"OHHHH—What a goal!!"
"Marco Reus — a powerful equaliser!!"
"Everyone from Dortmund is back, and the yellow and black youth storm is sweeping through Old Trafford!"
"Are Manchester United fans starting to tremble?"
As a Briton, Andy Gray emotionally supported Manchester United and the Premier League. But the attacking play Dortmund had just produced was simply breathtaking.
Did Manchester United make a mistake?
No.
Was anyone at fault?
No.
The intensity of their all-out defence was on point; Sir Alex Ferguson's defensive tactics were like a solid wall, standing in front of Dortmund. What's more, there was a second line of defence behind it, the formidable presence of Edwin van der Sar.
Theoretically, Dortmund had no chance.
After the match entered the 70th minute, according to the real-time probability predictions of betting companies, Dortmund's probability of winning was already less than 15%. Manchester United had an 80-20, or even 90-10, advantage over Dortmund on the field.
Reporters in the media section were even writing headlines on their laptops:
"Defend the Theatre of Dreams! Dream Start: 3 Goals Sink the Bumblebees, 16-Year-Old Prodigy's Solo Goal Can't Save His Team. Sir Alex Praises: He Belongs to the Future!"
"Advance to the Semi-finals! Manchester United's Scientific Defence Dismantles the Youth Storm, Dortmund Lose with Honour"
"Klopp Vows with Tears: I Will Build a Championship Squad for Him Next Year"
Who would have thought that from the moment Jin Hayes suddenly dropped back from the centre-forward position to receive the ball, Dortmund's front line executed a series of one-touch passes, creating a beautiful attacking combination.
Manchester United's solid defence was actually torn to shreds by this group of crazy youngsters. Everyone was constantly rotating positions, running flexibly to pull apart Manchester United's defence.
Jin Hayes, at the heart of the formation, displayed top player quality twice in a row—while dodging a desperate tackle, he also managed to stretch Rio Ferdinand's defence, and provided a deadly assist to Reus with a back-heel pass.
Reus, who had just returned from injury, did not disappoint his teammates. If he hadn't scored this goal, the attacking opportunity would have been wasted, and Manchester United would definitely adjust again to stifle Dortmund's attacking combinations. It would have been incredibly difficult to create a similar excellent opportunity. Fortunately, Jin Hayes was willing to trust Reus, and Reus repaid his teammates with a golden goal. He did it.
Even though Dortmund didn't have much time and were at a disadvantage with away goals, they still celebrated.
After Reus scored, Jin Hayes and his teammates rushed to the bench and pulled out the props they had prepared.
"You guys—"
Reus didn't know what kind of prank they were up to, but he was still quite touched.
"Come on! Welcome back to the field!"
Jin Hayes put a pair of sunglasses on Reus's face, Nuri Şahin hung a large gold chain around Reus's neck, and Jakub Błaszczykowski placed a cigar in Reus's mouth. Surrounded by his teammates, Reus was transformed into a larger-than-life character, a celebration that captured the youthful exuberance of the Dortmund squad.
"Oh, these youngsters—even at such a tense moment in a major competition, they can still pull off something like this!"
"It shows that their mentality is back—they are still the terrifying youth storm!"
"This kind of Dortmund is invincible!"
Commentator Mehmet Scholl couldn't help but exclaim.
Dortmund was back.
Although Manchester United held a one away goal advantage—a 6-6 aggregate score would still see them advance to the semi-finals—they were already flustered. If they attacked, Dortmund's morale had surged, and that fluid combination from earlier seemed to work every time. If they defended, could they really hold on?
The true tyrant of the Red Devils dynasty, Sir Alex Ferguson, was like a king whose city was under siege. His assistants around him were all looking to him for guidance.
"Sir, what should we do?"
"Should we attack or defend?"
"Sir? Sir?"
"What?"
Ferguson was slightly dazed, having briefly experienced a moment of doubt. The person calling him was not a minister, but his assistant Mike Phelan.
"There are two substitutions left—what should we do?"
Ferguson pondered for a moment, his voice slightly trembling.
"Bring on Park Ji-sung and Rafael. Defend to the death."
"Oh? Manchester United have also used up their substitutions, making two changes."
"With only 10 minutes left in the match, Manchester United seem to be planning to defend until the end."
"Nani is replaced by Park Ji-sung; veteran captain Gary Neville is replaced by 18-year-old young right-back Rafael."
"It looks like Manchester United plan to continue to hold onto their away goal advantage, letting Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo look for opportunities in the front."
He Wei's analysis was correct. The tireless Park Ji-sung had been transformed into a workhorse midfielder by Ferguson; his running and coverage on the right flank were excellent.
Originally, Park Ji-sung was a secret weapon designed to neutralise Lionel Messi, which Ferguson had planned to deploy in the Champions League semi-finals. Now it seemed they first had to overcome Dortmund.
"Now they are back to a 4-4-2 formation, with Ryan Giggs, Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick, and Park Ji-sung dropping back more to defend."
"Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo are up front, playing on the counter-attack."
Rob Hawthorne's analysis was exactly as Ferguson had arranged.
Success or failure rests on this one move!
Dortmund would definitely launch a frantic attack in the final moments, trying to score a goal.
However, Dortmund had to pray not to make any mistakes,
Otherwise, if any opportunity arose in the backfield, Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, with Rafael's assistance, could completely tear through Dortmund and kill the game in an instant!
The match entered its most tense and exciting moment,
Two masters, exhausted, stood facing each other with their swords drawn.
The next strike, and one would fall!
It must be said that with the threat of Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo in the backfield, Dortmund's attack became much more cautious, not pushing forward wildly.
Even a slight loss of possession would result in an immediate counter-press and timely retreat to defend.
The two sides were temporarily in a stalemate, watching time slowly tick away.
...
Time and venue were on Manchester United's side—Dortmund was still in an unfavorable situation.
Marco Reus, who had just returned from injury, could easily get past Gary Neville earlier. But against the young and spirited Rafael, who also had excellent stamina, Reus found it difficult to break through one-on-one.
"This kid is a bit tough to deal with."
Reus smacked his lips, his expression pained. When he ran hard, his heel still ached faintly, making him afraid to exert full force.
"I'll do it."
"Huh?"
"You play centre-forward, I'll take him on."
"Alright."
Reus didn't say another word and voluntarily moved to the centre-forward position. Anyway, Jürgen Klopp hadn't given specific instructions, so positional rotations on the field were up to their discretion. Reus believed that no one could defend Jin Hayes in a one-on-one duel, and that Brazilian teenager was about to learn a harsh lesson.
Rafael da Silva and his twin brother had been spotted by Sir Alex Ferguson and brought from Brazil to Manchester. He also had a dream of becoming a star. His first professional match in his career was such a crucial Champions League quarter-final life-or-death battle. Rafael was in top form, his concentration high, and he had successfully defended multiple times.
"What Reus—he's just a defeated opponent." Rafael grew more and more confident, even a little arrogant. "If you dare, let Jin Hayes face me—call Jin Hayes over!" He wanted to freeze Jin Hayes in a one-on-one duel and become famous in one battle.
As if on cue, Dortmund attacked, with continuous passes reaching the left wing. Reus swapped positions, passing the ball to Jin Hayes. Jin Hayes formed a one-on-one duel on the left, facing the youthful, short-haired Rafael.
"Come on! Let's fight!" Rafael seemed excited, waiting for Jin Hayes to make his move. Despite being two years younger than his opponent, Jin Hayes was standing still and holding his ground.
"I'll help you!" Park Ji-sung ran over, intending to defend two-on-one, but was shouted back by Rafael.
"It's fine, I'll defend him alone!"
"Huh?"
Just then, Marcel Schmelzer made an overlapping run from behind, and Park Ji-sung, fearing Jin Hayes would pass, quickly followed him. It was still a one-on-one situation.
"Scared, aren't you? Just a mere Jin Hayes, but—" Just as Rafael was feeling smug, Jin Hayes made his move. He nudged the ball to the right, feinting Rafael, then suddenly turned and back-heeled the ball to the left, sprinting towards the byline.
"Child's play." Rafael shook his head, and with his low centre of gravity and quick speed, immediately followed and tangled with Jin Hayes. Just as he defended to the byline, Jin Hayes was already locked down by Rafael—he actually nudged the ball outwards with his left foot, performing a rabona move.
"Flashy."
Rafael stood still, letting Jin Hayes pull the ball back with the rabona—it couldn't go out of bounds, could it?
But the next second, Jin Hayes's left foot did not pull the ball back, but actually stepped on the byline. Half of the football was almost out of bounds. Rafael couldn't guess his next move, when Jin Hayes suddenly accelerated. He stepped on the ball with his left foot, turned around from outside the line, and subtly poked the ball through Rafael's legs with his heel. Everything happened too fast; Rafael hadn't even reacted, and in an instant, he was toyed with by Jin Hayes.
The young Brazilian finally realised—it turned out Jin Hayes deliberately dribbled to the byline, not because he was defended, but simply wanted to tease him. He was just playing around.
Then what am I? A clown?
Rafael's confidence, which he had just built up in his first professional match, was utterly shattered by Jin Hayes. His spirit was broken.
Seeing that the time had already reached the 87th minute, Jin Hayes, who had broken into the penalty area, was also too lazy to continue playing around. Since the commentator's line in the first half was "The farce is over," then now it was truly over.
"The farce—is over."
Bang!
"Huh?!!"
"Wait!??"
"No way?!"
Manchester United players were still marking Jin Hayes for a pass, and everyone else was restricting Dortmund's teammates. They thought Jin Hayes would either beat the goalkeeper or pass, as he was at almost a 0-degree angle, making a shot impossible. But Jin Hayes, to everyone's surprise, suddenly shot.
Great power creates miracles. Causality Shot Enhancement triggered. He didn't care how—this ball, even if Oliver Kahn came, it would still go in.
Everyone was petrified. The whole world watched Jin Hayes's 0-degree angle powerful shot smash against Edwin van der Sar's leg, deflecting and bouncing into the net.
3-3. Aggregate score 7-6.
Dortmund completes the last-minute winner.
Old Trafford fell into a stunned silence, punctuated only by the wild celebrations of the Dortmund players. The farce, as it had been called, was indeed over—but not in the way anyone had expected.