Cologne terminates Tomoaki Makino's contract.
When Cologne adopted a defensive stance, the match became much less entertaining.
On the sidelines, Klopp instructed Ye Chen to take more long shots.
However, with three midfielders blocking the front and Podolski and Hihi also dropping back to defend, Ye Chen had very few opportunities to shoot.
Right now, Dortmund only had Ye Chen as a real long-range threat, so Cologne focused their defense on him.
But this only ignited Ye Chen's fighting spirit.
The more they tried to stop him from shooting, the more determined he was to take a shot.
Ye Chen started trying to dribble past defenders.
However, one man's strength is limited. Even if he got past one defender, another would immediately step up to block his shooting angle.
This is precisely why breaking through a compact defense is one of the biggest challenges in world football.
Of course, for Dortmund fans, this was still an enjoyable match. After all, their team was leading by two goals and bombarding Cologne's goal.
Ye Chen also knew it would be difficult to score alone, so he actively sought cooperation with Kagawa and Götze.
Yet, the first half ended without a goal.
As the referee blew the halftime whistle, Ye Chen, the brightest star of the first half, high-fived excited fans as he walked through the tunnel.
Meanwhile, back in China, Dortmund's online forum was buzzing with activity.
Posts were popping up like mushrooms after the rain.
"How did Makino have the guts to talk big before the match with this level of play?""Ye Chen might have the highest football IQ right now!""Analysis of Ye Chen's first-half goals: the first was pure power, the second was pure intelligence!""Come and see what kind of girls like Ye Chen!""Is Makino really that weak? (Includes video that will change your perception!)"
Some users, naturally, focused on the girls, while others watched highlight clips of Makino's defense.
As a player who made it to the Bundesliga, Makino was undoubtedly a key defender for Japan's national team and even held a starting spot for a while.
However, after spending months without match fitness at Cologne, he was benched.
Before moving to Germany, he was the defensive core of Sanfrecce Hiroshima, scoring four goals in a season, maintaining a rock-solid defense, and making the J-League's Best XI.
That's what caught Cologne's attention.
The video was posted by a fan studying in Japan and showed Makino as an absolute nightmare for strikers.
A five-minute segment even featured Makino's ruthless positioning and tackling against China's national team.
A true defensive masterclass!
It was hard to believe this was the same player who looked so ineffective on the pitch today.
Was this really the same Makino?
The comment section exploded.
"Makino was actually this good?""Damn, so it's not that Makino is weak, it's that Ye Chen is too strong!""No wonder our strikers had no answer against him!""This video really shows how insane Ye Chen is!""I suspect this post is just hyping up Ye Chen!""Legendary post!""Selling content, add me on WeChat…"
The thread's popularity soared as more people saw it!
Meanwhile, in Germany, the atmosphere in Cologne's locker room was ice-cold.
Ståle Solbakken, the head coach, glared at Makino with a dark expression.
"Is this how you repay my trust?"
"I'm sorry, boss."
"If 'sorry' was enough, what's the point of contracts?" Solbakken snapped. "I'm officially notifying you—you don't need to report to the first team anymore!"
"No! Boss, please give me another chance!" Makino panicked.
"If I give you another chance, who will give me one?" Solbakken growled.
The match was already lost, and someone had to take the fall.
Makino was the perfect scapegoat.
In the Bundesliga, teams often scouted decent, affordable talents from weaker football nations, and Makino had seemed like a good investment.
The best part?
He was still young!
With a couple of years of Bundesliga training, he could even be resold back to the J-League for a profit.
But today, his performance was a complete disaster!
A player like this needed to be gotten rid of—fast.
Returning to Japan in disgrace would be humiliating, and Makino knew it.
Suddenly, with a thud, he dropped to his knees and lay flat on the ground.
"Boss, please! Give me one last chance! I can't go back like this!" he begged desperately.
But Solbakken's face turned colder.
"Polák, take him outside to cool off. Oh, and contact the management—get him out of the club as soon as possible."
"Understood!" Assistant coach Polák walked over. "Get up, you useless waste!"
Makino looked at Solbakken with despair, but hatred flickered in his eyes.
Damn you, Ye Chen!
If I ever get the chance, I'll make you pay for this!
And sure enough, Ye Chen would meet him again on the pitch in the future.
But by then, everything had changed.
—
Hell on one side, paradise on the other.
Cologne's locker room was like a morgue, while Dortmund's was full of excitement.
"Well done, guys!" Klopp praised his players and even gave Ye Chen a thumbs-up.
"Ye, your performance today was incredible!"
"Thank you, boss!" Ye Chen smiled.
"Do you have the confidence to score another one? That would make it four straight hat-tricks!" Klopp grinned.
It was clear that he was in a fantastic mood.
At a crucial stage in the season, with their main striker injured and the backup exhausted, having Ye Chen leading the charge was a blessing.
"Well… I…" Ye Chen hesitated, but at that moment, the system notification chimed in.
"Ding! New random mission: Score one more goal this match to complete a hat-trick. Success earns 100 points, failure deducts 100 points!"
Ye Chen's mouth twitched.
He only had 120 points—earned through nine goals in three matches!
He was planning to save them for new boots, but now the system was eyeing his points?
Damn it!
Did it really think he couldn't score just because his long-range shooting skill had expired?
"You hesitating like a little girl?" Klopp raised an eyebrow.
"Of course I'll do it! Watch me—I'll get that hat-trick!" Ye Chen clenched his fists and roared.
That 100 points was his!