The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills

The first 25 minutes of the match unfolded at this same tense and furious pace.

In the 26th minute, Real Madrid’s backline finally made a mistake.

As Marcelo pushed forward with the ball, he was suddenly dispossessed by Piszczek.

The ball was passed to Kuba, and Wang Shuo surged forward at top speed into the right side of the box. He received Kuba’s through ball, bringing it under control with a single touch just before Ramos could intercept.

Lass Diarra rushed in for the tackle.

Under tight pressure from two defenders, Wang Shuo managed to shield the ball before turning to shake them off.

With all his shooting angles blocked, Wang Shuo sent a pass back.

Götze, making a run from deep, unleashed a powerful shot.

But the shot was aimed right at the keeper and easily saved by Casillas.

It was Dortmund’s most dangerous shot of the match so far.

Wang Shuo patted Götze on the shoulder as he jogged back.

The Real Madrid defenders were left gasping for breath.

"Sorry, I got a little careless there," Ramos said, clapping Lass Diarra on the shoulder.

"This kid is a nightmare. He’s fast, his movements are even faster, and his footwork is on par with Messi’s..."

Lass Diarra was feeling the pressure, too.

"And the craziest part is, the guy can fucking run forever!"

The French midfielder was known for his incredible stamina, wasn’t he?

But even he was feeling the strain of constantly chasing after Wang Shuo.

It wasn’t just the running; it was the constant accelerating and decelerating, the sprints and direction changes, sometimes without even a moment to catch his breath.

Lass Diarra was beginning to understand why Mourinho hadn’t played Khedira.

Forget everything else, just with the German midfielder’s build—over 1.9 meters tall—chasing after Wang Shuo would have been a death sentence for Khedira!

In fact, Real Madrid might have conceded a goal much earlier.

But just as Dortmund felt they had worn Real Madrid down enough to create an opening and decided to press their attack, they made a mistake.

It was another one of their typical, quick one-touch passing plays.

On the left edge of the penalty area, Wang Shuo held off Pepe. With his back to the goal, he received a through ball from Gundogan. Instead of trapping it, he laid it off with one touch to a charging Götze, then immediately turned and made a run.

There was nothing wrong with Wang Shuo’s pass. The problem was Götze’s first touch as he ran onto it; it was a little too heavy.

Ramos lunged in, decisively using his body to shield Götze from the ball and successfully dispossessing him.

After winning the ball, Ramos immediately took a step forward and passed to Harvey Alonso. Alonso controlled it and launched a long ball with his right foot.

On the right side of Dortmund’s defense, Ronaldo burst forward at incredible speed. He left Piszczek and Subotic in his dust, chasing down Harvey Alonso’s long pass and reaching it just outside the box.

The ball bounced once, and Ronaldo caught up to it on the left edge of the penalty area.

Facing Weidenfeller, who had rushed halfway out of his goal, Ronaldo executed a calm chip shot.

The ball sailed over Weidenfeller’s head and dropped into the empty net behind him.

"GOOOOAL!!!"

"Real Madrid is the first to score against Dortmund!"

"In the 28th minute, Ronaldo perfectly times his run to beat the offside trap!"

"A classic Real Madrid counter-attack!"

"Ramos with the tackle, Harvey Alonso with the long ball, and Ronaldo with the lightning-fast finish!"

"The entire counter-attack involved only three players. Incredibly efficient!"

"Dortmund’s defensive line was torn to shreds!"

"That’s what a star player brings to the table!"

"It’s like that earlier shot from Dortmund. If it had been Wang Shuo instead of Götze, that ball probably would have found the back of the net."

"And the game would look completely different right now."

"And that’s exactly what we saw from Real Madrid."

"When the opportunity arises, a star player is just better and more reliable at capitalizing on it."

The entire Bernabéu Stadium erupted in a deafening, tsunami-like roar.

More than 70,000 Real Madrid fans roared in unison!

An ecstatic Ronaldo sprinted to the sideline, striking his signature celebration pose.

...

After conceding the first goal, Dortmund attempted to launch a fierce offensive.

Although this was Dortmund’s first time in a Champions League semifinal, they were no pushovers.

If they panicked every time they conceded a goal, Dortmund never would have made it this far.

Dortmund’s "heavy metal football" style was known for going head-to-head with opponents.

When Real Madrid tried to push forward and attack, Dortmund responded by being even more aggressive, determined to force their opponents back.

This was when Dortmund was best able to play to their strengths.

The entire team pressed relentlessly in the opponent’s half.

The scene on the pitch was one of utter chaos, with players tumbling left and right.

Here, Sven Bender took down Mesut again.

The latter even lay on the ground, playing dead.

A moment later, Ramos lunged in for a tackle, his foot raised too high, and kicked Götze to the ground.

For that, Ramos received the first yellow card of the match.

Fortunately, Götze wasn’t seriously hurt.

And when Real Madrid pushed forward, it opened up more attacking opportunities for Dortmund.

In the 38th minute, as Mesut looked to pass to Ronaldo, Subotic suddenly pressed forward, successfully intercepting the ball and quickly passing it to Gundogan.

Gundogan played a one-touch pass straight to the feet of Wang Shuo, who was just to the right of the center circle in Real Madrid’s half.

With his back to the goal and Lass Diarra failing to close him down in time, Wang Shuo executed a deft turn as he received the ball. He dragged it away from the charging midfielder and then burst forward at top speed.