The result was predictable. Van Bitten simply "bumped" into Wang Shuo, sending him stumbling forward and costing him his position. However, the ball landed perfectly right in front of him.
After quickly adjusting his footing, Wang Shuo chested the ball down. He then used the inside of his right foot to pull it sideways, turning and bringing it under his firm control all in one motion.
Van Boml imdiately rushed over and went in for a slide tackle.
However, Wang Shuo was a step faster. He knocked the ball away just as he was tripped. After stumbling for a mont, he quickly took a few choppy steps to regain his balance and brought the ball back under his control, beating Schweinsteiger to it.
Just as Wang Shuo, trapped between the two Bayern defensive midfielders, was about to dribble past them sideways, Van Boml and Schweinsteiger both slid in at the sa ti, taking him down.
The referee, Kircher, blew his whistle, signaling a foul.
Only then did everyone notice that Owomoyela was wide open on the right flank again.
If Wang Shuo had found even the slightest opening to make that pass, it would have undoubtedly led to another threatening attack!
The Bayern fans in Allianz Arena gave their players a thunderous round of applause.
It was, indeed, an excellent defensive play!
But Wang Shuo remained on the ground, writhing and clutching his feet in "agony."
Schweinsteiger walked over, intending to help Wang Shuo up, but Wang Shuo forcefully slapped Xiao Zhu’s hand away.
"Look at my leg! Did you hit the ball? You hit my leg!"
"And you!"
Wang Shuo pointed angrily at Van Boml. "How many tis is that now? You threatened to give a hard ti before the match even started! You’ve kicked my leg three tis in a row now. Are you even trying to play the ball?"
As he spoke, Wang Shuo pointed to his socks and cleats.
The match was less than ten minutes in, but his socks and cleats were already filthy—all the proof he needed.
Van Boml was getting furious.
"Stop acting! Get up!"
With that, he started to walk over and pull Wang Shuo to his feet.
But just then, the other Dortmund players reacted.
Sven Bender was the first to charge in, blocking Van Boml and shielding Wang Shuo with his body. He glared at Van Boml and roared, "What do you think you’re doing?"
The other Dortmund players all rushed over as well.
The Bayern players sward in too.
The scene instantly threatened to spiral out of control.
Van Boml, standing on the edge of the scrum, felt deeply wronged. "I was just trying to help him up."
"We don’t need your help! You foul him and then try to play the good guy?"
"Yeah, you’ve been playing dirty since the kickoff. Who knows what you’re really up to?"
"Stay away from our captain!"
Both Van Boml and Schweinsteiger felt incredibly wronged.
Their joint tackle this ti hadn’t actually been that aggressive.
’Did they not make contact with Wang Shuo’s leg?’
’Oh, they definitely did.’
It was mainly because Wang Shuo was so quick; Van Boml had clipped him while going for the ball.
’Besides, when is a defender’s tackle ever perfectly clean?’
’Van Boml, in particular, was notorious for his rough play. What was one little kick?’
But now, with Wang Shuo making such a "scene," the situation was gradually spiraling out of control.
Even if the referee, Kircher, wanted to favor the ho team, he had no choice but to de-escalate the conflict under these circumstances.
At the very least, he had to calm the Dortmund players down.
So, he beckoned Van Boml over and showed him a yellow card!
This sent Van Boml into a furious rage; he nearly lost his mind.
As a defensive player, his specialty was living on the edge of the rules. He’d always used that skill to tornt opponents, who could only grit their teeth in helpless rage.
But this ti, despite not having made any particularly rough moves, he’d been shown a yellow card.
It was a bitter pill he just couldn’t swallow.
"Let tell you, that was a tackle from behind. I’m already going easy on you," Referee Kircher told Van Boml. "And besides, I warned you at the beginning of the match, didn’t I?"
The Netherlands midfielder knew he was in the wrong.
That earlier verbal warning had put him on the referee’s bad side!
And judging by the referee’s tone, he was now being watched closely.
Another foul would likely earn him a red card without a mont’s hesitation.
In addition to booking Van Boml, Kircher also gave Schweinsteiger a warning.
Xiao Zhu had almost been dribbled past just now, but he had ended up fouling Wang Shuo.
Kircher warned him to be more careful; the next ti would earn him a card.
After dismissing Schweinsteiger, Kircher turned to tell Wang Shuo to get up.
But to his surprise, when he turned back, he saw Wang Shuo was already standing up on his own.
’Cunning kid!’
Kircher was secretly amused.
Van Boml had spent a lifeti hunting hawks, only to have his eyes pecked out by a sparrow.
He’d always lived on the edge of what constituted a foul, and this ti, he had suffered a major loss for it.
Knowing how to use the referee to keep an opponent in check was a skill in itself.
This was especially true against a cunning player like Van Boml.
As an international-level referee who had officiated countless matches, Kircher had seen plenty of powerful teams that had no idea how to leverage the referee’s presence.
A pri example was the match from the 19th league round, when Werder Bren hosted Bayern.
Kircher had been the referee for that match as well.
In that ga, Werder Bren had co out strong, with players like Marco Marin and sut delivering outstanding performances to score the opening goal against Bayern.
But the Bayern midfield, led by Van Boml, quickly turned the tables and began to dominate Werder Bren.
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