"Kevin (De Bruyne)!"
"You can carry the ball forward more!"
"They can't catch you!"
In this match, after the opponent's starting lineup was announced, Hecking knew that his team should focus on attacking through the middle.
Although Dortmund's front four were all young and energetic players,
the midfield duo of the 34-year-old Kehl and the 32-year-old Kirch was both old and slow!
Therefore, after enduring Dortmund's fierce fifteen-minute assault, Wolfsburg also used the gaps in one offensive-defensive transition after another to launch counterattacks from the middle!
Amidst the noise of the Westfalenstadion, De Bruyne also showcased his ability to drive forward from defense to attack!
In the 18th minute, Malanda intercepted Mkhitaryan's pass in the central midfield and gave the ball to De Bruyne, who was ahead.
Neither Kehl nor Kirch could keep up with De Bruyne's speed; with just a simple change of direction and acceleration, he slipped between the two and then passed the ball to Perisic, who was making a high-speed run on the left wing.
The latter swept the ball directly across the middle with his left foot without stopping it!
Fortunately, Hummels tracked back in time and intercepted this low cross, passing it back to the goalkeeper's feet.
Otherwise, if that cross had reached the center, Olić would have been able to utilize his ability to poach goals.
Compared to Dortmund's two older defensive midfielders, Wolfsburg's defensive midfield pairing for this match was the old-and-young duo of Gustavo and Malanda.
The former was strong and robust, covered a large area, and had excellent tackling ability;
the latter had excellent defensive anticipation, rich experience, and also possessed a good pass.
Under the encirclement of these two, Dortmund's number ten, Mkhitaryan, was tightly marked and unable to comfortably receive the ball to organize attacks.
Dortmund could only cede the initiative in attack to Reus on the left wing.
However, with Vieirinha's defensive assistance, Ochs gave Reus very few opportunities to break through.
Vieirinha, in particular, had even better defensive capabilities than Ochs, repeatedly gaining the upper hand in one-on-one duels with Reus!
Seeing him complete another successful defense, Hecking on the sidelines and Mark and others on the bench applauded him.
The assistant coach next to him also exclaimed, "André (Vieirinha)'s defense is superb!"
"And he's good at both offense and defense, with delicate footwork. If he played as a full-back, it would also be a good option..."
The assistant coach's words also sent Hecking into deep thought.
Wolfsburg's defensive line had a clear weakness on the right side, which was also a direction the opponents focused their attacks.
In today's football, the inverted winger playing style on the left is very popular; Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Hazard, Ribéry, are all famous wingers in football.
Facing these left wingers with extremely strong individual abilities, it demands even higher defensive capabilities from the right-back.
Recalling the last time they faced Bayern, even a less-than-enthusiastic Ribéry had torn Ochs's defense to shreds.
However, Ochs was already the team's best option at right-back!
Previously, Hecking had not been without putting the young Knoche at right-back, but the effect was really not good.
And now, looking at Vieirinha, who was very active on the right and had completely stifled Reus, a bold idea popped into Hecking's mind:
If Vieirinha were to play at right-back, would the effect be better than Ochs? !
As the team performed well defensively, they didn't give Dortmund too many opportunities.
And Dortmund, who had just played a Champions League match in midweek, also showed signs of fatigue.
Including Hummels, Lewandowski, and Mkhitaryan, all seemed less enthusiastic.
And three days later, they were to face Real Madrid in the Champions League, and seven days later, they would play against Bayern, who had already won the Bundesliga title.
This was also an important reason why Klopp rotated the midfield in this match!
With the ebb and flow, Wolfsburg slowly turned the tables, repeatedly making several interceptions in midfield, launching quick counterattacks, and taking shots.
It was just a pity that Wolfsburg's attacks repeatedly tore open Dortmund's top-tier Bundesliga defense,
but they consistently failed to capitalize on an opportunity to score.
It wasn't until the 43rd minute of the first half that the deadlock on the field was broken!
Perisic dribbled on the left, attracted the defense of two Dortmund players, and then passed back to Ricardo Rodriguez, who came to support.
The latter glanced at the penalty area and immediately crossed with his left foot.
The ball arced through the air above the Westfalenstadion, flying precisely towards the far post.
Although not tall, Malanda, with his excellent jumping ability, leaped up and completed a powerful header!
Langerak reacted quickly, making a diving save to his side, pushing the ball away.
However, the rebounding ball landed right in front of Olić in the penalty area.
Facing such a gift, Olić simply poked the ball into the net!
Thus, thanks to Olić's tap-in in front of goal, Wolfsburg was able to return to the locker room at the Westfalenstadion with a one-goal lead!
However, Wolfsburg's lead lasted for only five minutes.
Shortly after the start of the second half, Reus dribbled on the left, beat two defenders, and then unleashed a brilliant low shot.
Benaglio dived down and blocked the ball out for a corner, but still conceded a corner kick to the opponent.
And it was from this opportunity that Lewandowski, who was originally lurking at the far post, charged straight into the crowd, leaped high, and flicked a header to score!
The score on the field became 1-1!
Watching his protégé score, Klopp on the sidelines also punched the air and roared with great excitement.
"Well done!"
"That's it!"
"Push up!"
"Attack!!!!"
Seeing the score leveled, the Dortmund players' morale soared, and their attacks became even fiercer.
For Dortmund, drawing at home was a failure!
And for Wolfsburg, getting a point at a formidable home ground like Westfalenstadion was already an acceptable result.
Seeing Wolfsburg's defense, under the repeated assaults of Dortmund's attacking talents, tottering, Hecking on the sidelines made a decisive move:
"Mark, go warm up!"
Upon hearing this, the black-haired youth on the bench immediately jumped up and ran to warm up.
However, before Wolfsburg could make the substitution, Dortmund had already breached Benaglio's goal again!
In the 63rd minute, Dortmund's left-back "Big Cross" Großkreutz delivered a diagonal long pass from the left wing in the attacking half, directly lofting the ball into Wolfsburg's penalty area.
Defender Knoche tried to get to the ball first but collided with the onrushing Benaglio.
The ball, which had already been in Benaglio's hands, slipped away.
And Reus, appearing in the six-yard box, cleverly tapped in the rebound, sending the ball into an empty net!
Dortmund completed a comeback from one goal down to lead by two at home!
Witnessing his team take the lead, the passionate Klopp directly ran towards the away team's direction and performed a series of "farmer's punches"!
Seeing Klopp's celebration, Mark, who was preparing to come on, frowned:
"Why so excited? The match isn't over yet!"
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