Ye Chen Takes the Field – His Westfalen Debut.

In the locker room, Klopp was seriously explaining tactics, and the players were listening attentively.

"Did everyone understand?"

"Yes!"

The players responded in unison.

Klopp nodded in satisfaction. "Remember, tonight, I only want victory!"

"Got it, boss!"

"This is Westfalen!"

"We won't let them leave unscathed!"

Klopp nodded again. "Get ready and head out. Don't keep them waiting too long!"

With that, he was the first to step out of the locker room.

The substitute players followed him through the tunnel.

Substitutes and coaches enter early, while only the starting players from both teams wait in the tunnel to walk out with the referees.

As Ye Chen was passing through the tunnel, a Black player suddenly bumped into him.

Sanko glared at Ye Chen viciously and said in a menacing tone, "Kid, watch your legs!"

This was a provocation from Sanko.

Ye Chen knew that as long as his strength wasn't fully recognized, he would keep facing this kind of challenge.

But he wasn't afraid. Looking at the aggressive Sanko, Ye Chen replied calmly, "Bring it on!"

Seeing Ye Chen's dismissive expression, Sanko was immediately infuriated.

How dare this guy act so arrogant?

Just because of a hat trick in the last match?

What's there to be proud of?

If it were me, I could have… never mind, I won't compare with him!

I'm a defender—I don't need to compete with a striker on scoring goals!

As long as I keep him from scoring today, that's all that matters!

Sanko thought to himself.

In Europe, there's an unspoken hierarchy of discrimination.

White players look down on Black players, Black players look down on Asians, and as for Asians… they quietly accumulate strength before astonishing everyone!

Ye Chen's stellar performance in the last match had drawn attention from many coaches, especially Augsburg's head coach, Luhukay.

Luhukay specifically instructed Sanko to watch out for Ye Chen's shots.

Based on his assessment, Ye Chen would likely start.

After all, Lewandowski had performed poorly in the previous match, and with a tight schedule of two matches in three days, it made sense to rest him.

But he miscalculated—Ye Chen was not in the starting lineup.

It seemed Klopp wasn't fully convinced of his ability yet…

Augsburg had played seven matches so far, sitting 16th in the table. Though they hadn't won yet, they had drawn four times—not bad for a newly promoted team.

Normally, a newly promoted team winning at Westfalen would be unrealistic, but since Dortmund had a tight schedule and was coming off a crushing defeat, Luhukay saw an opportunity.

Might as well take a gamble—who knows, maybe luck would turn their way!

Ye Chen didn't know much about Augsburg's squad and didn't recognize any of their starting eleven.

Their strength was probably mediocre at best.

But as soon as Ye Chen stepped onto the pitch, he was truly stunned by the electrifying atmosphere.

The match hadn't even started, yet the fans were already lighting fireworks.

The entire stadium was ablaze with excitement!

Westfalenstadion had a famous South Stand, which could accommodate 25,000 fans—all standing, as there were no seats.

The South Stand was filled with Dortmund's most passionate supporters.

This was the very reason why Westfalenstadion was considered the most intimidating stadium in Europe.

As Klopp walked onto the field, the fans erupted, chanting his name in unison.

For them, Klopp was adored.

After all, he had led this young Dortmund team to the top of the Bundesliga!

Ye Chen had chosen to come here partly because of Klopp.

It wasn't that he particularly liked Klopp as a person, but rather that his coaching style and player selection philosophy perfectly suited Ye Chen.

In Klopp's tactical approach, a team should attack and defend as a unit.

Because of that, he preferred young players with high stamina.

Ye Chen believed he could grow quickly under Klopp's guidance.

Even in recent training sessions, Klopp had given him several pointers on positioning and ball-handling.

This was the mark of a great coach—using his experience to make players better.

In Europe, when it came to developing players, Guardiola was the best, but Klopp was easily among the top three.

After all, players under his guidance almost always improved.

The atmosphere at Westfalenstadion was electrifying, but Ye Chen's entrance didn't cause much of a stir.

In contrast, when Shinji Kagawa appeared, the stadium DJ loudly called his name, and the fans gave him a warm round of applause.

Clearly, Kagawa had already won over the Dortmund faithful with his performances.

The match began quickly.

Augsburg didn't give up; instead, they immediately adopted a defensive counterattacking stance.

Of the eleven players on the field, ten were focused on defense.

Ye Chen observed from the bench, following Klopp's instructions to study Lewandowski's movements.

Breaking down a compact defense was one of the hardest challenges in football.

Dortmund tried long shots, crosses, and corners, but none were very effective.

For now, they had to wait—for an opponent's mistake.

If they could score first, Augsburg would panic, creating openings for more goals.

On the pitch, Lewandowski was clearly putting in the effort, but his shots lacked precision.

Part of it was fatigue; part of it was a mental block.

At a top European club, even the smallest issues would be magnified.

This was why elite clubs weren't always the best places for young players to develop.

Back to the match!

In the 23rd minute, Lewandowski drifted wide to the left and received a through ball from Perišić.

He sprinted forward, but Augsburg's left-back Marcel de Jong slid in, getting to the ball first and knocking it out for a corner.

Due to the momentum, he also collided heavily with Lewandowski.

Lewandowski crashed to the ground, grimacing in pain.

As he landed, he fell on top of de Jong, and both players were writhing in pain on the turf.

The medical team rushed onto the field. Seeing this, Klopp immediately called for Ye Chen to warm up.

So soon?

Even Ye Chen was surprised.

"System, is this your doing?" Ye Chen asked in his mind, slightly shocked.

"The system only affects the host and does not interfere with this world in any way."

"I was just joking, no need to get defensive!"

Ye Chen was actually a little happy about Lewandowski's injury and couldn't help but joke about it.

Why was he happy?

Because this was a golden opportunity to play!

Augsburg made the first substitution, replacing De Jong with Tobias Werner.

Lewandowski got up and signaled that he didn't need to be substituted.

Klopp waved Ye Chen back to the bench.

But Lewandowski was limping.

Dude, just come off. If you keep forcing it, you'll only make the injury worse!

That was Ye Chen's honest thought.

Even though they were competing for the same position, he wanted a fair fight.

Like Messi and Ronaldo—they pushed each other to become better.

Most importantly, he wanted to earn a starting spot through merit, not because of Lewandowski's injury.

…

In China, CCTV Sports Channel was broadcasting the match.

"Viewers, we can see that although Lewandowski received medical treatment, his movement still doesn't look natural," said commentator Jian Jun.

"But Dortmund really can't afford another injury. With Barrios already out, if Lewandowski is sidelined, they'd only have Kuba and Ye Chen left as strikers!"

Huang Jianxiang nodded. "It looks like he can't continue—he's sitting down and signaling for a substitution!"

"The fourth official is holding up the substitution board—Number 16, Ye Chen, replaces Number 9, Robert Lewandowski!"

Jian Jun's voice was filled with excitement.

"The moment millions of fans have been waiting for is finally here! But can this young debutant carry Dortmund's attack? Let's wait and see!"

On the sideline, Ye Chen took a deep breath.

Only after Lewandowski was helped off the pitch did he step onto the field.

This was his debut at Westfalenstadion—he was going to give it everything he had!

Not a single drop of energy would be left unused…