124: Chapter 124 Do you know why everyone calls me Director?

"Leave me alone!"

Yu Bai's tone was sharp, and his expression was quite impatient.

Hugo Lloris was taken aback, seemingly not expecting such a strong reaction from Yu Bai. He opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue, turned around dejectedly, and walked toward the goal.

The captain knew that it was indeed difficult for a goalkeeper to handle that ball, and Yu Bai had done his best tracking back; not choosing to risk a slide tackle was rational, but with the team trailing, emotions were running high.

Ryan Mason, the source of the error, raised his hand from afar, signaling to his teammates: "My bad, my bad!" His face was full of regret.

On the sidelines, Mauricio Pochettino's expression was grave, but he was not furious.

He understood the situation perfectly.

The team was competing on four fronts (Premier League, Europa League, League Cup, FA Cup), the schedule was congested, and the players were physically and mentally exhausted.

Especially with them still chasing Leicester City in the Premier League, the hope of winning the title meant they couldn't afford to relax in any League match.

At one of the most terrifying, hellish home grounds in Europe, facing a red-hot and powerful Borussia Dortmund, escaping unscathed was already extremely difficult.

Being able to return to White Hart Lane with a 2-3 scoreline was not unacceptable.

He immediately made adjustments.

In the 55th minute, Mauricio Pochettino substituted Harry Kane for the lackluster and wasteful Nacer Chadli, and replaced Christian Eriksen on the right flank with Mousa Dembélé, whose defense and Stamina were stronger.

Mousa Dembélé and Son Heung-min were instructed to track back deep, stabilize the defense first, and then look for counterattacks.

"Strengthen the defense! Maintain the formation!"

Mauricio Pochettino shouted from the sidelines, pressing his hands down to signal his players to stay calm and tuck in.

However, geniuses are often unpredictable variables.

The 61st minute.

Tottenham patiently passed the ball in the backfield, attempting to control the tempo and alleviate the pressure.

Off the ball, Yu Bai and Marco Reus met near the midfield.

The two had no previous interaction, but after more than 60 minutes of intense confrontation, there was something more in each other's eyes.

Marco Reus was running, his gaze sweeping over Yu Bai, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, seemingly happy to "exchange" a few words with this Chinese kid who had left such an impression on him.

"Hey, Yu," Marco Reus spoke in English, his voice not loud, carrying the panting from the match and a hint of high spirits from having just scored a brace and led his team to a comeback, "I wasn't lying to you, right? I said the second half would be different. Believe me now? You guys are going to concede again; right now, the momentum is completely on our side."

He was speaking the absolute truth; Borussia Dortmund's morale was soaring, they were pressing all over the pitch, and it looked like they could score another goal at any moment.

Yu Bai glanced at him, his face expressionless, but his eyes were sharp as a knife.

He couldn't admit defeat, especially when his opponent was "showing off."

"Marco," Yu Bai said, his tone flat but carrying a peculiar confidence, "Do you know why everyone calls me 'Director'?"

Upon hearing this, Marco Reus couldn't hold back and laughed out loud.

He knew; there was no way around it, Yu Bai had been too hot this season, especially after that "Five goals in nine minutes record" match, and the nickname "Director" had spread like wildfire.

Not to mention him, even Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as long as they followed football news, would certainly know of a character like Yu Bai.

But he had to answer that he didn't know; this was a subtle psychological confrontation.

"Don't know," Marco Reus shrugged, his smile carrying a hint of arrogance and provocation, "And I don't want to know."

Just then!

In the backfield, Tom Carroll saw that Yu Bai had established his position in the front court and sent a mid-range, ground-level through ball over!

The moment Marco Reus finished speaking, as if Yu Bai had eyes in the back of his head, he accurately judged the path of the ball, leaned his body back, and firmly used his back to lean against Marco Reus, who was trying to press, bringing the ball steadily to his feet.

Marco Reus cursed under his breath behind him, immediately applying physical pressure while extending his foot to try and poke the ball away. He had wanted to play dirty against Yu Bai and disrupt his turn.

However, Yu Bai seemed to have predicted his movement. The instant Marco Reus extended his foot, Yu Bai made a feint to turn to the left, with a clear shift in his center of gravity.

Marco Reus fell for the feint, his center of gravity shifting toward his own right, preparing to block.

But just at the moment his center of gravity shifted!

Using Marco Reus's body as a pivot, Yu Bai, with his body seemingly about to turn left, used his right foot as the supporting foot and performed an extremely swift and light pull-back turn in the opposite direction!

A Cruyff turn! Or rather, a more flexible variation in a back-to-goal situation!

Marco Reus only felt the space in front of him empty out; Yu Bai had already slipped past him like a loach on the other side, taking the ball with him and completing a clean and crisp back-to-goal escape!

"F**k!" Marco Reus was beaten cleanly, looking somewhat disheveled. He couldn't help but curse, but the curse was directed more at himself—he had actually been fooled by such a simple feint!

[Beautiful! Back-to-goal escape! He got past Marco Reus!]

[Hahaha, Marco Reus got played!]

[Young Master: So you're the one who scored two, huh!]

Having shaken off Marco Reus, the path ahead opened up for Yu Bai. But he didn't choose to charge forward at high speed immediately, because Borussia Dortmund's defensive formation remained solid.

Positional play. It didn't seem like an opportunity.

But Yu Bai decided that he would create this opportunity.

He dribbled forward, facing Julian Weigl and Gonzalo Castro, who were rushing up again.

This time, the two had learned their lesson; they didn't rashly lunge in but kept their distance, retreating while defending, attempting to force him toward the flank or wait for their teammates to surround him.

Yu Bai's dribbling tempo fluctuated between fast and slow, his technical skills were applied with perfection, and the ball seemed glued to his feet.

The moment he approached the area where the two were closing in to block him, Yu Bai suddenly performed a feint to knock the ball to the right, and Julian Weigl's body shifted slightly.

That was the movement!

Yu Bai lightly poked the ball forward with his right foot, and the ball slipped through the tiny gap between Julian Weigl and Gonzalo Castro!

Knock-and-run!

Signature Deceleration Ball dribble!

At the same time, Yu Bai himself suddenly accelerated from the other side of Julian Weigl's body, like a bolt of white lightning, attempting to overtake from the outside!

Julian Weigl reacted extremely quickly, immediately moving his body horizontally, using his shoulder and arms to give Yu Bai a solid, fair shoulder charge!

"Bang!" The dull thud of physical contact.

Yu Bai's speed and sprinting momentum were delayed for a moment, and his body staggered slightly.

Mats Hummels had been watching the dynamics here all along. Seeing that Yu Bai seemed to have lost his balance in the challenge and the ball's trajectory seemed slightly off (the poke from Yu Bai had been a bit too strong), he decisively took big strides forward, preparing to be the first to intercept the ball that seemed to have slipped out of Yu Bai's control.

As a world-class center-back, Mats Hummels' timing and judgment for tackling were always precise.

He was certain that, given Yu Bai's speed after staggering and the speed at which the ball was rolling, he would definitely be able to touch the ball first and complete the clearance.

However...