Dresden's tactics were successful

The Tactical Success of Dresden

The more you want to accomplish something, the harder it becomes to do it well.

In the first half, everyone was intentionally looking for Ye Chen, but he was constantly being marked by several players.

As a result, Dortmund's offense was very disjointed in the first half!

The Westfalenstadion, which had been ignited by Ye Chen, gradually fell silent.

Although the fans were still singing team chants and cheering for Ye Chen, something felt off.

Even in the Penguin Sports live stream, commentator Zhan Jun sighed, "Dortmund is trying a new tactic today, giving Ye Chen a lot of freedom, but the results don't seem great!"

Zhang Lu nodded in agreement. Having been a coach himself, he understood the game well.

He got straight to the point, "Actually, the problem today lies with Ye Chen!"

"What do you mean by that?"

Zhang Lu pondered for a moment, then organized his thoughts before explaining, "Dortmund is a team known for their quick and agile playstyle, traditionally combining wing and center attacks. Their usual formation is 4-2-3-1, where the attacking midfielder is the brain of the team. But today, they switched to a 4-3-3 formation, with Ye Chen as the offensive core. Gündoğan is unfamiliar with this role, and Ye Chen is being tightly marked by Soléja and Schulz, which has caused Dortmund's attack to stall!"

"In the latter part of the first half, Dortmund adjusted their strategy, allowing Götze and Großkreutz to take turns playing forward while Ye Chen moved to the wing. However, their attacking prowess is still inferior to Ye Chen's! Of course, Ye Chen's cut-in and shot were beautiful, but if he tries it again, the opponents will be prepared. They won't let him cut inside and shoot freely! Moreover, the opponent's tactics are very clear today—just don't let Ye Chen receive the ball and shoot. Other Dortmund players can have the ball, but not him!"

Zhan Jun nodded. "So, do you think Ye Chen still has a chance to set a world record?"

"It's going to be tough. As you said, the Bundesliga is one of the top five leagues. How could they possibly allow a Chinese player to break a world record?" Zhang Lu sighed.

Zhan Jun suddenly realized something. "So, all these VIP guests in attendance today didn't come to witness history—they came to see Ye Chen fail?"

"Not necessarily, but this world record seems unlikely now."

Hearing Zhang Lu's analysis, many fans watching at home grew worried.

Meanwhile, discussions heated up on Dortmund's fan forums.

"I was wondering why there were so many big names in attendance!"

"Coach Zhang makes a good point. If Ye Chen breaks a world record, it's great for him and even for Dortmund. But for the Bundesliga as a whole, it would be an embarrassment!"

"I'm a student in Japan, and a lot of people here are already saying the J-League is better than the Bundesliga!"

"I feel bad for Ye Chen. It turns out his opponent isn't just Masashi Nakayama—it's the entire Bundesliga!"

"No wonder so few players want to play abroad. There's too much behind-the-scenes politics!"

"Come on, Ye Chen!"

"Hang in there, Ye Chen!"

"I swear, if Ye Chen makes history, I'll buy an official Dortmund jersey with his number 16 on it!"

"Me too!"

Fans were showing their support for Ye Chen in their own ways.

At the Westfalenstadion, the fans had returned to their seats.

Lina, however, wore a worried expression on her face.

"Ye, you have to keep going!"

With only 45 minutes left, could Ye Chen still make history?

BEEP!

As the referee blew the whistle, the second half officially began.

But the audience quickly noticed—Dortmund had changed their strategy!

They returned to their usual 4-2-3-1 formation, with Götze orchestrating the midfield, making their attacks as smooth as liquid mercury.

At the 48:14 mark—

Schmelzer took a throw-in from the left, finding Ye Chen, who was still being closely marked by Soléja and Schulz.

Ye Chen remained calm as he quickly pushed forward.

With a speed rating of 99, he easily broke through their defensive line and reached the byline.

But then what?

Soléja and Schulz blocked his cut-in route while also sealing off the passing lanes!

At best, they were willing to concede a corner kick...

Their priority was to prevent Ye Chen from dribbling in and shooting.

Ye Chen saw through their intentions.

As soon as he drew the attention of three defenders, he executed a stunning backheel pass.

The ball landed right at Schmelzer's feet as he made a forward run.

As one of the best left-backs in the Bundesliga last season, Schmelzer was excellent on both ends of the pitch.

Without hesitation, he played a cross to Götze at the top of the penalty arc.

The two defensive midfielders had been pulled out of position, and Koch had also shifted toward Ye Chen's side.

This left the top of the penalty area completely unprotected!

Dresden's center-back, Stoll, rushed forward, but just as he stepped out, Götze delivered a precise through ball to Großkreutz, who was making a diagonal run into the box!

This was probably the easiest goal Großkreutz had ever scored—he was completely unmarked!

Facing the goalkeeper one-on-one, Großkreutz had no trouble placing a calm shot into the near corner.

Dresden's goalkeeper, Hesl, dived, but he didn't even get a touch on the ball.

Goal! Dortmund extended their lead to 2-0 at home against Dresden!

After scoring, Großkreutz hugged Götze, who had provided the assist.

Götze smiled and did a little celebratory dance—after all, every assist earned him €3,000, which was more than enough for a wild night at the bar.

Even though Dortmund had scored, Ye Chen couldn't feel happy.

Dresden's stance was clear: Dortmund could score, but Ye Chen could not.

More precisely, he wasn't even allowed near the penalty area!

"Ye, that backheel pass was pure genius!" Schmelzer walked over to him with a grin.

"Sigh, it's so frustrating!" Ye Chen, however, couldn't bring himself to smile.

Growing more and more irritated, he clenched his fist and punched the air in frustration.

Seeing this, Soléja and Schulz exchanged knowing smiles, and Dresden's coach, Ralf Loose, also smirked.

This was great news...

Ye Chen was losing his composure!

If his mentality crumbled, could he still score?

The camera director caught the moment and replayed it after showing the goal.

The commentators quickly reacted.

"Even though Dortmund scored, Ye doesn't seem happy! But that's understandable—under Dresden's double-pivot marking, he's getting further and further away from the goal, making it increasingly difficult to score..."

"With only 40 minutes left, he still needs two goals to make history. It's natural to feel anxious!"

"It looks like Dresden's tactics have worked—they've successfully shut down Ye!"

"Even though he has already set an incredible record with four consecutive hat-tricks, let's not forget—he's only 17 years old!"

"It seems like his record will end here. Five consecutive hat-tricks is just too difficult!"

"But that's life—life is always full of regrets..."

Watching Ye Chen struggle with frustration, even the commentators doubted his chances.

At that moment, Götze ran over to comfort Ye Chen.

"Ye, there's still plenty of time! Don't worry!" He patted Ye Chen on the back.

But Ye Chen shook off his hand and impatiently replied, "I'm fine. Leave me alone!"

Before the match, he had dreamed of scoring five goals and making history.

But now…