Among all midfielders in the Bundesliga this season, he ranked 13th in the number of tis he won back possession.
Can that really be considered bad?
It was obvious he was already trying really hard.
But on the offensive side, whether in dribbling or creating threatening passes, he was inferior to Götze.
This left Klopp with a choice.
’For the number 10 position, should I prioritize defense? Or offense?’
’If it’s defense, why even have a number 10?’
’Wouldn’t it be better to get rid of the number 10 and give Wang Shuo more freedom?’
"Get Götze ready. He’s coming on for Letalek in a bit," Klopp decided without hesitation.
He’d pull Foyelner back to play as one of the two defensive midfielders alongside Shahin and push Götze up.
A glance at the away team’s bench showed that Frankfurt’s head coach, Schibbe, still had no intention of making a substitution.
Perhaps he felt their strongest lineup was already on the pitch, and sensing the current montum was in their favor, he wanted to leave things as they were for now.
It was at this mont, four minutes after Frankfurt had equalized, that Dortmund put together an offensive combination just outside the left corner of the penalty area.
Wang Shuo, Reus, and Foyelner, with Shahin behind them, orchestrated an attack in that area.
But it ended with Frankfurt’s holding midfielder, Chris, fouling Foyelner.
Dortmund was awarded a set piece on the left side, about 30 ters out and at a tight angle.
A direct shot?
Or a set play?
...
Wang Shuo stood near the left corner of the penalty area, catching his breath.
He glanced up at the ti on the scoreboard. It was almost the 70th minute.
He could feel the tension coming from his teammates around him.
The whole world knew that ti was not on Dortmund’s side.
The Dortmund fans in Westfalen Stadium were loudly chanting "BVB."
The fans in the South Stand were jumping up and down, making the atmosphere incredibly intense.
The 12th man was cheering on the players on the field in their signature way.
Wang Shuo turned his head and scanned the area in and around Frankfurt’s penalty box.
He paid special attention to their two defensive midfielders and center-backs.
The defensive midfield duo was Tebel and Chris.
The forr, a dual German and Turkish national, stood 1.87 ters tall.
The Brazilian defensive midfielder, Chris, was 1.85 ters tall.
The center-backs were a combination of Ruth and Franz, both over 1.9 ters tall.
Wang Shuo had played against Frankfurt several tis; he was quite familiar with these players.
He was relatively confident when facing them.
He turned to look at his own teammates. Their morale was low.
’If this keeps up, we’re going to concede again!’
Wang Shuo reached out and tugged at the captain’s armband on his left sleeve, making a silent decision.
Strangely, the mont he made his decision, he suddenly felt a sense of relief.
"Marco."
Wang Shuo gave Shahin a aningful glance, then walked over to Reus.
The two stood close together.
"In a mont, run towards the byline. Draw Junker away for ."
Junker was Frankfurt’s right-back.
A flash of surprise crossed Reus’s eyes, but he imdiately nodded in agreent.
Wang Shuo walked out of the penalty area, heading toward the area outside the left corner.
As he walked, he gestured to Shahin: ’Give the ball!’
Without any hesitation, Shahin kicked the ball straight to him.
Wang Shuo was still walking slowly, receiving the ball right in an open space.
With his back to the left sideline, he stopped the ball with the inside of his left foot, his gaze fixed straight ahead.
His eyes were locked on the penalty area and the space just before it.
The mont Wang Shuo received the ball, everyone was montarily stunned.
They hadn’t expected Wang Shuo to just stop dead upon receiving the pass.
Reus ran toward the byline, taking Junker with him.
Frankfurt’s two center-backs were inside the box, their defensive line intact.
The two defensive midfielders were positioned at the edge of the box.
Frankfurt’s defensive formation was on high alert.
Chris was the first to react, imdiately choosing to rush out and challenge for the ball.
But to his surprise, just as he moved, Wang Shuo was even faster.
Wang Shuo’s entire focus was on observing every defender in front of him.
Before Chris had even moved, Wang Shuo had already anticipated his action and, a step ahead, burst forward with the ball at top speed.
He anticipated Chris’s movent, taking a quick step with his left foot and leaning his body to the left.
’Hadn’t Junker been drawn toward the byline by Reus?’
Chris wasn’t afraid of Wang Shuo cutting inside, because the center was packed with players.
So he imdiately moved to block, preventing Wang Shuo from breaking in from the left side of the penalty area.
But this didn’t surprise Wang Shuo in the slightest.
As soon as his left foot was firmly planted, Wang Shuo instantly changed direction to cut inside, pushing the ball forward with his right foot.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Wang Shuo cleanly beat Chris and cut inside with the ball.
Chris’s judgnt hadn’t been wrong at all.
Once Wang Shuo cut inside, he was surrounded by bodies.
Just after getting past Chris and taking a lateral touch, Franz decisively rushed out to et him.
Wang Shuo caught up to the ball and shaped to shoot with his right foot.
As expected, Franz imdiately charged over to block.
But just as he rushed out of the penalty area to block the shot, Wang Shuo changed his technique. Instead of shooting, he pulled the ball back with his right foot.
The pullback took him right past Franz.
The ball rolled, almost grazing Franz’s boot, right toward Wang Shuo’s left foot.
Another touch with the inside of his left foot sent the ball into the penalty area, and he followed, crossing into the box himself.
But center-back Ruth lunged over to cover and intercept.
He positioned himself directly in Wang Shuo’s path, completely cutting off the angle to the goal.
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