibility.

Wang Shuo dropped deep to receive the ball, constantly scanning his surroundings.

By the time Hummels passed him the ball, Wang Shuo had already plotted his course.

Before Tymoshchuk could close him down, he took a touch, turned to his left, and distributed the ball into the space in front of De De.

"A quick counter-attack from Dortmund!"

"Wang Shuo decisively passes it out to the left flank for De De."

"Look at this counter from Dortmund, it’s beautiful!"

"De De passes it on to Grosskreutz."

"He can’t get through, so he passes it back to De De, who switches it to the far post."

"Kuba comes onto it and hits a volley!"

"Oh, he couldn’t keep it down! It’s gone over the bar!"

"That was a beautifully executed counter-attack from Dortmund. It’s a shame about the finish—Kuba just couldn’t keep his volley down. Otherwise, that would have been another spectacular goal."

Kuba was furious with himself.

He had just blasted a golden opportunity into the stands.