Green Field Eunuch

Chapter 408 is something else!

The game officially begins.

Manchester City kicked off first, and Shan Yongzhuo passed the ball to Aguero before starting his run towards Dortmund's half.

Last season, Borussia Dortmund were eliminated in the Champions League group stage and finished bottom of their group.

What's even more unfortunate is that Dortmund's group last season wasn't very strong. Only Arsenal was a strong team in the group, while the other two opponents were Marseille and Olympiacos.

In contrast, Bayern Munich, despite being outmaneuvered by Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, reached the Champions League final.

Such results have drawn heavy criticism from within Germany, with German media mocking Dortmund as a Champions League free win, and the reputation of being good at domestic games but bad at international ones has stuck with them.

The proud and arrogant Klopp was naturally very dissatisfied with this.

This season, despite being drawn into a group of death, Klopp is still ambitious to advance.

In their first match, they secured a narrow 1-0 victory against Ajax at the Westfalenstadion, giving the team a winning start in the Champions League.

However, such a victory is not very convincing. After all, Ajax is recognized as the weakest opponent in the group, and defeating them is something that should and must be done.

If they want to advance, Manchester City is a formidable opponent they cannot avoid.

Klopp doesn't underestimate any opponent, but in his view, Manchester City's overall strength is actually inferior to Real Madrid's. The reason Manchester City has achieved such brilliant results is only one reason—

Shan Yongzhuo!
In Klopp's view, if Manchester City can contain this striker, their strength will be reduced by at least half.

Therefore, Klopp's preparations focused almost two-thirds on how to limit Shan Yongzhuo, something Klopp is very experienced in.

Although he is known for building offense, his teams are actually well-rounded in both offense and defense, and he also has considerable expertise in defense.

With his strategy, coupled with the defensive capabilities of Hummels and Subotic, Klopp still had some confidence in the game.

Deep down, he still doesn't believe that a player is undefendable.

Of course, the actual effect still needs to be verified through the competition.

Therefore, once the match started, he focused more on Shan Yongzhuo.

On the field, Shan Yongzhuo was quite surprised when he ran to the front.

When he reached a position about ten meters in front of the penalty area, he found that the Dortmund players did not come to defend him. It seemed that they did not send a specific player to mark him closely, but were just making normal runs.

"Aren't they going to specifically defend against me?"

After several long seasons, Shan Yongzhuo once again encountered a situation where no one was closely marking him, which surprisingly made him feel somewhat uncomfortable for a short period of time.

The good news is that catching the ball is much easier for him now.

Then, he received the pass.

Just as he was about to dribble forward, a player followed him; it was Sven Bender.

Sven Bender is a very well-rounded player with good defensive abilities, but Shan Yongzhuo doesn't care much about a one-dimensional defensive player.

With his current strength, even without using his skills, he is still capable of protecting the ball temporarily as long as the opponent doesn't go all out to tackle him.

Sven Bender stayed close, without any aggressive defense. After Shan Yongzhuo moved forward two or three meters, another defender arrived – defender Hummels.

When Hummels followed, Sven Bender's movements became more aggressive, and the two of them closed him off from both sides. Shan Yongzhuo suddenly realized that it was impossible for him to break through, and there was no space to pass the ball.

Sven-Bern's restrictions even prevented him from taking a direct shot.

"You've got something..."

Dan Yongzhuo was surprised because he felt the pressure.

Once you reach this position, there's no room to activate skills like Ghostly Grappling Hand or Water Skimming, and if you use Whirlwind Ground Kick, you'll definitely be knocked down by the opponent.

Then, just as Shan Yongzhuo was distracted, the ball was indeed intercepted.

Hummels intercepted the ball precisely at the bottom corner, and Dortmund quickly launched a counter-attack.

On the sidelines, Klopp, with his full beard, nodded in approval upon seeing this.

At least, judging from this instance, my defensive strategy was effective.

Klopp's defensive strategy was to use the defensive midfielders and backfield defenders to compress Shan Yongzhuo's space with the formation and to double-team him constantly through hard work.

As soon as Shan Yongzhuo gets the ball, make sure there are two people blocking him immediately to prevent him from having any space to break through.

Klopp had studied Shan Yongzhuo, and he was not fooled by Shan Yongzhuo's breakthroughs. In his opinion, Shan Yongzhuo's breakthroughs were more of a sudden burst of speed, catching the opponent off guard, even though he often had very exquisite ball control skills.

However, speed and explosive power are the essence of Shan Yongzhuo's breakthrough ability.

Therefore, Klopp decided not to assign a specific defender, but to compress Shan Yongzhuo's space for breakthroughs through formation and player movement.

This is easier said than done.

Although Dortmund's players are all excellent runners, and this lineup has great chemistry among the players, this is also a consideration in Klopp's strategy.

Using this method, there's no need to sacrifice one or even two players specifically to defend against Shan Yongzhuo. Moreover, Shan Yongzhuo has already adapted to that kind of close marking, and the effect might not even be good.

However, if you really want to completely compress the space, mistakes are bound to happen.

Perhaps some established Italian defensive powerhouses can do this, but Borussia Dortmund is not a truly defensive team.

Dortmund's foundation lies in its attack; they are a representative team that plays aggressive attacking football.

Therefore, while the first wave of defense was perfect for an average player, it was still insufficient for Shan Yongzhuo.

At least, Hummels was already slow to react.

Moreover, such a defense is actually very dangerous. Once the two players are broken through, the backfield will be wide open, which can easily create opportunities for the goalkeeper to face the ball directly. In that case, the goal will be in great danger.

Shan Yongzhuo also noticed this.

In fact, I was just being greedy. If I had activated my skill the moment I received the ball, I would have been able to break through before Hummels and Sven-Bender could double-team me.

Of course, without the necessary skills, such a defense would be completely ineffective.

(End of this chapter)