"Goal!"
"Dortmund takes the lead at home!"
"The scorer is Marco... Reus!!!"
With this goal, the Westfalenstadion erupted in madness. Thunderous cheers drowned out the bewildered Wolfsburg players.
According to various statistics, Wolfsburg had the upper hand in both dangerous shots and attacking opportunities.
Playing Borussia Dortmund to a 60-40 split at Westfalen was enough to prove the fighting strength of this Wolfsburg team.
Unfortunately, football is round, and anything can happen.
From the look of the game, Wolfsburg was clearly the dominant side.
However, with just two seemingly unthreatening opportunities, Dortmund scored!
As the Dortmund players finished celebrating, the fourth official raised the substitution board:
"Wolfsburg is making a substitution!"
"Number 9 Perisic off, Number 45 Mark on!"
"This was a decision made by Hecking before the goal was conceded... It's just a pity they couldn't complete the substitution before conceding."
"However, Wolfsburg's super sub is about to come on. Let's see if he brings us a surprise..."
Mark high-fived Perisic, ran onto the field, raised his arms, and shouted loudly:
"Guys, there's still time!"
"We still have a chance!"
Although Mark's seniority in the team was very low,
He was known as the "Miracle Boy" and "Green Field Dancer" by his teammates and fans.
Every time he came on as a substitute, he almost always managed to create a goal and help the team win.
Moreover, his footwork was like a dancer gracefully moving on the field, elegant and dazzling!
With Mark's encouragement, the Wolfsburg players also, by prior agreement, cheered up.
At this moment, Naldo, the team's defensive lynchpin with high standing within the team, also loudly echoed:
"Mark is right!"
"Guys, cheer up!"
"We are capable of equalizing!"
Yes, the game had only reached the sixty-something minute; they still had nearly thirty minutes to equalize or even take the lead!
After the kickoff, Wolfsburg's attacking direction began to tilt towards the left wing.
Mark received the ball on the wing.
Defending him was the Polish full-back Piszczek!
Piszczek was one of Dortmund's Polish Three Musketeers and a key figure in this Dortmund team winning two Bundesliga titles and reaching the Champions League final.
The right flank he defended was always impregnable.
Even in the Champions League, he held his own against Cristiano Ronaldo!
Facing this experienced world-class right-back, Mark showed no slack, dribbling forward with small, quick steps.
However, Piszczek, who was defending the inside line with his body turned, remained unmoving, only retreating with small steps, waiting for the defensive midfielder to come and assist.
Seeing this, Mark didn't wait any longer. He dropped his shoulder in a feint, pretending to break through on the outside, then pushed the ball to the left with the inside of his right foot.
Piszczek fell for it, twisting his body to try and block his path.
At this moment, Mark twisted his right ankle and flicked the ball to the right with the outside of his foot!
Matthews' dribble!
He then pushed off with his left foot, and his whole body, like a leopard, suddenly darted out!
However, Piszczek was no pushover.
Although he was fooled by Mark's feint and shifted his body's center of gravity first,
His reaction was swift. He immediately turned and chased back, bumping Mark from the side and behind.
The latter stumbled, and the ball was nudged a little too far.
"This Piszczek has some tricks!"
Fortunately, he quickly regained his balance, immediately raised his left hand to block Piszczek, and at the same time, before Dortmund captain Kehl could stick out his foot to intercept, he poked the ball to De Bruyne, who was supporting in the middle.
Although this dribble didn't completely shake off Piszczek, he still managed to pass the ball under Piszczek's defense.
Immediately, Mark accelerated and pushed forward into the half-space.
Seeing this, Piszczek followed closely.
Seeing Mark making a diagonal run into the box, De Bruyne delivered a short diagonal pass that landed perfectly in front of him.
As long as Mark received the ball, he could go one-on-one with center-back Papastathopoulos, or even take a direct curling shot!
However, before Mark could even extend his foot to get the ball, the faster Piszczek made a beautiful sliding tackle from diagonally behind him, perfectly intercepting the pass!
This successful defense also earned enthusiastic applause from the home fans!
"Great tackle!"
After this offensive and defensive exchange, Mark also personally experienced the strength of this Bundesliga world-class full-back.
Is this the man who once bewildered Cristiano Ronaldo?!
With the ball, he could use his fancy feints and momentary explosiveness to create distance from Piszczek.
However, once he was running without the ball, his speed was perhaps the slowest on the field.
Maybe only slightly faster than Dortmund's two thirty-something midfield veterans.
Let alone Piszczek, who was faster and stronger than him!
In the ten minutes since coming on as a substitute, Mark had received the ball on the left wing multiple times but failed to gain an advantage against Piszczek's tough defense.
Compared to Alaba, Piszczek was more experienced and stronger in duels.
And this was Piszczek after he had suffered a hip injury and his form had declined somewhat!
Seeing Mark struggling on the left wing, finding it difficult to break through and tear open Dortmund's defense, Hecking on the sidelines stroked his chin and came up with a solution:
"Mark! You and André (Vieirinha) switch positions!"
In Wolfsburg's 4-2-3-1 formation, the two wingers often swapped positions.
The key was that Hecking had enough winger reserves.
Whether it was Perisic, Caligiuri, or Mark, Vieirinha, they were all wingers who could play on both the left and right sides.
Upon hearing this, Mark also swapped sides with Vieirinha, moving to the right wing.
After switching sides, Mark immediately felt much more relaxed.
If he couldn't get through on the left, he'd switch to the other side!
What's that called?
Strategic wing-swapping!
Compared to Piszczek, Dortmund's left-back, "Big Cross" Großkreutz, was much easier to deal with.
Although his physical qualities were not bad, and he had excellent ability to go up and down the flank,
His footwork was rough, and his defensive movements were often too big, making him more prone to defensive errors.
Just five minutes later, Mark received the ball, nutmegged Großkreutz, and just as he was about to slip past him, the enraged "Big Cross" grabbed his shoulder.
With a cry of "Ah," Mark was directly brought down to the ground.
Such a reckless foul also earned him a yellow card.
Seeing "Big Cross" already on a yellow card, Mark naturally knew what he should do.
A few minutes later, he again received the ball on the right wing, once again facing Großkreutz.
Looking at the fierce-faced "Big Cross," he didn't immediately dribble forward. Instead, he stood still with his foot on the ball, feinted twice over the ball with his right foot, and then suddenly dropped his shoulder, feigning a breakthrough.
Then, after a feint that shifted the center of gravity, Mark did not break through; he remained in place.
"Heh, I'm just playing with you, messing with you."
The mocking smile on his face constantly provoked Großkreutz's easily snapping temper.
After a few such instances, Großkreutz finally couldn't hold back and lunged forward with his foot.
Mark, who was well-prepared, executed a perfect 'elastico' (cow tail), precisely sending the ball through his legs.
Then, with an acceleration, he tried to overtake him on the outside.
Seeing this, the hot-tempered Großkreutz directly raised his right arm, swept it backward, and brought Mark down to the ground.
Accompanied by a pained cry of "Ah," a sharp whistle blew.
The next second, the referee, who ran over, first glanced at Mark clutching his chest on the ground, then unceremoniously showed Großkreutz his second yellow card!
Two yellows, one red!