Football: Salary System - Chapter 135: The Pivotal Clash (Part 2) (Patreon)

“Dortmund came within inches of a dream start. Neuer saved Bayern!”

“Exactly. This Bayern Munich side looks completely different from the one we saw a few weeks ago. Kovac has clearly prepared thoroughly for this match from an attacking standpoint. But against Dortmund’s young forward line, his defense will have to stay alert at all times.”

Bayern, however, did not drop back because of that one-on-one chance.

Their actions made it clear that they had come to Westfalenstadion for one thing and one thing only: victory.

Just one minute after Reus squandered his chance, Bayern created another dangerous attack.

Kimmich pushed forward and received the ball on the right. Achraf was half a step late closing him down, giving the German enough time to send a beautifully weighted curling cross toward the left side of Dortmund’s penalty area.

Ribéry, closely marked by Piszczek, made no attempt to control it. He turned his body, raised his leg, and struck the ball on the volley.

The shot curled sharply away from goal and flew just wide of the far post.

“Wow! Ribéry! That was inches away!”

Bayern’s attacks were coming thick and fast, and Dortmund’s defense was struggling to cope.

In the 15th minute, Lewandowski dropped toward the edge of the penalty area to receive the ball with his back to goal. After taking Goretzka’s vertical pass, he immediately laid it off into the path of Gnabry, who was charging forward through the right half-space.

With the middle crowded, Gnabry wasted no time and drove a low shot toward the near post.

Akanji desperately stepped across and blocked it with the outside of his shin, sending the ball behind for a corner.

From the resulting corner, Hitz beat Hummels and Lewandowski to the ball and punched it clear of the penalty area.

Javi Martínez won the second ball, allowing Bayern to recycle possession and build again.

The match had firmly settled into Bayern’s rhythm.

In the 19th minute, Lewandowski once again dropped into a central position to receive the ball.

With a deft drag-back, he turned and shaped as though he were about to drive straight through the middle.

Weigl, who had recovered into position, reached in from the side to stop him, and there was obvious contact between their legs.

Lewandowski lost his balance and went down. The Pole immediately sat up and spread his arms toward the referee, demanding a penalty.

The whistle never came. The referee simply shook his head and waved play on.

Lewandowski refused to let it go.

After getting back to his feet, he chased the referee for more than ten yards, repeatedly gesturing to his arm as he insisted there had been a foul.

The referee remained unmoved.

From the stands came a deafening chorus of boos aimed at Dortmund’s former star.

“Let’s look at the replay... Weigl’s right leg definitely makes contact with Lewandowski, but he gets a toe to the ball first.”

“No penalty. Absolutely the right decision. That was a clean challenge from Weigl. In fact, you could say it was his best piece of defending since kickoff.”

There was a hint of disappointment in Matthäus’s voice, but excitement far outweighed it.

“Bayern have been outstanding today! This is the best attacking football they’ve played all season!”

“Kovac has very clearly targeted the space behind Dortmund in both half-spaces. Ribéry and Gnabry have constantly surged forward and dropped deep on the flanks, completely disrupting Dortmund’s defensive shape.”

“Favre’s side have been made to look very uncomfortable over these first twenty minutes.”

In the 24th minute, Bayern attacked down the left again.

Ribéry played a one-two with Alaba near the touchline, then suddenly changed direction and accelerated past Sancho, who had tracked all the way back, before shaping as though he intended to take on Piszczek as well.

The Dortmund veteran gritted his teeth and fought desperately to keep up with “Scarface” Ribéry’s changes of pace.

But Ribéry dropped a shoulder, sold the feint, and played the ball back to Alaba, who had moved into the half-space.

With one deft touch, Alaba slipped effortlessly past Weigl.

Fortunately for Dortmund, Akanji stepped out quickly enough to stop him from carrying the ball straight into the penalty area.

Weigl recovered and got tight to him again, but he still could not apply any meaningful pressure.

Alaba held him off and drilled a low shot toward goal.

He might have been a defender, but the strike was excellent. It even went straight through Akanji’s legs.

Fortunately, the ball did not take a deflection as it passed through Akanji, while Hitz had remained fully alert and quickly got down to parry it away.

“Bayern have won their fourth corner of the match. Dortmund still haven’t had a single one. Bayern are clearly in control.”

“Weigl showed some serious problems defensively on that play. Favre’s decision to start him instead of Delaney is beginning to look like a mistake.”

Matthäus continued his analysis.

“Favre probably brought Weigl in for Delaney because he wanted someone at defensive midfield who could help Dortmund play out from the back. Delaney struggled to help progress the ball against Atlético Madrid in midweek, and after starting two consecutive matches, he was also due for a rest.

“The idea itself made sense, but Weigl has been in terrible form today. This is only his second Bundesliga start of the season. Once one of Tuchel’s favorite players, he has lost his match rhythm over the last two seasons because of injuries and coaching changes.”

In the 26th minute, Bayern once again attacked from out wide.

Kimmich carried the ball forward on the right before cutting inside. After drawing Witsel and Achraf toward him, he released Gnabry on the overlap down the right.

Achraf recovered quickly, so Gnabry chose not to take him on and instead crossed immediately.

Inside the penalty area, Dortmund’s young center-back pairing of Zagadou and Akanji were both fixated on the incoming ball, and neither was marking tightly enough.

Lewandowski slipped into the gap between them like an eel. Completely unchallenged, he stooped forward and powered a header toward goal.

The distance was too short and the ball was traveling too quickly. Hitz had no time to make an effective save.

0-1!

“Goal! Lewandowski heads Bayern into the lead at Westfalenstadion!”

“It may only be his sixth Bundesliga goal of the season, but it’s already his 11th against his former club Dortmund. No wonder he’s so often called the ‘Dortmund Nemesis’!”

“Let’s look at the goal again. Kovac has clearly done his homework on Dortmund’s young back line. Bayern have spent the entire match attacking the two half-spaces, using quick combinations to reach the byline or put crosses into the middle for someone to attack in the air. That’s exactly how this goal came about!

“Neither center back got tight to Lewandowski quickly enough, and Dortmund also failed to shut down the crossing lane. They’ve had similar problems with loose marking in several recent matches, and today they’ve finally paid the price.”

Lewandowski made no attempt to hold back his celebration.

He charged toward Müller and the two collided in an exuberant celebration, while the rest of the Bayern players rushed over and surrounded him.

His face was flushed with excitement, the veins in his neck clearly visible.

The Pole clearly wanted to use this goal, and this derby, to prove to everyone that he was still the most fearsome center forward in the Bundesliga.

That only brought another deafening round of boos from Westfalenstadion.

Lewandowski’s celebration was hardly excessive, but Dortmund supporters had never fully forgiven him for leaving on a free transfer to join their fiercest rivals in the summer of 2014.

Combined with his earlier pursuit of the referee to demand a penalty, the boos were naturally even louder.

But the Yellow-and-Black supporters never got the response from their team they were hoping for.

For the rest of the first half, Bayern Munich completely dictated the match.

Kovac’s side used the width on both flanks, combined with Lewandowski dropping deep to offer himself for passes, to pull Dortmund’s defense apart.

Zayn and Reus received almost no support and could only create the occasional threat through their individual ability.

In the 40th minute, Zayn finally found an opportunity near midfield.

First, he held off Goretzka’s pressure. Then he suddenly accelerated and forced his way through the center.

After carrying the ball forward for more than ten yards, Zayn saw Bayern’s defense beginning to close around him and immediately decided to shoot from distance.

He struck it with tremendous power, sending the ball toward the upper left corner. Neuer launched himself sideways and parried it behind.

That long-range effort was Dortmund’s last genuinely dangerous attack of the first half.

Even more worrying for the supporters was the fact that it was the Black-and-Yellows’ only shot on target since Reus’s one-on-one chance early in the match.

Yet when the whistle blew for halftime, the devoted supporters at Westfalenstadion were still singing tirelessly for their team.

“Halftime. Dortmund trail 0-1 at home.”

“Bayern have just produced their most dominant 45 minutes of the season, while Dortmund have played their most one-sided half of the campaign. It’s been a long time since their supporters have seen Dortmund struggle like this at Westfalenstadion.”

Fifteen minutes later, the teams returned to the pitch.

Favre was the first to make a change. Weigl came off, and Dahoud came on.

“That’s a timely substitution from the Dortmund coach. Weigl struggled both defensively in the half-spaces and with his distribution during the first half. Favre will be hoping Dahoud’s mobility and ability to play progressive passes can bring something different to midfield.”

Matthäus shook his head.

“Weigl wasn’t the only reason Dortmund were pinned back in the first half. If they want to turn this around, they’ll need more changes than that.”

“Big Mouth” Matthäus once again showed that his reading of the game was spot on.

The pattern of the match did not change much after Dahoud came on.

Bayern continued to pin Dortmund back, maintaining the same suffocating attacking intensity they had shown in the first half.

However, the young Black-and-Yellows gradually began to adjust to Bayern’s tempo and started searching for openings on the few counterattacks they were able to launch.

Then, in the 50th minute, the complexion of the match suddenly changed.

Bayern pushed forward down the left once more, with Ribéry receiving the ball near the touchline and starting to drive forward.

What Ribéry did not expect was for Sancho, the young Englishman who had seemed somewhat intimidated by him during the first half, to suddenly come flying in from behind and poke the ball away with a perfectly clean sliding tackle.

Sancho did not hesitate after winning it.

He sprang straight back to his feet and, before Alaba could close him down, immediately sent the ball forward.

The pass raced through the open right half-space and straight in behind Bayern’s defense.

Hummels and Boateng, Bayern’s center-back pairing, reacted in perfect sync and immediately turned to chase.

But Zayn had already started his run.

Like a spring released after being compressed to its limit, he exploded off the offside line and reached the ball first.

Hummels, the closer of the two defenders, moved across to confront Zayn and slow down the attack.

The experienced World Cup-winning center back did not dive into a challenge once he got close. Instead, he continued retreating while angling his run to block the shortest route for Zayn to cut inside.

But Zayn had no intention of going inside.

Before the ball could lose too much momentum, he pushed it forward in the opposite direction and accelerated again, putting his body between Hummels and the ball.

Hummels had deliberately slowed down to close the space, and now he could not match the sudden change of pace. All he could do was put his body in Zayn’s path and reach out, trying to tug him back and disrupt his run.

The blond teenager merely lowered his head slightly and dropped his shoulder.

Relying on his overwhelming advantage in speed, he powered through Hummels’s physical challenge and forced his way past.

Hummels stumbled from the collision, but he did not panic at being beaten so comprehensively.

The German center back knew perfectly well that pace had never been his greatest strength.

He had become a world-class defender through elite positioning and an exceptional ability to read the game.

Hummels knew the pressure he had just applied should have been enough to disrupt Zayn’s rhythm. That forced burst of acceleration should also have pushed the ball far enough away to take it out of his complete control.

Boateng had already taken up the covering position when Hummels stepped out, giving him the positional advantage.

More importantly, Boateng was much faster than Hummels.

They could stop him.

But when Hummels finally regained his balance and looked back, his pupils contracted sharply.

Zayn had accelerated again.

He had beaten the covering Boateng to the ball and burst into the penalty area.

Damn it!

How had he blown past Boateng too!?

All 80,000 people in the stands seemed to rise at once, every eye fixed on the penalty area.

“Zayn has shown that terrifying pace again! He’s through one-on-one!”

Neuer was already charging off his line.

The German goalkeeper raced beyond the six-yard box in huge strides, but kept his center of gravity extremely low and spread his arms wide, seemingly sealing off every possible shooting angle.

“Neuer comes out! He’s Bayern’s last line of defense!”

Yet faced with Neuer bearing down on him, Zayn’s response was almost cruel in its simplicity.

He never slowed down.

He simply knocked the ball sharply inward, pushed it on with his left foot, and slipped past Neuer’s left side.

“Zayn beats Neuer! A La Croqueta!”

There was no unnecessary movement.

Zayn caught up with the ball and simply rolled it into the empty net.

1-1!

“Dortmund have equalized! Zayn Ryder finishes the move in his own way!”

“Against absolute speed, experience, positioning, tactics, none of it matters!”

Zayn did not slow down after scoring.

Instead, he continued sprinting toward the corner at full speed before dropping into his signature knee slide, carving two trails through the grass in front of the South Stand.

Before he had even risen to his feet, he spread his arms wide and basked in the adulation pouring down from the stadium.

“The teams are level again, but the pressure is clearly on Bayern now.”

For Kovac’s side, failing to leave with all three points would allow Dortmund’s lead over them to grow into double digits.

Nobody at Bayern could accept that outcome.

So once play restarted, Bayern immediately raised the intensity of their attack again.

Dortmund’s young players, meanwhile, were clearly energized by the equalizer and attacked with far greater conviction.

Within moments, the match reached fever pitch.

The two sides fought ferociously for control of midfield, with possession changing hands so quickly that even the broadcast cameras could barely keep up.

In the 54th minute, Ribéry received the ball on the left, cut inside, and played a quick one-two with Goretzka before suddenly curling a shot from the left side of the penalty area.

Hitz flew across his goal, but the ball flashed just wide of the far post.

Corner.

Bayern took it short. Alaba played the ball back, and rather than crossing immediately, Kimmich switched it back out toward the right.

The ball moved rapidly between Bayern players before eventually reaching Müller, who had somehow drifted all the way toward the byline on the right.

Dortmund’s penalty area was packed.

Zagadou, Akanji, Piszczek, and Dahoud had all dropped back, while Witsel and Sancho had also tucked into the half-space to help.

But Bayern had no shortage of attacking options either.

Lewandowski, Gnabry, Goretzka, along with Kimmich arriving late.

Müller nudged the ball with the outside of his right boot, shaping as though he were about to cross immediately.

Dortmund’s defenders quickly moved to block the delivery.

But it was only a feint.

Müller pulled the ball back under control and then drilled a low cutback into the box.

“A cutback! He’s looking for Gnabry!”

Gnabry had already arrived in position.

He controlled the ball with his left foot and prepared to shoot immediately.

But Akanji and Zagadou closed him down together, completely taking away his shooting angle.

Gnabry instantly checked his swing and instead used his right heel to flick the ball gently behind him.

“A backheel! Gnabry lays it off for Kimmich!”

Kimmich had already scanned the situation.

He met the ball first time with his right foot, clipping it toward the far post.

Lewandowski had already climbed above Piszczek there and rose high to meet it, directing another header toward goal.

The header was not especially powerful, nor was it placed particularly well.

But Bayern’s rapid passing sequence had already dragged Hitz toward the near post.

He did not even have time to attempt a save.

1-2!

“Goal! Bayern Munich are ahead again!”

“Just five minutes after conceding, the Bundesliga champions have responded!”