This time, Manchester United has lost at least one Cristiano Ronaldo.
"FA Chairman, come out and apologize!"
"Do you guys even understand football?"
"Do you still not know who is the best Chinese player right now?"
"And you call us blindly admiring foreign players? This is just shutting the country off!"
"..."
"You idiots, I don't even know how you grew up without eating brains!"
A furious fan was officially online.
At first, netizens could still leave messages and comments, but as more and more fans flooded in, the website crashed.
At the Westfalenstadion, Ye Chen kissed the club emblem, celebrating his victory!
He knew that his final goal was the result of all his teammates' efforts.
If it weren't for their active movements pulling away defenders, he might have faced more than just three defenders.
Of course, there was an element of luck in his goal…
But luck is also part of strength!
He had achieved an unprecedented four consecutive hat-tricks.
He didn't know what the future held, but for now, he just wanted to enjoy the moment!
The fans gave him the most passionate cheers, and his teammates came up to embrace him.
"I knew you could do it!" Kehl grinned widely, shouting with excitement.
Right now, everyone had to shout to be heard over the deafening crowd.
What surprised Ye Chen the most was that little guy, Götze—despite already being subbed off, he sprinted 50 meters from the bench just to hug him after the goal.
"Ye, you were incredible! I finally believe what you said earlier!" Götze shouted excitedly.
"What did I say?"
"Lina told you to hurry up!" Götze yelled at the top of his lungs.
Ye Chen's face instantly turned red…
Dude, are you trying to embarrass me in public?
Time to make a quick escape…
Ye Chen sped up and ran back to the center circle, leaving Götze laughing behind him.
On the sidelines, the fourth official held up the board showing three minutes of added time, but neither team had any real intention to attack anymore.
When the three minutes were up, the referee blew the final whistle.
Ye Chen raised his hands in triumph.
He did it!
His first start for Dortmund, leading the team to victory, and securing a hat-trick!
Three objectives accomplished in one match—what an exhilarating feeling!
The referee then placed the match ball in front of Ye Chen, smiling. "Ye, your performance today was simply marvelous. I'm officially a fan of yours!"
When you're strong enough, arrogance and prejudice disappear.
Instead, they are replaced with admiration and respect.
"It's my honor. Thank you, Mr. Zwayer!" Ye Chen accepted the ball with a bright smile.
"Keep up the good work—my son loves you too!" Zwayer shook his hand and left with a satisfied smile.
"Thank you!"
A talented and polite player is always well-liked—though, of course, talent comes first.
This was already the fourth match ball Ye Chen had taken home.
There's an unwritten rule in football: if a player scores a hat-trick, they get to keep the match ball.
With three previous hat-tricks, Ye Chen already had three footballs displayed at home, each marked with the match details and score.
"Hey, Ye, if you keep getting hat-tricks like this, you could start a store selling match balls!" At that moment, Podolski walked over, shirtless, revealing his signature six-pack abs. "Can I have the honor of swapping shirts with you?"
"Of course, Lukas!" Ye Chen laughed as he took off his shirt but secretly made a mental note to hit the gym.
Forget everything else—those six-pack abs and faintly visible V-line muscles were every woman's dream!
Looking at himself, he still seemed too skinny…
"I was planning to compete with you in scoring this match, but you got three goals while I couldn't even get one…" Podolski said with a sigh.
Ye Chen lowered his voice and whispered, "You should switch teams. Cologne is too small of a stage for you."
Podolski and Gomez were the two main strikers for the German national team, but who got to start depended on their form.
Coach Löw preferred Podolski, treating him like a favorite son, but due to club performances, the media and fans leaned more toward Gomez.
As a result, Löw faced some pressure.
This season, Podolski was showing signs of a breakthrough—especially with the 2012 Euros approaching. He wanted to secure his spot as Germany's main striker, but with his teammates underperforming, only he knew the frustration he felt.
Yet, Cologne was his boyhood club…
As the saying goes, loyalty and ambition are often hard to balance—that was Podolski's dilemma.
Of course, Ye Chen had no place worrying about someone else. At least Podolski was guaranteed a spot in the German national team as long as he stayed healthy. But him?
At this moment, Jay Chou's I Am Not Worthy should be playing in the background…
Dortmund players bowed to the fans, and in return, the fans erupted in another wave of cheers.
The match had just ended, but everyone was already looking forward to the next one.
At least for this week, Dortmund fans were happy—but not completely happy.
Because Bayern was playing away at Hannover 96 that night. If Bayern lost…
That would be peak happiness!
With Dortmund's 5-0 victory, they now had 19 points, just three behind Bayern, who had a game in hand.
If Bayern lost, the upcoming Bundesliga Round 13 clash—Dortmund vs. Bayern—would be an early championship showdown!
As the match concluded, German media quickly pushed out headlines:
"Four Consecutive Hat-Tricks: China's Ye Leads Dortmund Back to Second Place!""A New King Rises: Dortmund's Goal Machine Ye Scores 12 Goals in 4 Matches!""Who Said Dortmund Was Out of the Title Race? Back to Second After 10 Rounds!""Bundesliga Giants Beware—Dortmund the Giant Killer Is Back!""Dortmund's New Goal Machine Ye Chen—How Much Did Manchester United Lose?"
People were starting to realize—Dortmund had found a new superstar.
And when fans checked the Bundesliga top scorers list, they were even more shocked.
Everyone thought Huntelaar was the best foreign striker in the league.
But after just a few days, an unknown name had surged to the top!
Even the most authoritative football magazines in Germany, Kicker and Sport Bild, gave their front-page headlines to this 17-year-old Chinese sensation.
These weren't tabloids like The Sun—these were top-tier European sports publications.
Kicker's headline read: "Man United's Reject Takes Flight in the Bundesliga—Dortmund Finds a Hidden Gem!"
The magazine analyzed Ye Chen's match performance, potential future, transfer value, and the Chinese market's influence…
Their final "conservative" estimate:
"This time, Manchester United has lost at least one Cristiano Ronaldo."