Every football coach in Germany—no, wait, in all of Europe—knew that Wang Shuo was not good at physical confrontations.
Whether he was playing for Mainz in the past or for Dortmund now, opposing coaches would always repeatedly emphasize the sa thing when setting their opening tactics.
Get physical!
Cologne’s center-back, Yusuf Mohamd, was definitely the most experienced of all the defenders in this regard.
The two teams had played against each other back when Wang Shuo was still with Mainz and Cologne was in the 2nd Bundesliga.
The 1.82-ter-tall Lebanese center-back was known for his speed and agility. Physical confrontation wasn’t his strong suit, but it was more than enough to handle Wang Shuo.
Their head coach at the ti was Christopher Dom, and he was the one who had designated Muhammad to partner with Mackenna, forming a fast-and-tall center-back pairing.
Whether facing Mainz or Dortmund, whenever they ca up against Wang Shuo, it was always the quick and agile Muhammad who was responsible for man-marking him, while Mackenna covered from behind.
And every single ti, as long as Muhammad got close, Wang Shuo would co out worse for wear.
Of course, Wang Shuo would also do everything he could to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.
But today, Muhammad felt that Wang Shuo seed a little different.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was.
He also didn’t have ti to think about it too carefully.
Facing the Wang Shuo of today, he and Mackenna had to be on high alert, not daring to lose focus for even a second.
They were even on edge the entire ti.
But even so, Wang Shuo was still constantly creating chances.
This was especially true after the 21st minute, when Wang Shuo put on the Dortmund captain’s armband and beca even more active.
And when the match reached the 28th minute, Muhammad saw Wang Shuo drop back. He quickly gave his center-back partner, Mackenna, a heads-up and imdiately followed.
He figured this was just another routine press.
Just like the last few tis he’d closed him down.
As long as he got near and stayed tight, he could contain Wang Shuo.
Wang Shuo stopped just outside Cologne’s 30-ter area, shielding the ball first to claim the position.
’He wants to receive the pass?’
Muhammad imdiately accelerated and closed in. It went smoothly, and soon he was right up against Wang Shuo’s back.
And at almost the exact sa mont, Muhammad saw Shahin, just as expected, play a forward pass directly to Wang Shuo.
This was a well-established passing lane for Dortmund.
But just as the Lebanese center-back was about to exert force to put more pressure on Wang Shuo, trying to push him forward and make him miss the ball, he suddenly felt as if Wang Shuo had anticipated his move. In an instant, Wang Shuo preemptively engaged his back muscles with a surge of power.
And it was a surprising amount of force!
This made Muhammad instinctively push back.
What was most outrageous was that Muhammad found he hadn’t gained any advantage at all!
’How is that possible?’
Just as the Lebanese center-back was reeling from the shock, Wang Shuo suddenly took a step forward, turned his body to the left, and with his right foot held rigid, jabbed the outside of his boot into the turf.
Shahin’s pass was coming in fast.
When the ball arrived, it struck the outside of Wang Shuo’s right foot, popping up as if it had been scooped off the ground and looping over both Wang Shuo’s and Muhammad’s heads.
The Lebanese center-back never expected Wang Shuo to suddenly pull a move like this.
The sudden burst of strength from his back, in particular, had been completely unexpected.
Caught completely off guard, by the ti he looked up to track the ball’s path, Wang Shuo had already spun around and was pushing off with both legs to burst forward.
By the ti Muhammad reacted and turned to give chase, Wang Shuo was already one step ahead.
’Damn it!’
’A back-to-goal flick, turn, and run!’
Just after blowing past Muhammad, Wang Shuo used his left foot to bring the falling ball under control right in front of him.
That first touch was so exquisite that even as an opponent chasing from behind, Muhammad couldn’t help but marvel at the skill.
But the Lebanese center-back had no chance to overtake him and could only trail behind Wang Shuo.
’It’s okay!’
’Mackenna is still covering.’
Wang Shuo dribbled forward rapidly.
Mackenna retreated quickly and was just about to back into the penalty area.
anwhile, Muhammad was chasing Wang Shuo from behind.
The mont Wang Shuo slowed down, he would be able to catch up.
Cologne’s two center-backs were constantly assessing the situation.
Wang Shuo lacked power and wasn’t good at long-range shots from outside the box.
Throughout his career, from Mainz to the Bundesliga, to Dortmund, he had never scored a long-range goal from outside the box.
He didn’t have any headers to his na, either.
Cologne’s two center-backs felt that the area outside the box was still a safe zone.
Therefore, when Wang Shuo charged to the edge of the arc at the top of the penalty area and pushed the ball a step forward and to the right, Mackenna, Muhammad, and even the goalkeeper Mondragon all assud it was a fake.
He just wanted to feint past Mackenna and break into the penalty area.
But just as that thought crossed their minds, Wang Shuo suddenly lunged forward, planted his left foot firmly, and unleashed with his right.
After obtaining the passive skill [Foundation], Wang Shuo had discovered that whenever he wanted to exert force, a re thought could instantly activate every muscle in his body, allowing him to unleash all of his latent physical power in a mont.
It was just like this very mont. A split second ago, he had been prepared: if Mackenna moved to block him, he would cut the ball back and break into the penalty area from the other side.
That step with his right foot would have been the fake!
But since Mackenna didn’t "take the bait," he decided to just shoot.
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