Thrilling!!!
Absolutely thrilling!!!
The anger Ye Chen had bottled up exploded completely at this moment!
All Dortmund fans knew what was coming.
A life-or-death Champions League match!
A step forward meant advancing in the knockout stage and making a name for themselves.
A step back meant the Europa League â unimportant and exhausting.
Under such circumstances, sacrificing a league game was the most normal decision!
But that decision was met with fierce criticism from countless Borussia Mönchengladbach fans. They even threatened to lodge complaints with the Bundesliga, accusing Dortmund of throwing the game!
But now?
Did we throw the game?
We fought until the very last moment!
No one believed in them before the match.
Betting platforms even adjusted the odds before kick-off, with a one-and-a-half-goal handicap!
What did that mean? The bookmakers believed Mönchengladbach would beat Dortmund by at least two goals, if not more.
But at this moment, Ye Chen's stunning curler slapped them in the face!
Sure, most of our starting lineup consisted of substitutes, but we never gave up.
And now the score on the board is proof of our effort!
Kahn, after shouting his heart out, glanced at Stiel by his side.
"Hey, buddy, get up! The cameras can't even catch you down there!"
Stiel finally snapped out of it, scrambling to his feet.
"What just happened? How did that Chinese kid... Ye pull off that curler?"
Kahn frowned.
"Jörg, as a public figure, racial comments aren't acceptable."
But before Kahn could finish, the radical Mönchengladbach fans had already started shouting.
"Chinese monkey, get out of here!"
"Borussia Park isn't a place for you to show off!"
"Get lost, yellow-skinned monkey, leave Germany!"
"Bundesliga doesn't welcome you or any Chinese players!"
"China is a football wasteland; none of you know how to play!"
"Ye must be the offspring left behind from the war!"
"Dortmund dogs, go back to Westfalen!"
"Dortmund bastards, get out!"
Where was this happening?
Borussia Park!
Since when did a Chinese player dare to dominate here?
They couldn't stand it!
So, they vented their rage, shouting wildly.
Some even pulled at the corners of their eyes, mocking Ye Chen with exaggerated faces.
But they didn't notice that Ye Chen's gaze had turned ice-cold...
They had crossed the line.
Bringing up that dark history to provoke Ye Chen was a mistake!
Ye Chen understood why they reacted this way â they were afraid!
They realized their sacred ground was being invaded by a Chinese player...
And the scariest part was that this player was trampling over their pride with his own feet.
This was something they couldn't accept!
People often said foreigners were polite and well-mannered... but that was just surface-level.
Their courtesy was merely a facade, a protective layer.
As long as you were weaker than them, they treated you with condescension disguised as kindness.
But when they found out you were better than them, they would envy you, even slander you!
Just like the Mönchengladbach fans now!
They couldn't believe a Chinese player could score such a brilliant curler, yet it happened.
They couldn't accept it.
So, words became their weapon, a way to vent their frustration.
What they couldn't accept even more was that Dortmund, with a lineup full of substitutes, had reversed the score at their home ground!
And the player they looked down on the most â Ye Chen â scored twice, playing like a hero!
"What are you standing around for? Get back in the game! It's not over yet!" Favre was shouting from the sidelines.
Yes, the game wasn't over yet.
They still had a chance to equalize!
But Ye Chen's face twisted into a sly smile.
Exactly!
The match wasn't over!
So why not rub more salt into the wound?
The fourth official raised his board â six minutes of stoppage time!
Such extended stoppage clearly signaled... they wanted Mönchengladbach to make a comeback.
Or perhaps Ye Chen was overthinking it.
But the second half had been fairly smooth.
Even with the goals and celebrations, the delay didn't add up to two minutes!
Six minutes of stoppage made no sense.
Well then...
"Guys, keep possession until the very last second!"
Ye Chen waved decisively and charged forward.
Dortmund's players didn't hesitate.
Leading so late in the game was rare; they wanted to hold onto the victory.
And more importantly, the insults from the Mönchengladbach fans were too much.
They were like rabid dogs, biting at anyone!
Ye Chen was the primary target, but the others weren't spared either â even GündoÄan, a native German, was insulted!
Everyone was fired up.
The entire team pressed high.
Mönchengladbach hadn't expected such an aggressive approach and had no choice but to pass back to Ter Stegen.
Ter Stegen was having a rough day.
Despite conceding three goals, none of them were his fault!
The first goal was pure luck â deflected by Dante.
The second was a close-range header, impossible to stop.
Even Kahn admitted it was difficult to save!
As for the third...
Sure, Kahn once stopped Beckham's curling free-kick, but Ter Stegen was still young!
Ter Stegen was only 19, just two years older than Ye Chen.
Goalkeepers usually peak in their 30s!
That curler left him stunned.
Seeing Ye Chen charging, Ter Stegen reacted and cleared the ball hastily.
But the kick was rushed and landed at GündoÄan's feet.
GündoÄan quickly spotted Ye Chen's position.
With the fullback out of position, he threaded a pass through Dante and Nordtveit.
Ye Chen was surprised, but in such moments, you shoot first and worry about offside later!
Facing Ter Stegen, Ye Chen faked a shot to the right.
Ter Stegen instinctively dived.
But Ye Chen swiftly switched, blasting the ball left into the empty net.
"Boom!"
The ball crashed into the net, spinning before dropping to the ground.
Ye Chen glanced at the assistant referee.
"Good goal! Mönchengladbach's No. 24 played you onside!"
The referee blew his whistle â goal confirmed!
Ye Chen sprinted to the stands, not toward the Dortmund fans but directly to Mönchengladbach's diehard section.
He raised his fist and swung it down hard!
It was the simplest gesture to slap Mönchengladbach fans in the face!