"What do you say about today? Who do you favor?"
"Definitely my Lord Jin."
"I think Dortmund is a bit shaky; Arsenal still has strength."
"Like hell they do; spring is coming soon."
"Let's watch the Champions League together tonight."
"Sure, I'll grab some beer."
"Let's just go to the food stalls at the school gate; the owner is also a fan of Lord Jin, and it'll be livelier with more people."
"Not sleeping yet? Kickoff is at 3:45 AM; you can still get a few hours of sleep now."
"Sleep? No way, I'm pulling an all-nighter."
"Impressive. I'm going to sleep first."
"Don't! Come down and play PES; I'll crush you with Arsenal."
"You? Watch how I tear you apart with Dortmund."
"Boss, I want to take tomorrow morning off to go to the dentist. My tooth hurts a bit."
"You want to watch the Champions League, don't you?"
"Huh? Boss, how did you know?"
"Nonsense, I'm a fan of Jin Hayes too. Tell you what, write a notice—starting tonight, whenever there's a Champions League match with Jin Hayes, the whole company gets a half-day off."
"Holy crap, Boss, you're the best!"
"Stop talking and get to it."
Jin Hayes didn't know that he had already gained significant influence back home. From university campuses to society at large, more and more people were following football, the Bundesliga, and the Champions League.
In the past, when people watched the Champions League, they only saw 22 foreigners playing on the pitch. No matter how exciting the matches were, they mostly caused a stir only within football circles and couldn't break into the mainstream.
Many who only watched the World Cup every four years had no idea what the Champions League was, thinking the European Cup and the Champions League were the same thing. As for who played for foreign clubs, that was even more of a blind spot.
At most, they knew a few mainstream superstars like Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Lionel Messi, and David Beckham. With Yao Ming shining in the NBA, people had turned to watching basketball. It wasn't until Jin Hayes appeared that people's eyes gradually shifted back to the European stage.
Initially, it was only university students and other young people following the Bundesliga and the Champions League, but after media promotion, many who were unfamiliar with football also started getting into it, beginning with Jin Hayes and Borussia Dortmund. CCTV5 also attached great importance to this Champions League knockout match.
A week in advance, the main station and the sports channel began promoting this life-and-death second-leg match of the Champions League.
At the same time that day, there were four matchups: Bayern Munich vs. Sporting CP, Chelsea vs. Juventus, Liverpool vs. Roma, and Borussia Dortmund vs. Arsenal.
Chelsea vs. Juventus and Liverpool vs. Roma were both heavyweight battles today.
In the past, CCTV would have certainly prioritized broadcasting Chelsea vs. Juventus. Their long tradition of broadcasting Serie A made them favor Italian teams. In terms of team influence, stars, or intensity of competition, there was no reason to broadcast the Borussia Dortmund match. But with Jin Hayes at Borussia Dortmund, the other matchups were no longer as important; at most, they would be broadcast on paid channels like Fengyun Football or shown as recordings the next day.
In the CCTV5 studio, He Wei's partner today was Director Zhang Lu, a face very familiar to fans. "Hehehe, as for today's match, both sides might play a bit more cautiously. Looking at Arsenal's starting lineup today, it's clear that Arsène Wenger hasn't become aggressive just because of the opponent's three away goals."
On the television screen, Jin Hayes had already walked onto the pitch with his team. Director Zhang Lu looked at the starting lineups and provided an early analysis of both sides' tactical arrangements.
Borussia Dortmund's squad was thin, and there were no adjustments to their starting lineup. Key players like Marco Reus, Neven Subotić, and Patrick Owomoyela were still out with injuries.
Arsenal's starting lineup had seen some changes compared to the first leg. The goalkeeper had been changed from Manuel Almunia to the young Polish keeper, Wojciech Szczęsny. The back four remained unchanged. The midfield shifted to a three-defensive-midfielder system: Alexandre Song, Aaron Ramsey, and Abou Diaby. The frontline consisted of Samir Nasri, Robin van Persie, and Theo Walcott. The midfield engine, Cesc Fàbregas, surprisingly did not start and was sitting on the bench.
"In the first leg, Cesc Fàbregas played a significant role in the attack; all three key passes came from him, and he helped Robin van Persie score a hat-trick. Replacing Cesc Fàbregas with Aaron Ramsey today might be an attempt to strengthen the midfield's physicality to limit Jin Hayes—hehehe."
Seeing the players about to kick off, He Wei quickly took over the commentary.
"That's right. With the whistle from the Italian referee, the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 between Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal has begun. Borussia Dortmund is wearing their yellow jerseys—"
Just as He Wei was about to follow the formulaic opening and introduce the two teams, Borussia Dortmund used their kickoff to launch an immediate attack.
Feeling them out? Like hell they are. Just charge.
Nuri Şahin sent a long pass directly to Mario Götze on the left. Arsenal's heavy defences were all in the centre to guard Jin Hayes, so Götze on the left went unnoticed. This 16-year-old player's form had been fluctuating lately, and no one expected him to step up and carry the game. It was this small oversight that allowed Götze to easily control the ball on the left wing.
Bacary Sagna stepped up to intercept, but Götze used a change of pace and a shoulder drop to feint, then suddenly accelerated away from Sagna and burst into the penalty area.
"...Wait? Let's take a look at Dortmund's attack first!"
"Götze successfully beats his man and drives into the box!"
Mario Götze's heart pounded as he felt the cool breeze brushing against his face. On this familiar pitch at the Westfalen, Götze was much more confident with the ball than before. The move he just used to beat Sagna was exactly what he had learned from Jin Hayes. With his recent fluctuations in form, Götze had faced plenty of harsh criticism from the media. They said a 16-year-old kid shouldn't be on the first-team pitch, let alone in an important Champions League match.
Jin Hayes at 16 was a complete exception; Mario Götze needed two years in the youth academy to earn a spot in the first team. Facing these comments, Götze had been upset for a long time. He had even planned to ask Jürgen Klopp to send him back to the Dortmund youth team. The already introverted boy had fallen into deep self-doubt.
Thanks to Jin Hayes, who talked to him every day, dragged him to extra practice sessions, and studied various ways to beat defenders with him. How to avoid being affected by an opponent's physical strength and instead use his own agility to anticipate and complete a dribble—Jin Hayes was very good at this. After practicing with Jin Hayes for a while, Götze had gradually gained a lot of insight.
Facing Bacary Sagna, he beat him almost effortlessly. Having brought the ball into the box, he was already threatening Wojciech Szczęsny's goal; he looked up to check the keeper's positioning, ready to curl a shot at any moment. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a dark shadow approaching rapidly. It was Arsenal centre-back William Gallas.
Götze quickly checked his shot, using the outside of his right foot to poke the ball away from Gallas's defensive range, looking to open up an angle to shoot. But the experienced Gallas had anticipated Götze's move; his upper body immediately slammed in to interfere, while his feet desperately tried to win the ball.
Impacted by the strong defender's body, Götze swayed violently; his footing became unstable, and he immediately grew nervous, forced to shield the ball with his back. His original confidence vanished instantly. Seeing Sagna, Alexandre Song—a group of players—about to surround him, the isolated Götze suddenly panicked a little.
Amidst the crowd of blue and black jerseys, a flash of yellow was like a beam of light descending from heaven. Götze didn't hesitate for a second and passed the ball through a gap. He didn't even need to think to know that the person coming to his rescue was definitely Jin Hayes.
From the moment Götze drove into the box, Jin Hayes, who had just kicked off in the centre circle, had been sprinting head-down toward the penalty area.
Seeing Götze trapped, Jin Hayes arrived at the perfect distance and looked up to assess the surroundings. Abou Diaby and Aaron Ramsey were both following him. Forward Alexander Frei was being marked by defender Kolo Touré. Ramsey was accelerating to cut off Jin Hayes's path, while Diaby was pulling at his jersey from behind to interfere. Sagna also abandoned Götze and moved up to double-team Jin Hayes.
It all happened in a fleeting second. Seeing Jin Hayes about to be completely surrounded by three players, a normal frontal reception would have been very difficult to handle. However, to Ramsey's confusion, Jin Hayes had actually completed a turn before receiving the ball, facing away from the goal.
What kind of player receives the ball like this? How can he handle it without looking at it?
Yet, with his back to the goal, Jin Hayes used his back to hold off Ramsey, blocking his attempt to cut in front, while simultaneously avoiding Sagna's angle of approach. And he briefly shook off Diaby's pulling. In the 0.1 seconds where the three surrounding players were all slightly off-balance, Jin Hayes, without even looking at the ball, precisely backheeled it through Ramsey's legs. Following the momentum of his turn, he circled around Ramsey's right side. The dead-end of a three-man trap was instantly dismantled by Jin Hayes. He drove toward the box, momentarily unmarked.
The stands at the Westfalenstadion exploded instantly; every fan stood up, shouting wildly.
"Jin Hayes!! He's out!! He's clean through on goal into the box!!" He Wei was incredibly excited; he had seen Jin Hayes escape markers countless times, and each time brought a fresh thrill.
"Huh, wait!?" The young Polish keeper Szczęsny's emotions went through exponential fluctuations. He had guessed that Jin Hayes might escape the trap, but he never expected it to be so easy—it didn't even take a second.
The most dangerous man had already entered the box, and Szczęsny instinctively rushed out to intercept the one-on-one. In his panic, he saw Jin Hayes lift the ball with his toe, appearing to be a chip shot. He reflexively reached out to his right to make the save. But as soon as he made the move, Szczęsny regretted it; out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Jin Hayes's subtle smile.
Mid-chip, Jin Hayes actually aborted the move, nimbly hooking the ball to the right with his left foot, and with a graceful pirouette, he elegantly bypassed the goalkeeper. Facing an open goal.
"Are you kidding me?!" Touré was about to spit blood; he had completely neutralised forward Frei, but when he turned his head, his teammates had all collapsed. Jin Hayes was already driving into the six-yard box. Touré couldn't care less about the forward now; he threw himself toward the goal in a desperate sliding tackle, hoping to block Jin Hayes.
"Jin Hayes, it's an open goal!!"
As He Wei's voice cracked as usual, the hearts of everyone at the Westfalen raced, and in that moment of held breath, every Arsenal fan's heart hung by a thread, hoping for a final miracle. Facing an open goal, anyone would lose their cool and just blast it in. Yet Jin Hayes was terrifyingly calm; he actually braked in time, stopping the ball on the six-yard line and letting Touré's sliding tackle fly past him. Only then did he continue with the ball, stepping over Touré. Touré could only watch with a look of utter despair as Jin Hayes literally walked the ball into the net.
All of this had happened within the first 30 seconds of the match.
It was over. Touré, Ramsey, Szczęsny, Cesc Fàbregas on the bench, and Arsène Wenger standing with his hands in his pockets in the technical area—at this moment, the exact same thought occurred to all of them.
What kind of match makes you feel despair just 30 seconds in? Only when facing an unstoppable Jin Hayes like this; 30 seconds into the start was enough to kill the game. Arsenal's belief in this life-and-death battle was smashed to pieces by Jin Hayes's ruthless walk-in goal.
BVB 1-0 ARS
1' ——— Jin