Mercedes-Benz Arena!
All eyes in the stadium were fixed on Ye Chen.
There was no helping itâhe was simply too fast.
Despite being the farthest from the ball, Ye Chen's sprint brought him closer at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Molinaro and Boulahrouz had a solid planâone would intercept while the other went for the ball.
Molinaro tried to grab at him, but Ye Chen overtook him from the outside!
It was like a drift scene from Initial DâYe Chen, at high speed, dodged Molinaro's hand with ease.
By the time Ye Chen bypassed him, Molinaro tried to accelerate but was already two steps behind.
Yet, he didn't give upâhe chased with all his might.
Boulahrouz also sensed the danger and quickened his pace.
Before the ball could hit the ground, Boulahrouz leaped up, determined to clear it in advance.
To be honest, if he were a little younger, he might have succeeded.
But age had caught up with himâhe couldn't jump as high as before and misjudged slightly.
Though his head grazed the ball, it didn't send it out of bounds. Instead, it softened the impact, letting the ball gently drop to the ground.
There was no denying itâBoulahrouz in the Bundesliga was no longer the iron wall he once was at Chelsea.
In his prime, Boulahrouz had made Ronaldo cry, elbowed Figo, and locked down Ronaldinho.
But at 30, he could only sigh at the relentlessness of time.
Of course, when facing the sheer power and pressure of Ye Chen, a small mistake was understandable.
After all, he had witnessed Ye Chen's outside overtake up close...
It genuinely startled him.
Molinaro, the one Ye Chen had overtaken earlier, was already 28.
It wasn't that Molinaro was slowâhe was just too confident.
He believed that committing a foul would surely stop Ye Chen.
Unfortunately, Ye Chen didn't even give him the chance to foul!
Against the young and explosively fast Ye Chen, the two veterans seemed powerless.
As the ball hit the ground, Ye Chen lightly tapped it with his toe and kept sprinting.
At that moment, the advantage of coming off the bench was on full display.
Even after sprinting over 20 meters, Ye Chen's energy remained high as he charged into the penalty area.
Ahead, Ulreich was ready, determined to avenge the earlier free-kick Ye Chen had snatched.
When Molinaro and Boulahrouz had gone for the ball, Ulreich stayed put, trusting his teammates.
He also knew Ye Chen's tendenciesâhe liked to chip the ball.
But as Ye Chen neared the box, Ulreich had no choice...
He abandoned his goal and rushed forward!
Ulreich spread his arms wide, enlarging his defensive area.
Yet, Ye Chen remained calm.
Facing Ulreich, Ye Chen feigned a shot.
Like a startled bird, Ulreich instinctively dove to save.
But in the next moment, Ye Chen gently pushed the ball sideways and, after bypassing the keeper, calmly slotted it into the net.
As the ball rolled across the line, Ye Chen exhaled deeply.
That goal was exhausting...
From the initial sprint in his own half to the final strike, Ye Chen showed what "blazing speed" meant.
Meanwhile, Ulreich lay on the ground, staring skyward in frustration.
"Ahhh!"
Ulreich let out an angry roar.
But it was nothing more than futile rage.
Boulahrouz, hands on his knees, gazed at Ye Chen with mixed emotions.
He couldn't shake the feeling he had seen that kind of goal before...
Ah, that's rightâRobben used to score like this all the time.
In the Netherlands squad, Sneijder would find Robben, and the Flying Dutchman would always dribble past the keeper before finishing.
As a Dutch international, Boulahrouz had witnessed it countless times.
Being defeated this way left him helpless.
Molinaro sat directly on the ground.
Though he was only 28, that goal felt like it aged him ten years.
Are all the young players this freakish now?
On the sidelines, Labaddia was fuming, smashing his water bottle to the ground.
Stuttgart made a substitution.
Young Rüdiger replaced Boulahrouz!
Boulahrouz's misjudged header accounted for at least 80% of the blame for that goal.
But as he walked off, Boulahrouz was far from pleased, hurling the towel handed to him onto the grass.
It wasn't like he hadn't triedâwhat more could he do?
Fuming, Boulahrouz slumped on the bench, eager to see how Rüdiger would handle Ye Chen.
On the pitch, Ye Chen didn't celebrate his goal.
He jogged back to the center circle, calm as ever.
Dortmund players congratulated him with high-fives, but they sensed something was off about Ye Chen today.
"Do you know what's up with Ye?" Leitner asked Perisic.
Perisic shook his head. "Weird. He usually celebrates passionately, and Okazaki was even taunting him earlier."
No one had an answer.
Meanwhile, on CCTV Sports, the commentator Huang was in full frenzy.
"Overtaking on the outside... Ye Chen did it again!"
"He didn't even give Molinaro a chance to foul!"
"As expected, Ye Chen is the shortest distance between two points!"
"A misjudged header! Boulahrouz made a crucial mistake!"
"Ye Chen's speed is unstoppable!"
"He's past the keeper!"
"Into the empty net!"
"Goal! Goal! Goal!"
"Ye Chen, fresh off the bench, scored twice in three minutes!"
"Is this Ye Chen's true power?"
But former commentator Zhan silently observed.
He didn't cheerâhe sensed a tinge of sadness...
Perhaps only Ye Chen knew how he truly felt.
No one noticed, but Rüdiger had already walked up to Ye Chen.
"Ye, from now on, you're not scoring anymore," Rüdiger grinned.
"Oh, is that so?" Ye Chen replied coldly.
Even after scoring twice, Ye Chen's expression hardly changed.
He was like a machine, driven by some internal force he couldn't quite explain.
The game resumed.
Rüdiger clung to Ye Chen like glue.
And the worst part?
He wouldn't stop talking.