After Paris Saint-Germain was removed from the list, I led England to victory!

Before the start of the second half, a relaxed atmosphere filled Hoffenheim's locker room.

Nagelsmann stood in front of the tactics board, a rare smile on his face.

"Yan, I'll be frank," he said, naming him directly, "those two goals in the first half were even better than I expected." He continued,

"But don't think that's enough. In the second half, I want you to continue tormenting their left flank."

"Don't worry, Coach, this is my job."

Yan Yuan nodded in reply, the sweat on his forehead not yet completely dried.

Captain Vogt came over and gave him a hard squeeze on the shoulder: "Kid, you've made those guys look like amateurs." A burst of laughter erupted in the locker room.

Gnabry feigned annoyance and yelled, "Hey, have you all forgotten about me? I gave him an assist in the first half!"

Nagelsmann tapped the tactics board, and the atmosphere immediately became serious.

"Listen, guys, we're changing formation in the second half." He drew an asymmetrical 3-4-3 on the board.

"Defender Akpoguma moves inside, leaving Yan alone on the right flank, while Gnabry and Bosch create a numerical advantage on the left, drawing their defensive focus there."

The referee's knock on the door interrupted the tactical planning.

As the players got up and headed toward the tunnel, Yan Yuan felt someone tug at his jersey.

When I turned around, I saw it was AUX.

"Hey, Yan," Oakes said in a low voice, "their left-back has already received a yellow card, keep it up."

"Of course, Oaks, let's work together." Yan Yuan and Oaks bumped fists.

As soon as the second half whistle blew, Hoffenheim's tactical change immediately showed its effect.

In the 48th minute, Grillitsch won a corner kick on the right side.

The Erfurt players were on high alert, forming an impenetrable wall of defenders.

But Oakes suddenly started from the edge of the penalty area, pretending to receive a short pass, and this fake run instantly disrupted the defensive formation.

Grillitsch keenly spotted the opening and delivered a low, quick corner kick to Vogt, who was lurking on the edge of the penalty area.

"That was a beautiful combination!" commentator Weber exclaimed. "Hoffenheim's set-piece design was brilliant! It's the same corner kick tactic they used to beat Bayern at home last season."

Vogt didn't try to score himself, instead passing the ball back to Polanski at the edge of the box. Polanski's low shot was saved by the goalkeeper, but striker Uth appeared like a ghost in the six-yard box and easily tapped in the rebound.

3-0!

The Erfurt players were clearly panicked.

Center-back Merkel yelled at his teammates, "How could you leave the far post open?!"

Goalkeeper Lucas angrily kicked the ball towards midfield, muttering, "Is this a Bundesliga team playing against an amateur team?"

The slaughter at Hoffenheim continues.

In the 63rd minute, Nagelsmann's "false nine trap" began to take effect.

As part of the tactical plan, Oakes dropped back to the defensive midfield position, and Uth moved to the left flank in coordination. This positional switch left Erfurt's center-back completely disoriented.

Their decision-making speed is far slower than that of the Hoffenheim players.

With the help of defender Vogt, Polanski once again successfully controlled the ball and passed it to Yan Yuan on the right flank.

When Yan Yuan received the ball on the right wing, while the Erfurt players were anxious and eager to score, he surprisingly attracted the attention of three defenders at the same time.

These Erford players are determined to take down Yan Yuan this time, no matter what they say; they can't let him have it too easy.

"Watch how this is handled! This is Yan's first time facing such a high-pressure environment," Schneider suddenly raised his voice.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Yan Yuan feigned cutting inside, and in the instant the opposing defender shifted his weight, he suddenly backheeled the ball to the onrushing Grillitsch.

"We saw it! Yan Yuan didn't blindly break through! He remained calm and thoughtful," the commentator exclaimed.

Before the ball even hit the ground, the latter delivered a precise long pass over the top to Gnabry, who was making a run down the left flank.

Gnabry took a short run-up and jumped on one foot, leaping high into the air and kicking the ball powerfully towards the goal with his thigh and lower leg!

"A volley! GOAL! 4-0!!!!" Webber practically screamed himself hoarse. "That was a flawless combination! From Yan Yuan's backheel to Grillitsch's long pass, and then to Gnabry's finish, perfect!"

After scoring, Gnabry immediately went to Yan Yuan to celebrate, and the two of them had each contributed a goal and an assist to the other.

Nagelsmann celebrated with a fist pump on the sidelines. He hadn't expected the first German Cup match to go so smoothly, nor had he expected Yan Yuan and his teammates to mesh so well.

I thought their performance in the friendly match was amazing enough, but their performance in the German Cup was even more outstanding.

Erfurt's head coach, Hoffmann, was slumped on the bench, his face ashen.

On the field, Erfurt's right-back Schmidt yelled at his teammates, "How many times have I told you not to be fooled by his feints!"

Midfielder Menz couldn't take it anymore and retorted, "Then go and face him! He's not an ordinary player; stop treating him like a child!"

Fortunately, the situation was urgent, so the infighting in Erfurt didn't escalate.

In the 78th minute, after Nagelsmann made a gesture, Hoffenheim changed tactics again.

Nordtveit moved forward to the defensive midfield position, forming a double pivot with Polanski.

This time, Nordtveit's long pass found Yan Yuan on the right wing. Facing two defenders, Yan Yuan first pretended to cross the ball, and at the moment the opponent stretched out his leg to block, he suddenly cut the ball and changed direction to enter the penalty area.

"Here we go again! Yan Yuan's signature feint!" Webber's voice trembled. "Let's see what he chooses this time!"

Yan Yuan still didn't try to score, feigning a shot and then passing back to Oakes at the edge of the box. Oakes' shot was brilliantly saved by the goalkeeper, but Yan Yuan seemed to have anticipated this. He quickly rushed forward to the goal and headed the rebound shot, which hit the crossbar. He then reacted extremely quickly and poked the rebound ball into the net.

This goal left Yan Yuan looking a little flustered, but it did go in in the end.

5-0!

"A hat-trick! A 17-year-old scored a hat-trick in his professional debut! This is definitely one of the most amazing debuts in the history of the German Cup!" Schneider couldn't help but praise Yan Yuan.

The Erfurt players were completely devastated.

Midfielder Zile collapsed onto the grass, saying to his teammates, "How the hell do we defend against this? He always anticipates our moves! How can he score on a ball like that?"

Goalkeeper Lucas didn't even bother to retrieve the ball, simply gesturing to the defense: "Why don't you guys mark him closely? Can't you have a few more people marking him?"

They wanted to get close, but Yan Yuan's teammates didn't give them the chance. If they were smart enough with their positioning, they could escape the human wave tactic trap.

As the match entered its final stages, Hoffenheim deliberately slowed down the pace to lure their opponents forward.

In the 89th minute, goalkeeper Baumann launched a quick counter-attack with a throw-in, and Akpoguma delivered a diagonal pass from near the center line.

Yan Yuan received the ball with his back to goal, and under pressure from two opposing defenders, he suddenly pulled the ball back with the sole of his foot, then turned and dribbled past the defense.

"My God! That turn! What is he going to do? He's been crazy enough in this game, don't tell me he's trying to score a world-class goal at the end of the game, he's 26 meters from the goal!" Webber couldn't help but shout.

Yan Yuan looked up at the goalkeeper's position and moved slightly forward.

Without any hesitation, he unleashed a powerful "falling leaf" shot with the outside of his right foot, a shot with a slight spin, a shot that had a strong Cavani style.

The ball drew a strange arc in the air, plummeted rapidly in front of the goal, and nestled into the top right corner of the net!

"A world-class goal! 6-0!!!!" Schneider jumped up from the commentary box. "I can't believe my eyes! This 17-year-old just scored a Puskás Award-worthy goal!"

Nagelsmann, standing on the sidelines, was unusually wide-eyed, even forgetting to clap.

The Hoffenheim substitutes all rushed to the sidelines, some even kneeling in a gesture of worship. The Hoffenheim fans in the stands went wild, chanting:

"Yan! Yan! Yan!"

This time, Hoffenheim fans could finally shout Yan Yuan's name together accurately.

The Erfurt players were stunned.

Center-back Merkel squatted down on the grass and said to goalkeeper Lucas, "This ball... no one could have saved it."

Erfurt became the background.

When the final whistle blew, Yan Yuan was surrounded by his teammates.

Gnabry ruffled his hair and said, "Yan, are you dreaming about practicing?"

Yan Yuan really wanted to say yes.

Even the usually serious Vogt smiled and said, "I think you should start in the Champions League qualifiers in three days."

Joking aside, the chances of him starting in the Champions League qualifiers are still very slim.

Nagelsmann was the last to come over. He didn't say much, but he pinched Yan Yuan's nape hard. This playful gesture was worth a thousand words.

After tonight, all fans will know that a 17-year-old Asian prodigy has officially announced his meteoric rise in the first round of the German Cup.