It was a pity that the first shot after kickoff didn't go in; this was an attack specifically designed by Jin Hayes. He had recently discovered that opponents seemed to have learned quite a lot from Juventus.
When defending against him, they would try their best to shrink back to the goal, leaving the space outside the penalty area open. They compressed his space for breakthroughs this way, and were certain that no matter how he shot from distance, he wouldn't score.
That's a bit too much, right?
The secret that Jin Hayes's shooting technique was terrible was no longer a secret.
Real Madrid did the same at the start. As long as Jin Hayes had the ball outside the penalty area, the Real Madrid players would shrink back, letting him shoot from distance. But Jin Hayes had a flash of inspiration. He made a gesture as if to shoot, tricking the Real Madrid players into loosening up.
"What if this guy actually scores?"
If Jin Hayes's long shot went in, letting him shoot at will would look very stupid. Fabio Cannavaro and Pepe instinctively rushed up.
Jin Hayes changed his shot to a pass, suddenly triggering a "Heartfelt Pass" with the outside of his foot, heading straight for the back post. It was just a pity that luck was off by a little bit.
"My bad! My bad! Sorry!" Jakub Błaszczykowski, who had hit the frame of the goal, apologized with hands pressed together; he had wasted a superb pass from Jin Hayes.
"It's not a big deal, let's try a few more times." Jin Hayes quickly comforted his teammate. It was just one attacking attempt, and he believed Real Madrid's defence wasn't that solid.
On Real Madrid's right side were Sergio Ramos and Cannavaro, while the left centre‑back and left‑back Marcelo were perhaps points that could be exploited. Pepe had outstanding physical conditions, strong frontal interception ability, and was good at fighting and grappling.
But he wasn't flexible enough and was prone to impulsiveness.
Marcelo had to shoulder defensive responsibilities in the tactics while also taking on the left‑wing attack; he definitely had to move up frequently. This would lead to space behind him, making it very easy to be exploited.
After observing for a while at the start, Jin Hayes decisively placed the focus of the attack on Real Madrid's left flank.
"In the first few minutes, Jin Hayes has been quite active. He frequently creates threats, making Real Madrid afraid to let go and attack. Especially the outside‑foot arc when he first got the ball; it's just a pity it missed by a hair's breadth. Jin Hayes is still trying; he pulls to the right, plays a one‑two with Jakub Błaszczykowski—? Oh! He suddenly dribbles in!" He Wei's voice suddenly became excited.
Only to see Jin Hayes approach the right flank, play a one‑two with Jakub Błaszczykowski to shake off Wesley Sneijder, and suddenly accelerate with the ball. Lassana Diarra reacted a beat too slow and was nutmegged by Jin Hayes. Marcelo had just moved forward and hadn't returned, leaving only Pepe on the flank.
Jin Hayes had heard of the 25‑year‑old Portuguese centre‑back long ago. He suddenly had a whim to see if Pepe was as easily provoked as the legends said. In front of the penalty area, Jin Hayes could have dribbled to the outside to enter the penalty area. Instead, he deliberately pulled inward, going straight to Pepe's face to challenge him head‑on.
"Good! He's a man!"
Pepe cheered inwardly, thinking Jin Hayes was an upright person, and immediately went up to meet him. He was looking forward to a real man's one‑on‑one battle. But then he saw the young player slow down, look left and right, and suddenly turn his leg to the right. On the other side, Jakub Błaszczykowski was rushing up from behind; a through ball would definitely cause a threat.
"Did he lose his nerve? Damn it!"
Jin Hayes had already made the passing motion, and the ball was almost off his foot. Pepe hurriedly sprinted to the left, intending to cover and defend the more threatening runner. Whoever had the ball, he would pounce on.
"Jin Hayes intends to pass! Jakub Błaszczykowski is very fast!" He Wei also realised Jin Hayes was preparing to send a through ball, and even the director's camera focused on the winger and followed him.
No one expected that, in the split second when Jin Hayes's ball had already left his foot, he nimbly hooked his right foot and actually hooked the ball back. He smoothly cut the ball to the left and changed direction—and didn't forget to nutmeg Pepe.
Pepe's attention was already focused on Jakub Błaszczykowski; how could he have known he would lose his position due to a momentary lapse.
"Fuck!!"
A figure flashed stylishly past him; it was too late for Pepe to turn and pull him back. He chased back frantically, but could only see the Black‑Yellow number 10 make a cross in front of the six‑yard box.
"Marco Reus—This one is in!!"
"Beautiful!! Borussia Dortmund strike first thirteen minutes into the game! Jin Hayes's fake pass and real cut was too realistic; even the director was fooled! He bypassed Pepe to enter the penalty area and assisted Reus to score. Borussia Dortmund lead 1‑0 at home!"
"Yes!!!"
"Great pass!!"
"Great shot too!"
After scoring, Reus was extremely excited.
Scoring a goal in a match against Real Madrid was enough to prove he had the strength to deal with giants. For some reason, Reus wanted to cry a little, his emotions welling up with tears in his eyes.
Recalling last season, Reus had been almost sold to a third‑division team. Once abandoned by the club and becoming a marginal player, his professional career was cast in darkness.
Since Jin Hayes joined, he had conquered the fans and the coaching staff with his agile technique. Jin Hayes proved a truth: even without overwhelming physical strength, as long as one had enough technique, one could still stand in the Bundesliga.
Reus was kept because of this, gained limited opportunities, and successfully grasped them with Jin Hayes's help. Today, he stood on the Champions League stage as a starter and broke through Iker Casillas's goal. Thinking about it last year would have been unimaginable.
"Thank you, Jin, thank you!" Reus ran over and gave Jin Hayes a barrage of thanks; Jin Hayes was numbed by it.
"Mate? Don't get too excited, we have more goals to come! Let's get hyped!"
"Okay! Let's score a few more!" Reus smiled happily and put his arm around Jin Hayes's shoulder. The two made a glider pose and ran towards the South Stand, once again triggering a thunderous roar at the Westfalenstadion.
Borussia Dortmund fans could hardly believe it—the team had been so poor in the previous two years, almost relegated. And now, they had suddenly broken into the Champions League, unexpectedly defeated Juventus, and were now leading Real Madrid.
Happiness came so suddenly.
The high‑spirited Bumblebee twins on the pitch were simply too cool. The scene of Jin Hayes and Reus running to celebrate together was also captured by photographers and became a classic image frequently used by the media after the match.
"Count me in!"
"Me too!!"
"I'm coming too!"
The two hadn't run far before being pulled by Nuri Şahin, and then Mats Hummels also excitedly rushed over and jumped onto Jin Hayes's back.
"Holy crap!! You're too heavy!" Jin Hayes was almost crushed to death by Hummels. How could this guy, at 191cm tall, have the nerve to make him carry him?
Not far away, Pepe gnashed his teeth and kicked a water bottle near the goal. "I'm so pissed!! Ahhhhh!"
"No? I f—" Iker Casillas also had something to say. That was my water bottle!
For that goal just now, Casillas really had no other way. He was stuck at the near post blocking Jin Hayes's shooting angle; Jin Hayes's timing for the cross was impeccable, and Reus almost pushed it into an empty net. Could this be blamed on the goalkeeper?
"Pepe, next time—" Casillas still wanted to urge Pepe a couple of times not to be too reckless when rushing up. But Pepe was like an enraged bull, already completely red‑eyed, and turned to glare fiercely at Casillas.
Casillas swallowed his words back.
"It's over, he has lost his mind."
Casillas knew well that there was no communicating with Pepe in "beast mode." The good news was that he could press the opponent crazily and create huge pressure. The bad news was that Pepe was very likely to do something irrational.
Damn it!! Too cruel.
...
Ever since being tricked by Jin Hayes and humiliated by a nutmeg that led to a goal, Jin Hayes seemed to always like looking for trouble with Pepe, constantly dribbling towards the right flank.
In just ten minutes, Pepe had already been toyed with three times by the young playmaker. Once, after passing Lassana Diarra, Jin Hayes deliberately used a "Rainbow Flick" in front of Pepe.
A Rainbow Flick in a professional match was definitely intentional humiliation—only someone who didn't treat the defender as a human being would do this. Most importantly, he actually let this guy in.
Jin Hayes used the Rainbow Flick to shake off Pepe, and when Pepe angrily tackled from behind, Jin Hayes suddenly stopped and cut back to avoid it, delivering a superb assist in the penalty area.
In three seconds, Pepe had been passed twice by Jin Hayes. Fortunately, Jin Hayes didn't trigger a "Heartfelt Pass" for this ball, and the ordinary cross was intercepted by Casillas, scaring the Spanish goalkeeper into a cold sweat.
Five minutes later, Borussia Dortmund intercepted in the backfield for a quick counter‑attack. Şahin gave it to Jin Hayes, who used a Xavi‑style 360‑degree dribble turn, leaving Wesley Sneijder and Lassana Diarra behind, and continued to charge straight at Pepe.
Facing the Portuguese defender, Jin Hayes still pretended to pass to the right. Pepe, with red eyes, didn't hesitate this time, burying his head and rushing straight at Jin Hayes, wishing he could use a bull charge to knock him flying.
As a result, Jin Hayes turned into a matador, made a gorgeous turn, stepped on the ball, and easily shook off Pepe to break into the penalty area.
An unexpected cut‑back pass, and Şahin rushed up to complete a long‑range shot. It was just a pity that Şahin was too eager to prove himself; this shot was focused only on power, and the angle was too straight, so it was saved by Casillas.
The match reached the 30th minute, and Jin Hayes continued to look for trouble with Pepe. This time he simply stepped over the ball in Pepe's face, alternating left and right feet, a dazzling display. Jin Hayes suddenly raised his right foot, looking like a 45‑degree cross.
"You want to trick me again!" Pepe hurriedly retreated towards the penalty area, but Jin Hayes's right foot actually missed. The ball was still in place.
"Damn! I've been tricked!" Pepe, who had come to his senses, was completely furious and rushed over to push him, but Jin Hayes had already started dribbling, shook off Pepe, and dribbled straight into the six‑yard box, repeating the same trick with a cut‑back.
"Nuri, if you can't score this, you're really bad!"
Jin Hayes attracted the attention of many defenders, and Nuri Şahin was completely left open.
Bang!
Nuri Şahin's eyes were focused; this time he forgot everything, and his only goal was the net. The football spun wildly and drew an arc, bypassing Casillas's fingertips and drilling into the net.
"Another one!! 31 minutes into the first half, Borussia Dortmund lead by two goals!! Jin Hayes has two assists, helping Şahin score a long‑range shot! This is the Yellow‑Black youth storm! It looks like the old Galácticos can't hold on anymore!"
Borussia Dortmund fans couldn't believe it. They were actually able to lead Real Madrid so easily? They thought Real Madrid was some kind of muscular, sturdy opponent, but as a result, they toppled with a gentle push; they were too soft.
He Wei, who knew La Liga quite well, couldn't help but feel some emotion. During the Calderón era, to reduce the superstar policy, Real Madrid had sold stars like Robinho, Arjen Robben, and Ronaldo Nazário one after another.
The lineup had neither superstars nor enough capable players; it didn't lean towards either side. Real Madrid was still immersed in the glory of the past, being beaten fiercely by the rising Barcelona in the league and ravaged by the storm of youth in the Champions League.
This former giant was gradually falling, and the gap with the mainstream strength of Europe was growing larger and larger. The 2‑0 scoreline in the first half for Borussia Dortmund only showed that the two sides were no longer on the same level.
Most people far underestimated this group of young men running and celebrating on the pitch; perhaps they were the answer to the future of football.
"Facing the former giant, Jin Hayes showed no mercy. He is leading the Bumblebees, setting off a stormy sea across Europe!"