The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills

One reason was to accommodate both Torres and Drogba at the same time.

The second was to protect the two full-backs on the defensive line.

Everyone knew that Dortmund’s wing attacks were incredibly sharp—it was their specialty.

The last reason was to secure the midfield.

Essien and Lampard were both renowned powerhouses in the European Football Scene, but that was during their peak.

Now, Lampard was about to turn 33. And although Essien was only 28, he was plagued by injuries.

The two major surgeries during the 08/09 and 09/10 seasons were particularly devastating. One was for a ruptured cruciate ligament, the other for a meniscus tear. Both were serious issues that kept him off the pitch for more than half a year.

Because of this, Essien was no longer the "Ghanaian Water Buffalo" of old.

He was more like a fragile flower now, having transitioned into a deep-lying playmaker.

Before the match, Klopp had specifically looked up Essien’s stats for the season. Did you know how absurd they were?

The Ghanaian midfielder’s stats for Passing, assists, chances created, successful dribbles, Shooting, and fouls drawn...

...were all among the best for a deep-lying midfielder in the Premier League. He ranked in the top three, or even number one, in these categories.

Take Carrick, for example. His total passes this season were only two-thirds of Essien’s, though their completion rates were identical at 87%.

His various passing and attacking stats were all significantly lower than Essien’s.

The most ridiculous part was that Essien’s long pass success rate was as high as 81%, even better than Carrick’s 75%.

And he attempted more long passes, too.

Doesn’t that completely upend your expectations?

So where did Essien fall short?

In the very area he used to excel at: defense.

As a deep-lying midfielder, his defensive stats—tackles, clearances, and interceptions—all ranked outside the top 20 for his position in the Premier League.

In a way, Essien’s transformation was truly absolute.

But for Chelsea, it was a disaster.

Besides Essien, Lampard was also constantly battling injuries.

The "iron man" who once never missed a game couldn’t beat the ravages of time.

Starting from the 07/08 season, Lampard had been injured several times each year.

This season, in particular, he had been plagued by long-term groin and muscle injuries.

And this season, Lampard’s defensive performance was even worse than Essien’s.

His stats were basically outside the top 30.

What about Ramirez?

Surely the young and energetic Brazilian could show some grit?

Sorry, but his defensive stats were similar to Essien’s. At most, he just ran more and played with more effort.

Because he was never a dedicated defender in the first place!

As a result, Chelsea’s entire midfield had basically adopted a possession-based style of play.

It was a choice born of necessity.

Their midfield defense and interception capabilities were very poor.

Especially their counter-pressing after losing possession.

This was why Chelsea could be unstoppable when they found their rhythm.

But as soon as they faced a tough opponent, they found themselves at a disadvantage.

Sometimes even suffering a heavy defeat.

To counter this, Klopp’s pre-match tactic was a full-field press.

With a heavy emphasis on counter-pressing!

And, deviating from their usual strategy, Klopp specifically instructed his players not to rush the ball forward after winning it back. Instead, they were to move the ball out of the contested area and immediately find Wang Shuo to create a local breakthrough.

The idea was to use a single point of attack to shatter the line. By having Wang Shuo create a local Breakthrough or get into a one-on-one situation, they could dismantle Chelsea’s defensive system and create scoring opportunities.

Reus, Kuba, Götze, and the others would immediately form the second wave of attack.

It was safe to say that Dortmund had done their homework in terms of pre-match preparations and targeted strategies.

They had even specifically drilled this tactic.

But the strange, or perhaps interesting, thing about football is that it’s always unpredictable.

Just like on this night at Westfalen Stadium.

...

No one could have expected that Dortmund’s match against Chelsea would begin with a misplaced back-pass from Reus.

In the 4th minute of the match, Reus was blocked in midfield. As he passed back to a player in his own half, the ball was carelessly intercepted by Ramirez.

After winning the ball, the Brazilian charged down the right flank.

Because Dortmund had been pressing high on the attack, their full-backs were pushed far up the field. Reus’s back-pass caught everyone by surprise, allowing Ramirez to advance as if no one was there.

He dribbled to the right side of the penalty area and, facing a block from the back-tracking Shahin, suddenly cut to the byline and crossed it to the near post.

Drogba overpowered Hummels and headed the ball from close range, blasting it into the goal guarded by Weidenfeller.

1-0!

The once-raucous Westfalen Stadium fell completely silent.

No one had expected the match to turn out like this!

Reus, for his part, gripped his hair with both hands, staring at his own goal in utter disbelief, his face a mask of anguish.

"That was a terrible passing error."

"Reus had better options around him, but he was clearly too complacent with that back-pass."

"Just four minutes into the game, Dortmund has gifted Chelsea a precious away goal on their home turf!"

"Ancelotti looks completely surprised on the sidelines, pleasantly so."

"He probably never imagined that the away goal he so desperately wanted would come so easily!"

"That’s football!"

"Reus has been outstanding for Dortmund these past two seasons, but a mistake like this back-pass is completely inexcusable. This is his first time playing in a Champions League quarter-final knockout match."

As Reus walked toward the center circle, head hung low in agony, Wang Shuo quickly ran over to him.