Dortmund's Champions League defeat, Lewandowski's poor performance—Is Ye Chen's chance to start coming?

Undoubtedly, this skill is an epic upgrade for Ye Chen.

It enhances every aspect of his game—speed, explosiveness, and shooting.

Previously, Ye Chen's shooting ability was rated at 75, but now it has jumped to 80—a five-point increase.

It's like taking an exam: going from 60 to 75 is tough, but improving from 75 to 80 is even harder.

Breaking into the 80+ range means reaching the level of excellence, and every further improvement will be increasingly difficult.

Additionally, Ye Chen's physical attributes have improved.

His balance has reached 80, and his ball control has improved to 72!

This single SS-level skill card has boosted six of Ye Chen's attributes simultaneously!

Excited, Ye Chen jumped up from his seat.

"System, this is incredible!"

"A friendly reminder: The system only objectively evaluates the host's performance. To earn better rewards, you need to train harder and perform better in matches."

Ye Chen immediately understood: "So extra training can improve my stats too, right?"

"Of course!"

Hearing this, Ye Chen didn't hesitate. He put on his training gear and went straight to the field for extra practice.

Although his overall rating had now surpassed 75, he was determined to keep pushing. His goal was to reach 80 as soon as possible—or even higher.

After all, with his current skill level, he was only a mid-tier player in the Bundesliga.

That day, the team was in regular training mode, preparing for their second Champions League match. When Ye Chen arrived on the field, he saw his teammates already there.

Klopp looked surprised to see him fully dressed for training. "Why are you back? Didn't I give you two days off?"

Ye Chen smiled, "I'm here to train. The only way to earn more playing time is to keep improving!"

Klopp nodded. "That's a good mindset, but balancing work and rest is also important. Join the session."

"Yes, coach!"

Even though he had the system, long-term and consistent training was still the key to success.

Unless the system could guarantee that training wouldn't exhaust him, proper recovery was crucial.

After yesterday's match, Ye Chen still felt soreness in his muscles.

It would take at least two days to fully recover.

Of course, today he only planned to do light training.

As he started, a system notification popped up.

"Ding! Training mode activated. Would you like to enable training assistance?"

Wait, there's such a feature?

"Yes!"

Soon, a training schedule appeared in Ye Chen's mind:

Laps around the field: 0/10Passing drills: 0/1000Shooting practice: 0/300Free kick training: 0/100

Total training duration: 3 hours

Ye Chen had no complaints. He knew that improvement came from consistent effort.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi didn't reach their level of greatness overnight—it took countless hours of training.

On the other hand, some talented players wasted their potential by indulging in nightlife and neglecting training.

Many football stars with talent comparable to Ronaldo and Messi ultimately faded away due to a lack of discipline.

The most famous examples are Adriano and Ronaldinho.

Adriano was once the king of Inter Milan, but his personal life spiraled out of control, leading to his downfall.

Ronaldinho, despite winning back-to-back FIFA World Player of the Year awards, indulged in endless partying. Eventually, he was forced out of Barcelona and later struggled at AC Milan before fading into obscurity.

It's hard to say if their choices were right or wrong—everyone has different priorities.

But Ye Chen wanted a long and successful career, so he needed a clear plan.

First, he needed to hire a professional nutritionist.

Even though Cristiano Ronaldo had a strict diet plan, it might not be suitable for him.

Now that he had money, he could afford a personal nutritionist to optimize his diet.

Second, he considered getting a personal trainer.

However, since he had the system, this might not be necessary.

Many top players, including Ronaldo, had multiple personal trainers to maintain peak performance.

Meanwhile, the club had already arranged German language lessons for Ye Chen.

So in addition to training, he also had to study German.

While Ye Chen was fully committed to training, Borussia Dortmund had already flown to France for their second Champions League match.

Their opponent: Olympique de Marseille.

Marseille was no weak team. They finished as runners-up in Ligue 1 last season.

Interestingly, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) was not the champion—that title belonged to Lille.

PSG was only bought by the Qatari owners on June 30 that year. Their rise to dominance would take some time.

Despite their strength, Marseille had a poor start to the season, winning just one of their first seven matches and sitting 15th in the league.

Meanwhile, thanks to Ye Chen's heroics in the last match, Dortmund had climbed to 8th place in the Bundesliga.

Because of this, Dortmund was the favorite to win.

But football is unpredictable—matches aren't won on paper.

At the pre-match press conference, Klopp remained humble, praising Marseille as a strong team going through a rough phase but capable of returning to title contention.

However, everyone knew Dortmund was aiming for all three points.

The match turned out to be a brutal battle.

Marseille, frustrated with their league struggles, unleashed all their energy in the Champions League.

By the 20th minute, André Ayew scored the opening goal off a Loïc Rémy assist.

Dortmund kept attacking, trying everything—headers, volleys, long-range shots—but couldn't find the net.

Their biggest obstacle? Marseille's goalkeeper, Steve Mandanda.

Mandanda put on a world-class performance, stopping every shot Dortmund threw at him.

Final score: 3-0 to Marseille.

The Man of the Match wasn't Ayew (who scored twice) or Rémy (who had two assists and a long-range goal).

It was Mandanda, the goalkeeper!

His post-match rating was 9.5, higher than Rémy (9.3) and Ayew (8.9).

To put this in perspective, goalkeepers rarely get above 8.0 unless they have an exceptional game.

Mandanda's 9.5 rating showed just how incredible his performance was.

Of course, one player's heroics often highlight another's struggles.

Robert Lewandowski worked hard, even getting two one-on-one chances.

But he missed both.

It seemed like he had left his shooting boots back in Dortmund.

Fans began to miss Lucas Barrios, Dortmund's former striker.

And just like that, Ye Chen's name resurfaced in discussions.

"If Ye Chen had played, could he have turned the game around?"

On the sidelines, Klopp's expression was serious and frustrated.

At the post-match press conference, Klopp remained composed.

But journalists bombarded him with tough questions.

One reporter asked:

"Lewandowski's form is dropping due to constant matches. Will you consider starting Ye Chen in the next game?"

Klopp frowned. "There are no guaranteed starters in my team. Whoever is in better form will play."

This was a reasonable answer. But the reality was, this season, Klopp wanted to make Lewandowski the main striker.

However, after watching him miss two crucial chances, Klopp was disappointed.

Now, he seriously needed to reconsider who should start next match.

After all, just a few days after the Champions League game, Dortmund had their Bundesliga Round 8 match at home against Augsburg.

Would Ye Chen finally get his chance to start?