Football: He suffered a broken leg at the start of the game, but partnered with Haaland!

CCTV-5 studio.

The large red screen with white lettering lit up on time.

Duan Xuan straightened his tie and leaned forward toward the microphone.

"Good evening, viewers. You are now watching CCTV Sports Channel's live broadcast of the 18th round of the 2019-2020 Bundesliga season."

"Borussia Dortmund is playing away against Augsburg. I'm commentator Duan Xuan, and sitting next to me today is still coach Tao Weitao."

Tao Wei pushed up his glasses and smiled, nodding to the camera.

The scene then cuts to the interior of the WWK Arena.

The red, green and white flags in the stands tumbled like waves, and the microphones on the field were filled with deafening German profanities.

In CCTV's live online broadcast room, the number of online viewers is skyrocketing at an alarming rate.

The screen was completely covered by the comments.

"Finally, the broadcast has started! Sunflower seeds and peanuts for sale in the front row!"

"Arsenal fans are here to laugh. A Chinese man with a broken leg can really make the squad? I don't believe it. It's definitely Dortmund hyping this up."

"Get lost! Wu Lei is struggling in La Liga, and the village's second hope has come to the Bundesliga! We must support him!"

"Stop arguing, let's look at the starting lineup first. Old thief, show me the starting lineup!"

Duan Xuan looked at the teleprompter in his hand and spoke at a rapid pace.

"Let's take a look at the starting lineups for both sides. For Dortmund, coach Favre has fielded a very aggressive 3-4-3 formation."

"The goalkeeper is number one, Bürki."

"The defense consists of three center-backs: Akanji, Hummels, and veteran Piszczek."

"The midfield quartet consists of Guerreiro (number 13) on the left wing-back, Achraf Hakimi (the speedy horse) on the right, and Witsel and Brandt as the double pivot."

"The attacking trident consists of Reus in the middle, flanked by Hazard and Sancho. This is a lineup designed for a full-on attacking style."

Tao Wei picked up the conversation and tapped the tactical board with his pen.

"That's right. Dortmund's starting eleven has a total market value of 143 million euros. Augsburg's starting eleven, on the other hand, is only worth 22.85 million euros."

"Even a fraction of it is higher than the other party's."

"But Duan Xuan, look, the home team's head coach, Mason, fielded an extremely pragmatic and conservative 4-5-1 formation today. It's clear that he's trying to overwhelm Dortmund's technical style of play with sheer numbers in the midfield and defense, using physical battles to wear down Dortmund's technical style of play."

The voice just fell.

The public signal director, who was far away on the front lines in Germany, was very considerate and immediately turned the camera to the away team's bench.

The screen was filled with Dortmund players wrapped in heavy black down jackets.

The camera panned across the tall, blond-haired Haaland (number 17), then across Götze (number 10).

Finally, the close-up shot is extremely precise, focusing on an Asian face at the very edge.

His face remained expressionless, his black, tousled hair fluttering slightly in the cold wind.

The live stream chat exploded with comments.

"Holy crap! He's really on the bench! Alive!"

"I almost cried! Another Chinese player on the bench in one of the top five European leagues!"

"Don't get too excited. Dortmund is looking to grab points today. In this situation, it's impossible for them to put a rookie who just broke his leg on the field. He's just there to get a feel for the atmosphere."

Beep!

The referee's long whistle pierced the noisy stadium.

The competition has officially begun.

Borussia Dortmund, wearing black away jerseys, kicked off first.

Brandt passed the ball back to Witsel, and the entire Dortmund team immediately spread out like a large net, pressing towards Augsburg's half.

But just three minutes later, everyone could see that something was wrong with the situation on the field.

The grass at Augsburg's home stadium was left very long, and it was clear that it hadn't been watered before the match.

The ball faced immense resistance as it rolled across the floor, turning Dortmund's usual fluid and effortless passing into a bumpy, slow-motion mess.

The fifth minute.

Brandt received the ball in the center circle and looked up to find Reus ahead.

Just as he was about to push the ball out.

Augsburg's defensive midfielder crashed into them from the side like an out-of-control bulldozer.

A muffled thud.

Brandt was knocked two meters away with the ball, writhing on the ground in pain while clutching his ankle.

The referee stood five meters away, glanced at it, and held out his hands.

The game continues, no fouls!

"My God, no one's exclaiming? That move was aimed directly at a person!" Duan Xuan raised his voice from the commentary booth.

Tao Wei's face was gloomy.

"This is the survival rule for Bundesliga relegation teams at home. They know you have the technical advantage, so they will never let you turn and receive the ball comfortably. The referee was very lenient today, which is a disaster for a team like Dortmund that relies on technical skills."

On the field.

After intercepting the ball, the home team player didn't hesitate and immediately launched a long pass to the lone striker in the attacking third, number seven forward Niederlechner.

Veteran Hummels, with his extensive experience, positioned himself in advance and headed the ball out of bounds.

But this gave Bürki a real fright.

On the bench.

Haaland ripped off his scarf and shouted a Norwegian swear word.

"What are those bastards kicking? Is that soccer or martial arts?"

Sun Yang sat on the bench, his eyes fixed on every change of possession on the court.

The 99-point passing attribute from the Football Hall of Fame system in his mind was allowing him to analyze the game from a godlike perspective.

Not right.

Something is very wrong.

Dortmund's two flanks are pushing too high.

Achraf and Guerrero were almost standing at the corner of the opponent's penalty area.

This kind of oppression can indeed create panic.

But Augsburg didn't respond at all. They retreated to a 30-meter zone, compressing their central defense so much that not even a fly could get through.

Sancho attempted to break through on the right wing twice, but was brutely pushed aside by two strong men on the opposing side.

The match has reached the twentieth minute.

The scene completely turned into a wrestling match.

Thorgan Hazard had just started to accelerate down the left flank when he was pulled and kicked to the ground by the home team's full-back.

This time the referee awarded a free kick in the attacking third, but didn't even issue a yellow card.

Favre stood in the command area, as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, waving his arms and shouting.

"Come back! Don't suffocate me so much! Create some space!"

But the players on the field couldn't hear him at all. The boos from tens of thousands of home fans shattered Favre's shouts.

Dortmund's star players are clearly getting impatient.

With the winter break just over, their physical condition hasn't fully recovered to its peak. Coupled with the extremely harsh environment of playing away from home, their mental defenses are gradually crumbling.

Witsel is holding the ball for longer and longer periods.

He always tried to control the tempo in midfield, but that's exactly what Augsburg was looking for.