120: Chapter 120 Westphalia Debut! Yu's Curved Line as a Welcome Gift!

Germany, Dortmund, Westfalenstadion (Signal Iduna Park).

March 10, 2016. Europa League Round of 16, first leg.

The boundless, undulating, and vibrant Yellow Wall in the South Stand, amidst the deafening Champions League theme music and explosive cheering, transformed the entire stadium into a surging, oppressive ocean of yellow.

This is one of the most famous "hellish home grounds" in all of Europe. Over eighty thousand Borussia Dortmund fans welcomed their guests from North London in the most fervent and wild manner.

This was the first encounter between the two sides in European competition.

Currently, both teams ranked second in their respective Leagues, maintaining a theoretical chance of challenging for the League title.

However, in the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich's advantage seemed insurmountable, so Borussia Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel shifted more focus to the Europa League, aiming for the title.

As for Tottenham, although they were 7 points behind Leicester City, there was still room in the League, and Mauricio Pochettino faced a dilemma of priorities.

Injuries and suspensions hit Tottenham: Dele Alli was suspended due to accumulated yellow cards; main players like Danny Rose and Jan Vertonghen were out with injuries; Mauricio Pochettino even placed top scorer Harry Kane on the bench, clearly reserving strength for the League.

The biggest change lay in Yu Bai's position.

The live commentators introduced the starting lineups in both German and English:

Borussia Dortmund (3-4-3):

Goalkeeper: Roman Weidenfeller

Defenders: Sven Bender, Mats Hummels (C), Łukasz Piszczek

Midfielders: Marcel Schmelzer, Gonzalo Castro, Julian Weigl, Erik Durm

Forwards: Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Marco Reus

Tottenham (4-2-3-1):

Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris (C)

Defenders: Kyle Walker, Toby Alderweireld, Kevin Wimmer, Ben Davies

Defensive Midfielders: Tom Carroll, Ryan Mason

Attacking Midfielders: Christian Eriksen, Yu Bai, Son Heung-min

Forward: Nacer Chadli

"Yu Bai is playing in the attacking midfield position! This is Mauricio Pochettino's biggest tactical adjustment for this match!"

The commentator exclaimed, "Placing the most threatening explosive point in the center to directly face Borussia Dortmund's three-center-back system! Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen are on the wings, providing width and speed! This is an extremely aggressive and adventurous setup!"

[Little Bai as attacking midfielder! Direct confrontation with Mats Hummels! Exciting!]

[Harry Kane on the bench? Pochettino is saving strength for the Premier League!]

[Borussia Dortmund's attacking line, Marco Reus + Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang + Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the firepower is too strong!]

...

"Beep—!"

Hungarian referee Viktor Kassai blew his whistle, and this encounter, full of unknowns, kicked off amidst the deafening roar of the Westfalenstadion!

From the very beginning, the match entered a high-speed, intense rhythm.

Borussia Dortmund, relying on home advantage and cohesive Passing and control, tried to take control of the situation.

But Tottenham's defensive formation held up well, with the three lines remaining compact.

In the 2nd minute.

In a seemingly casual moment, danger suddenly appeared!

After Tottenham intercepted the ball in the backcourt, following concise passes between Ryan Mason and Tom Carroll, the ball reached Son Heung-min on the left wing.

The Korean faced Łukasz Piszczek's defense, but instead of forcing a breakthrough, he passed the ball back to Yu Bai, who had pulled out from the center to provide support.

Yu Bai received the ball with his back to the goal, slightly past the halfway line and leaning to the left.

Just as he turned around, Borussia Dortmund midfielders Gonzalo Castro and Julian Weigl quickly closed in from left and right, forming a pincer movement.

In everyone's eyes, this was not a good position to initiate an attack; it was too far from the goal and he was surrounded.

However, Yu Bai didn't seem to have any intention of forcing a breakthrough or Passing quickly.

He used his right foot to lightly nudge the ball to his right (towards the center of the pitch), appearing to dribble horizontally to find a Passing lane.

Gonzalo Castro and Julian Weigl followed his horizontal movement, blocking his forward angle.

Just as the two shifted their center of gravity, thinking Yu Bai would continue Dribbling horizontally or pass back—

While running, Yu Bai, without any warning, suddenly swung his right foot! It wasn't a pass, but a powerful shot!

With the inside of his right foot, he curled a shot with a massive arc and intense spin!

"A shot?!"

The commentator and all the fans in the stadium were stunned for a moment.

From this position, it was over thirty meters from the goal! And the angle was to the left!

Furthermore, when Yu Bai shot, his body's center of gravity wasn't perfectly adjusted; it looked more like an improvised and somewhat forced attempt.

The ball soared into the air, carrying intense inward spin, carving out an exaggerated parabola, heading straight for the far corner of the goal!

Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller was experienced. He immediately judged that although the arc was large, it seemed to "float" a bit and would likely curl directly out of bounds.

He quickly moved two steps to the left, but didn't push off with full force to jump, and his arms were only raised symbolically—in his prediction, it was highly unlikely that this ball would hit the target.

However—

The ball, carrying intense outward spin, had a trajectory in the air that was more bizarre and "stubborn" than anyone imagined!

It did not curl directly out of bounds as Roman Weidenfeller expected. Instead, after carving out an inconceivable large arc in the air, as if controlled by an invisible hand, at the very last moment before flying out, it suddenly hooked inward!

"Bang—!!!"

A crisp and loud impact sound!

The ball slammed hard into the inside of the right goalpost! Then, under the stunned gaze of everyone in the stadium, it deflected and bounced into the net!

1:0!!!

"Goooooooooal!!!"

"A world-class goal! An incredible world-class goal! Yu Bai! Just 2 minutes into the match! From a position over thirty meters from the goal, he pierced Borussia Dortmund's goal with an inconceivable curling shot!"

"Roman Weidenfeller misjudged! He thought the ball would go out! But Yu Bai's curve conquered the Westfalenstadion!"

The entire Westfalenstadion instantly fell into dead silence! Only in the corner where the few thousand traveling Tottenham fans were located did a volcanic eruption of ecstatic shouting break out!

Borussia Dortmund fans opened their mouths wide, their faces filled with disbelief. This goal... was just too unreasonable!

[Damn! A world-class goal at the start! The young master is on fire!]

[This curve! Is this something a human can kick?!]

[Roman Weidenfeller: I was careless, I didn't dodge!]