The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills

Even the full-backs on the defensive line, Schmelzer and Piszczek, along with the two center-backs, couldn’t escape.

Not even Weidenfeller.

"Your two rushes out looked like you were just messing around!"

Surprisingly, two people weren’t criticized.

One was Wang Shuo.

He had always been an exception in the Dortmund locker room.

In Klopp’s own words, "Why don’t I yell at Wang Shuo?"

"If you all could be like him and meet my expectations, I wouldn’t be yelling at you either."

The other was Gundogan.

Shahin’s injury was still affecting Dortmund.

As mentioned before, Shahin was a much stronger defender than Gundogan.

At the double pivot position, the switch from Shahin to Gundogan actually made a huge difference.

"For the second half, I want you to lock down Real Madrid’s midfield!"

Klopp yelled at everyone, his voice leaving no room for argument.

"Their overall cohesion is weak. We need to use our superior teamwork, stay compact, and squeeze their space. Especially Mesut—don’t give him any room to make a forward pass!"

"And another thing, Marco, Mario, Kuba—when you counter, be decisive and stay calm!"

"Your execution tonight has been awful!"

Here, Klopp turned to Wang Shuo.

"Wang, you still need to push up, pin down Pepe and Ramos, and press their defensive line!"

Wang Shuo nodded.

Dortmund’s players were still quite young, all in a period of rapid development.

Whether it was Götze or Reus, when facing top-tier center-backs like Pepe and Ramos, they posed no threat at all when they pushed up.

It was just like the few chances in the first half.

If this were in the Bundesliga, they would have scored long ago.

"Our defense..." Wang Shuo looked at Klopp, offering a reminder, but trailed off.

Klopp understood what Wang Shuo was getting at, but he had no intention of changing tactics.

’This style of defense from Dortmund actually plays right into the hands of Ronaldo and Real Madrid.’

’Why did Mourinho choose to start Higuain for this match, instead of Adebayor or Benzema?’

’It was to attack the space behind Dortmund’s back line!’

’Dortmund’s high-press was certainly ferocious, but it easily left them exposed in behind.’

’Weren’t both of Real Madrid’s goals scored exactly that way?’

But as a player, Wang Shuo certainly couldn’t question his head coach’s tactics.

’Besides, in a situation like this, what better choice did Dortmund have than to stick to their game plan?’

...

When the second half began, Dortmund continued to press forward.

Real Madrid also tried to press forward.

Evidently, Mourinho wasn’t satisfied with a 2-1 scoreline.

It was a dangerous scoreline!

The two sides remained locked in the same kind of physical, close-quarters stalemate as the first half.

Although there were a few sporadic counter-attacks with quick passing, none of them were converted into clear-cut chances.

What Dortmund did better in the second half was that Wang Shuo kept Real Madrid’s defensive line pinned back while their midfield strangled Real Madrid’s, cutting off the two flanks and forcing them to operate in isolation.

Seeing this, Mourinho decisively made a change.

In the 61st minute, Benzema came on for Higuain.

Mourinho had evidently seen his midfield struggling to play the ball forward, so he brought on Benzema to provide better support.

And just six minutes after coming on as a substitute, the French striker suddenly dropped deep into the left half-space to receive a square pass from Marcelo. He turned, shook off Sven Bender, and played a through ball.

Ronaldo burst into a sprint, took the ball in stride with his first touch, and instantly blew past the onrushing Subotic.

In that moment, the Portuguese forward’s explosive pace and close control were on full display.

After shrugging off Subotic, he stormed into the box. Confronted by Hummels, who came over to block him, Ronaldo feinted a move wide, unbalancing the defender. He then pushed the ball past him with the outside of his left foot, breaking through Hummels’s defensive coverage.

Having created a yard of space, Ronaldo unleashed a thunderous shot with his left foot.

The ball blasted through Weidenfeller’s hands at incredible speed, nestling into the left side of the goal.

"Another goal!!!"

"It’s Ronaldo again!"

"The Portuguese is in incredible form tonight, and that completes his hat-trick!"

"More importantly, all three goals came from through balls played in behind the defense."

"Mourinho’s substitution pays off once again! Benzema comes off the bench and immediately breaks the stalemate on the pitch!"

Ronaldo ran to the sideline again to strike his signature celebration pose.

The Dortmund players, however, stood rooted to the spot, completely dumbfounded.

Hummels sank to his knees inside the box, furiously pounding the grass.

Both Klopp and Mourinho were standing on the sideline.

The moment Ronaldo scored, Mourinho excitedly threw his hands up in the air.

Klopp, however, spun around in frustration, his back to the field, muttering to himself—obviously swearing.

...

After conceding, Dortmund flew into a frenzy.

Wang Shuo in particular began pressing Real Madrid relentlessly, with no regard for his own stamina.

Led by Wang Shuo, the other Dortmund players also pushed forward at all costs.

In the 73rd minute, Wang Shuo received the ball 30 yards out, burst into motion, shook off the tenacious Lass Diarra, and went on a blistering run.

Especially at the edge of the box, when double-teamed by Harvey Alonso and Ramos, Wang Shuo came to a dead stop before suddenly pushing the ball forward and exploding into a sprint, muscling his way between the two defenders and into the penalty area.