Melitz, standing in front of the goal, turned his head in disbelief to look at the net.
At this moment, the white soccer ball was still spinning violently in the air, continuing for a full three seconds before finally hitting the ground.
The sheer power behind this shot was evident!
Defender Naldo also froze in place, standing dumbfounded, his eyes wide open in astonishment.
The fans at the scene were collectively speechless.
How long had the match been underway?
5 seconds and 6 milliseconds into the second half!
In just five short seconds, a goal was scored!
The stadium fell into complete silence!
This silence lasted for a full five seconds before it was shattered by the thunderous cheers of Dortmund fans.
As for Ye Chen, the goal scorer, he didn't hold back. He raised his hand to his lips and made a shushing gesture.
His message was clear: Shut the hell up!
But what greeted him was a cascade of boos.
And yet, so what?
"Honey, hurry up! Ye Chen is on the field!"
In a home in Guangzhou, China, a husband had gone out to pick up the food delivery while his wife was glued to the TV, watching Dortmund's match.
Hearing his wife's shout, Lao Cao, who was waiting for the delivery guy to come upstairs, remained calm. "He's on his way up. Give it a few seconds. It's no big deal."
"True...AHHHHHHH!"
Suddenly, a scream from inside startled Lao Cao.
"What's going on? Aren't you worried the neighbors will complain?" Lao Cao rushed back into the room with the food in hand.
From the computer, Huang Jianxiang's excited voice rang out.
"GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL!"
"Just 5 seconds into the second half, Ye Chen announces his kingly return with a lightning-fast goal!"
"What an earth-shattering strike!"
As Huang Jianxiang finished yelling, Zhan Jun chimed in, "This goal is now officially the fastest goal ever scored in the second half of a Bundesliga match! Ye Chen is simply unbelievable!"
"Just moments ago, we were doubting whether subbing him on would make a difference, and less than 10 seconds later, he's proven that having him on the field is all they need!"
Lao Cao, staring at the TV in shock, finally turned to his wife. "From now on, we're ordering takeout before the game starts, or I'll lose my mind!"
"Relax, there's a replay!"
"A replay isn't the same as live!" Lao Cao whined pitifully. "Watching live is like...you know, breaking that barrier for the first time. Replays just don't hit the same!"
"What are you even saying? You're not coming to bed tonight!"
"Wait, wait, wait..."
Lao Cao's pleas filled the room.
"Ye!"
"Ye!"
"Ye!"
Three thousand away fans chanted Ye Chen's name loudly.
Although the boos from the home crowd were deafening, the traveling fans refused to back down.
A few unruly fans began throwing objects onto the field.
Luckily, Lewandowski quickly pulled Ye Chen aside.
"That was a beautiful goal, Ye!" Lewandowski remarked with admiration.
Ye Chen laughed heartily. "Just caught them off guard!"
"Well done, Ye!" Götze ran over to congratulate him as well.
"Got it!" Ye replied.
Götze was baffled. What does 'got it' even mean?
The score had now shifted from Werder Bremen's 2-0 lead to 2-1.
However, Bremen still held the advantage, and their captain quickly rallied the team to refocus.
Despite the brilliance of Ye Chen's goal, it was just one goal. Bremen remained in the lead.
On the sidelines, Aloffs was shouting instructions.
Having received a call from Lüxükai, he had prepared specific defensive strategies for Ye Chen. But...what could he do if Wolf was completely outplayed? His only option was to trust his team's performance going forward.
The match resumed, with Dortmund sticking to their 5-3-2 formation. While there were slight tactical tweaks, the overall approach remained unchanged.
Lewandowski played deeper to collect the ball, while Ye Chen pushed forward like a sharp dagger at the forefront.
This game also validated something Ye Chen had said earlier:
In a match between evenly matched teams, it's rare for a player to get more than five scoring opportunities.
Ten minutes quickly passed.
Klopp instructed Kagawa Shinji and Kehl to warm up.
Clearly, the midfield needed fixing, or the team would remain under constant pressure.
Noticing that Lewandowski seemed fatigued, Ye Chen volunteered to switch roles with him, allowing Lewandowski to stay forward while he dropped back to assist in defense.
Though Ye Chen didn't secure any direct steals, his pressing forced the opponents into errors and delayed their attacks.
At 55:43, Schmitz overlapped on the wing and sent in a cross. Pizarro's header was saved by Weidenfeller.
At 57:24, Bremen mounted another attack. Marin cut inside and passed to Rosenberg, who had scored earlier.
Rosenberg's curling shot skimmed past the post, sending chills down everyone's spine.
Despite having been on the pitch for only 10 minutes, Ye Chen was already gasping for breath.
"This isn't going to work!" Glancing at the sideline, Ye Chen saw Kagawa Shinji getting subbed in.
Bremen, the second-ranked team in the league, was no pushover.
GündoÄan was still too inexperienced, Lars Bender was tied up defensively, and Götze had to shift wide to help cover the flanks.
As a result, Dortmund struggled to maintain possession.
At the 61-minute mark, GündoÄan was replaced by Kagawa Shinji.
Ye Chen assumed there wouldn't be much change in tactics.
However, Kagawa Shinji immediately instructed GroÃkreutz to switch to the left-wing position, with Götze moving to the right.
The formation morphed into an aggressive 4-2-4!
Dortmund's tactics also shifted from central play to relentless wing attacks.
Clearly, Klopp had made the first move.
Aloffs quickly assessed the situation.
But with Kagawa Shinji on the field, the balance began to tilt in Dortmund's favor.
"Ye, they say two Asians can't achieve anything here, right? Let's prove them wrong!" Kagawa Shinji said with determination.
Ye Chen didn't respond but gave him a big thumbs-up.
Today, let's show them the strength of Asians!
At 65:24, goalkeeper Melitz launched a long ball towards Pizarro upfront.
However, Hummels headed it to SubotiÄ, who passed it to Kagawa in midfield. Ye Chen dropped back to receive the ball.
As Kagawa advanced, Ye Chen delivered a smooth through ball back to him.
"What a brilliant one-two! Bargfrede has been left in the dust!" the commentator exclaimed passionately.
"Oh! Kagawa doesn't dribble forward; instead, he sends a pinpoint cross!"
"Lewandowski!"
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!"
"Kagawa's pass was like a GPS-guided missile, landing perfectly on Lewandowski's head!"
"With just a gentle touch, Lewandowski finds the back of Bremen's net!"
"The score is now 2-2!"
"What a beautiful attack from Dortmund! Simply flawless!"
"This sequence, starting with Ye's drop-back, created space for Kagawa. And Kagawa's positioning was made possible by Ye drawing defenders away! The entire play was as smooth as silk!"
"Oh my God...I'm falling in love with this Dortmund team. These young players are phenomenal!"
While Dortmund fans erupted in celebration, many Chinese fans watching on TV fell silent.
Kagawa Shinji was simply too good. Compared to the pampered stars of their national team, his performance was worlds apart.
If their team ever faced Japan in a major tournament, wouldn't they be utterly destroyed?