The whistle for the second half pierced the sweltering air above the Pizjuán Stadium.

When the players switched sides, the stands erupted with even more enthusiastic cheers than in the first half, whether for Sevilla or Hoffenheim.

"Beat this small Bundesliga club!!!"

"Let's show these Spaniards what we're made of!!!"

Neither side's fans intended to show any mercy.

A wave of red rose from the Seville stands, as the fans were convinced that their team could turn the tide in the second half.

The German commentator astutely noted: "The Hoffenheim players' jerseys are completely soaked; the humid and sweltering weather in Seville is becoming an invisible enemy."

Nagelsmann stood at the edge of the technical zone, constantly gesturing to the players to maintain distance between the three lines, while Machín crossed his arms and stared intently at every detail on the field.

In the 53rd minute of the match, the situation on the field suddenly changed.

When Navas won a corner kick on the right wing, the entire stadium erupted in cheers.

Seville fans sang their team anthem in unison, knowing this was a golden opportunity to break the deadlock.

"Watch out at the near post!" Hoffenheim goalkeeper Bowman's shout pierced through the noisy stadium, but the scales of fate had already tipped.

Navas' corner kick, spinning sharply, flew towards the near post. Nzonzi, like a beast freed from its shackles, leaped into the air the instant Hübner was stunned, overpowering Vogt and heading the ball toward the far post.

Ben Yedder appeared like a ghost in front of Schulz and sent the ball into the net with a delicate tap-in.

"Goooooooal! Sevilla have taken the lead!" The Spanish commentator's voice was hoarse with excitement. "Textbook corner kick combination! Nzonzi and Ben Yedder's header relay has torn apart the German defense!"

The Pizjuán Stadium instantly transformed into a sea of ​​joy, with red confetti raining down from the stands.

The Hoffenheim players looked at each other in bewilderment. Vogt pounded the turf, while Hübner stood there holding his head.

Nagelsmann turned to his assistant coach, spreading his hands with a look of bewilderment on his face. This set-piece defensive error could have been avoided.

Yan Yuan had not expected the second half to start so poorly. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the wildly celebrating Sevilla players and noticed that their center-back, Kjaer, was gesturing to his teammates, clearly setting up a special marking strategy against him.

Yan Yuan secretly remembered this detail, knowing that the upcoming matches would be even more difficult.

Trailing behind, Hoffenheim began to actively seek change.

In the 60th minute, Nagelsmann substituted Akpoguma for the exhausted Schulz, a substitution that proved remarkably effective fourteen minutes later.

In the 67th minute of the match, Amiri suddenly changed direction and got rid of Banega while receiving the ball in midfield, and keenly spotted the gap on the right flank.

Yan Yuan had already scanned the situation before receiving the ball. Escudero was watching closely, and Banega was also chasing back. This was a typical double-team trap.

A barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips; this was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

"This way!" Yan Yuan raised his hand to indicate that he wanted the ball.

When the ball rolled to his feet, he pretended to force his way to the byline, a convincing feint that caused two defenders to rush towards the outside at the same time.

In a flash, he flicked the ball behind him with his heel, and Akpoguma, who was following up, delivered a precise cross with no one marking him.

"A brilliant teamwork!" the German commentator exclaimed, slamming his fist on the table. "From observing the situation to making the decision, Yan Yuan's handling was absolutely brilliant! There's a reason this kid keeps scoring!!!"

The ball traced a perfect arc in the air, and Uth, like a cheetah that had been lying in wait, suddenly burst out from Lenglet's blind spot.

The Sevilla center-back didn't even have time to jump; he could only watch helplessly as Uth smashed the ball into the far corner with a powerful header.

"Goooooooal! Hoffenheim has equalized!" The Chinese commentator, far away in the East, was so excited he was almost incoherent. "A goal from Uth! Akpoguma's assist, but at least half the credit for this goal goes to Yan Yuan's brilliant pass!"

Nagelsmann, unusually, sprinted dozens of meters to celebrate on the sidelines. As he turned around, he saw Machín angrily shouting at the players on the field.

The roar of the Pizjuán Stadium instantly subsided, with only the blue of the away team's stands pulsating wildly.

Yan Yuan, Ute, and Akpoguma were surrounded by their teammates. Amiri shook Yan Yuan's shoulder and shouted, "My god, do you have eyes in the back of your head?"

Ute pointed at Yan Yuan and made a "pointing to the brain" gesture towards the camera, which elicited good-natured laughter from the stands.

The Seville players looked at each other, puzzled as to why Yan Yuan always managed to find the weakest link in the defense.

The match then entered a heated phase.

In the 73rd minute, Machín made a desperate move by bringing on a third striker, switching to a 3-4-3 formation for all-out attack.

This adjustment nearly paid off five minutes later when Sarabia's powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area hit the crossbar, and the entire stadium erupted in a deafening sigh.

The German commentator, still shaken, exclaimed, "The goalposts saved Hoffenheim! Baumann had completely lost his balance! That was a close call!!"

Nagelsmann responded immediately, directing the players on the field.

He signaled for Vogt to drop back to form a five-defender system, while also having Grillitsch drop back to form a double pivot with Demirbay.

This impromptu tactical change proved effective again in the 82nd minute when Ben Yedder had a one-on-one opportunity, but Baumann made a solid save to keep the goal intact.

With ten minutes remaining in the game, both teams' players were nearing their physical limits, but the score remained tied at 2-2.

Yan Yuan's socks were covered in grass clippings, and he was breathing heavily, but his mind was unusually clear.

In situations like these, his mind works even faster.

In the 87th minute, when Baumann kicked the ball out of the goal, Yan Yuan suddenly realized that this was his last chance.

Uth cleverly headed the ball across Lenglet in a contest for the ball in the attacking third. The moment Gnabry received the ball on the left wing, Yan Yuan's tactical intuition began to give a frantic warning: Sevilla's defense was shifting to the right as a whole!

As the German winger advanced with the ball, Yan Yuan deliberately slowed down and stopped on the right wing. This subtle positional adjustment put Kjaer in a dilemma.

"Gnabry breaks through! Three players are surrounding him!" The commentator's voice suddenly rose.

Just as all defensive attention was drawn to the left flank, Yan Yuan suddenly started his sprint, calling for the ball again!

Gnabry's cross was perfectly timed, and Yan Yuan had already thought it through before receiving the ball: the opposing defender Kjaer habitually guards against his left-footed cut inside, and at this moment he will definitely block the inside lane.

"Yan!" Gnabry shouted, sending out a high-speed cross pass.

The moment the ball rolled to his feet, Yan Yuan made a choice that shocked the entire stadium. He stopped the ball with his right foot, then gently flicked it with the outside of his foot, and then pulled it back. This unexpected change of direction caused Kjaer, who was defending him, to completely lose his balance.

"Yan Yuan is going to cut inside! My God, what foot will he use to shoot?" The commentator's voice was full of doubt.

Sevilla goalkeeper Rico's positioning exposed a fatal mistake; he instinctively moved half a step toward the near post, a natural reaction against right-footed players.

Yan Yuan caught this subtle change, and with his body almost losing balance, he used his non-dominant left foot to execute an exaggerated outward-spinning arc.

The ball traced a trajectory in the air that defied the laws of physics, as if manipulated by an invisible hand, bypassing Rico's desperate fingertips, and finally hitting the inside of the far post before bouncing into the net.

"Goooooooooooal! A last-minute winner! A powerful curling shot with his weaker foot!!! An unbelievable goal! A goal from a tough guy!!! This goal is just as significant as his game-winning goal against Liverpool!!" The commentary booths in all languages ​​erupted simultaneously.

"17-year-old Asian prodigy Yan Yuan scored a stunning, artistic goal with his weaker foot!"

The Pizjuán Stadium fell into a deathly silence, except for a deafening cheer from the away team's substitutes.

The camera captured Nagelsmann kneeling and throwing a punch, while Machin stood there dumbfounded.

During his celebration, Yan Yuan turned his jersey inside out, with his name facing forward, and pointed to his number and name on his jersey towards the Seville home crowd.

"YAN 17".

Seville fans were indeed unwilling to watch, but they had no choice but to.

Slow-motion replays by German television showed that Yan Yuan's eyes remained fixed on the goalkeeper's position the moment he took the shot, a detail that impressed the commentators.

"That game-winning shot wasn't accidental; it was a precisely calculated missile strike! Yan thought through every step from receiving the ball to shooting!! Such football intelligence is incredibly rare in a 17-year-old!!"

When the fourth official raised the electronic board indicating two minutes of added time, the Seville fans finally recovered from their shock and created a roar with their last bit of energy.

But Hoffenheim players united as one, with Vogt blocking the final cross like a wall, and Baumann rushing out to collect the last corner kick.

The moment the final whistle blew, the entire away team's bench rushed onto the field, and Yan Yuan was tossed high into the air by his teammates as everyone celebrated.

Post-race statistics show that Yan Yuan covered a distance of 11.3 kilometers in the race, with 28% of that distance being sprinted in the last ten minutes.

This data filled the commentator with awe: "Not only his skills, but also his professional attitude is admirable."

Nagelsmann was equally delighted, but he was more concerned about his protégé's physical condition. The first thing he did after the match was to have the team doctor examine Yan Yuan.

Fortunately, Yan Yuan's health was indeed not seriously affected.

In the mixed zone, Yan Yuan, covered in sweat, was surrounded by reporters.

When asked about his thoughts on the game-winning goal, he wiped the sweat from his brow and laughed, "Hmm... the second goal? I saw the opponent was defending my right foot, and the goalkeeper was positioned towards the near post, so I tried shooting with my weaker foot."

Behind this seemingly casual explanation lies countless hours of studying training videos and cultivating muscle memory—experience that Yan Yuan has painstakingly accumulated.

After the match, Nagelsmann once again praised his protégé at the press conference: "Yan's football IQ is absolutely top-notch. The thing he does most on the field is always being in the right place at the right time."

After everything was over, as Yan Yuan walked toward the team bus, he saw some domestic fans holding up support signs and waiting near the bus.

They held up signs with their jersey numbers and names; these fans included both adults and children.

Yan Yuan went over to sign autographs and take photos with the fans. A little boy timidly asked, "Brother, how can I kick that second curveball?"

After signing his name, Yan Yuan squatted down and looked the child at eye level: "Little friend, first learn to observe with your eyes, then learn to think with your eyes."

He pointed to his temple, then gently touched the little boy's left chest. "Finally, don't forget the passion for football here. I believe you can also make a shot like that."

This heartwarming scene was captured by a reporter accompanying the team. Yan Yuan bid farewell to the fans from his hometown and embarked on his journey home with his teammates.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like