What was bound to happen, happened.
Before the match, Jin Hayes had a strong premonition that Agüero would score. And he really did score. Compared to his own solo run across the entire field, Agüero's goal was very natural. Simão threaded a pass into the half-space from the right wing. Agüero started his run, received the ball, held off Hummels's pulling, and then cut inside the box with a feint.
No matter how fast Hummels turned, he couldn't be faster than the Argentine. He could only watch as Agüero took a shot inside the box. The left-footed curling strike was very fast, bypassing Weidenfeller's outstretched fingers, accurately hitting the inside of the post and bouncing into the net.
Jin Hayes even secretly applauded Agüero for this goal. To be fair, it was truly beautiful.
"Scheiße!! Damn it!" Hummels didn't know if he was angry at Agüero or at himself, kicking the air and sending up grass clippings.
"Brother, it's not your fault." His young central defensive partner, Neven Subotić, quickly comforted his teammate. Klopp had boldly deployed a defensive line with an average age under twenty-five, hoping that the overall youth of the squad would bring more passion. However, youth also carries the risk of inexperience. If Hummels had been a bit more experienced, he would have been careful to guard against Agüero's feint and change of direction.
"No, this is on me!" Hummels gritted his teeth, swearing to keep that Argentine at bay from now on.
The Atlético Madrid players finished celebrating, and a group of them returned to their own half, chatting and laughing. Agüero happened to pass Jin Hayes at that moment—two young talents who had risen to fame and shone in Europe, their eyes meeting for the first time. After scoring, Agüero was not arrogant or smug; instead, he nodded to Jin Hayes, his eyes showing a mutual appreciation typical of young heroes.
Interesting!
Without needing many words, Jin Hayes already understood what Agüero wanted to convey.
Come on, let's fight to the fullest!
Jin Hayes originally thought he could compete with Agüero from a distance, but then Diego Forlán stepped in.
In the 26th minute of the first half, Atlético Madrid's second goal caught everyone off guard. It had started as a Borussia Dortmund attacking opportunity, but Sebastian Kehl's pass to Nuri Şahin was too obvious. Everyone knew that Jin Hayes was Dortmund's attacking playmaker, and Şahin was the central midfield tempo-setter. Maxi Rodríguez suddenly darted diagonally towards the centre, intercepting Şahin's pass.
Atlético Madrid, despite being outnumbered in the front, resolutely launched a quick counter-attack. Agüero received the ball in the centre, broke through to the left, drawing Subotić's defence. Everyone was marking this European Golden Boy, but Agüero delivered a brilliant back-heel pass. Diego Forlán received the ball at the edge of the penalty area, pulled it across to create space, and unleashed a powerful shot. The ball became a cannonball, crashing heavily into the net.
"Goooooallll —" The Spanish TV commentator was the happiest, dragging out the goal call for a full minute. Far away in Madrid, bars large and small were erupting in cheers. Outside the Westfalenstadion, a group of Spaniards in red and white jerseys also gathered in front of the big screen, hugging and singing and dancing.
The German fans who couldn't get tickets were quite dejected. It felt like being an outsider watching a celebration that belonged to someone else. The excitement was theirs—Borussia Dortmund fans had nothing.
"Oh no!!" Uncle Hans beat his chest and stomped his feet, his body jiggling with every motion. "What do we do? They scored two away goals!"
"Darling, it's alright. You have to believe in Jin."
"Oh, losing a goal still feels so bad—"
Anna in the stands was also very annoyed, turning back to glare at her parents, wishing she could distance herself from them. Losing a goal was already frustrating enough, but she also had to witness her parents showing affection. They were over fifty—how could they be more childish than her?
Didn't the lucky sticker work?
Anna didn't realise she was also quite childish, having painstakingly DIYed the sticker herself and then awkwardly asked Frank to give it to Jin Hayes. Now they were trailing at home, getting closer and closer to being eliminated.
...
It had to be admitted that Atlético Madrid's overall strength was indeed very strong. In addition, Borussia Dortmund's high-pressing tactic was not very refined; some players failed to move in sync with their teammates' formation, making it easy for gaps to appear during challenges, which Atlético Madrid exploited. Just as Oliver Kahn summarised from the commentary box: "Borussia Dortmund's black and yellow youth storm also has to pay tuition for being young."
Trailing 1–2 at home, Dortmund were already in a very passive position.
"Can they only rely on Jin's individual ability? For now, I don't see them playing very well as a team," Scholl observed.
"Yes, and Borussia Dortmund have quite a few problems," Kahn continued. "In the defence just now, both full-backs showed weaknesses, especially left-back Dedê—his lack of active running easily affects the formation.
Also, Borussia Dortmund's attack has a major flaw: the lone striker Alexander Frei hasn't found his shooting touch this season. His several shots, despite being the team's top scorer last season, have been quite off target. Jin has already given him at least three good passes, but not a single shot has hit the target. The Swiss international should reflect on himself."
On the Borussia Dortmund coaching bench, assistant coach Željko Buvač frowned. "Jürgen, what do you say?"
"No rush. We'll adjust in the second half." Klopp took off his baseball cap, his head already starting to sweat. If his new 4-3-3 system didn't work out, he would inevitably bear the brunt of the blame after the match.
"Jin!!" Seizing the opportunity while Jin Hayes was not far from the sideline, Klopp quickly called him over.
"What's wrong, Coach?"
"Forget the tactics for now. Make more use of your teammates' runs to create space, and find a way yourself."
Jin Hayes was taken aback, almost unable to maintain his expression. Coach, are you telling me to look for opportunities to shoot? His shooting should have been blacklisted by the team, yet Klopp was actually hoping he would score?
Klopp looked slightly embarrassed. "What I mean is, look for more opportunities for Marco and Jakub Błaszczykowski. And of course, if you have a good chance, you can also try it yourself."
As Klopp recalled, Jin Hayes was not a consistently poor shooter. When pushed to the brink, this kid would always produce some highlight moments—such as the spectacular long-range strike against Schalke 04 last season, and the bicycle kick that had shocked all of Germany.
"Don't worry, we can win!"
Jin Hayes's confidence somewhat eased Klopp's unease. What worried him most was that young players would get anxious when trailing and give away cheap opportunities. Fortunately, Jin Hayes was on the field. He possessed a calmness that belied his age.
1–2 was not the end of the world.
Jin Hayes's attempts indeed yielded some results. In the final stages of the first half, he repeatedly used his skills in the centre to create chaos, trying to send through balls into the channels. On one hand, Atlético Madrid already had the nascent form of their future iron defence, not allowing Jin Hayes to be too reckless. On the other hand, some fleeting opportunities, Jin Hayes himself failed to capitalise on.
"Jin!!! A bicycle feint to shake off Maniche, then a through ball! Reus has already made his run—"
"Oh no!! That ball! Jin's pass was slightly too strong, and the rushing goalkeeper cleared it!"
If the weight and angle of the pass had been perfect, it could have set up Reus for a clear one-on-one chance. Of course, this attack was indeed very threatening, and all the Atlético Madrid players broke into a cold sweat. The Westfalen crowd also applauded Jin Hayes's attempt. Reus was slightly disappointed but gave Jin Hayes a thumbs up.
"What a pity—just a little bit off. If I had started my run a fraction of a second faster, it would have been perfect." Reus was still blaming himself for not trusting Jin Hayes immediately.
Atlético Madrid, holding the advantage, became increasingly composed. They simply pulled back their defensive line, parking the bus in the thirty-metre zone, sitting deep and playing on the counter-attack.
Borussia Dortmund passed the ball around the outside, unable to break through Atlético Madrid's ironclad defence. They were not the peak Barcelona playing tiki-taka; Dortmund's strength lay in quick counter-attacks after high pressing in midfield, using fluid combinations to catch the opponent off guard. Facing a positional battle where both sides were set, Dortmund's passing and organisation appeared rather rigid.
Jin Hayes even had to drop back to the defensive midfield position to get the ball. Otherwise, with the tight marking, he couldn't receive passes from his teammates at all—the passing lanes to him were completely blocked.
"It seems the first half will end like this. Atlético Madrid have found a way to neutralise Jin Hayes—by preventing him from getting the ball."
"Neither team can score for now."
"Alright, the referee's whistle blows. Borussia Dortmund, playing at home, were leading by one goal but have conceded twice to Atlético Madrid. Jin Hayes, Agüero, and Diego Forlán each delivered spectacular performances."
Scholl's tone was a bit helpless. From a neutral perspective, the excitement of this Champions League qualifier was no less than a knockout match. It was truly a shame that such a heavyweight clash, which should have been in the Champions League round of sixteen or even the quarter-finals, had happened prematurely in the qualifying round.
"Fate is so cruel. After two legs, only one of these two excellent teams will be able to advance to the Champions League group stage."
…
"Everyone played well. You did your best." In the dressing room, Klopp did not roar like a dragon. Instead, he gently comforted his players. The self-reproach on their faces made him unable to speak harshly. But necessary adjustments were also imperative.
"Dedê, I'm sorry. You'll rest on the bench in the second half."
"Coach, I—" The Brazilian full-back realised the seriousness of the problem. It was too late for the thirty-year-old veteran to regret. His repeated marking errors had indirectly led to two conceded goals, and his lack of active running was infinitely magnified. In just this one match, he had lost the trust of the head coach. If he had known, he should have had a more proactive attitude from the start—gone to nightclubs less and trained his fitness more.
Klopp actually didn't want to drop Dedê. The Brazilian was a bit lax in attitude, but his wing-attacking ability was very strong, and he had a beautiful cross that could combine with Reus to open up the left flank. But there was no way—competitive sport allowed no room for error.
"Marcel, warm up quickly. You're coming on in the second half."
"Me?" The young twenty-year-old full-back Marcel Schmelzer's eyes lit up.
In the youth academy, he had always been the most unremarkable player. At that time, the star of the entire youth team was Nuri Şahin. Later, when Jin Hayes joined, the most dazzling figure became the young playmaker. On the training ground, Schmelzer was constantly toyed with by Jin Hayes in various ways—this made him realise that the gap between some players was even greater than the gap between people and dogs.
After the U19s and the reserve team, Schmelzer was finally promoted to the first team at the age of twenty this season when Klopp took over. Jin Hayes, on the other hand, had already been the Bundesliga's assist king at fifteen. But it didn't matter—being in the first team meant having an opportunity. Schmelzer trained hard, silently joining Jin Hayes's "extra training group" every day, diligently lifting weights and running. Finally, his first-team debut had arrived.
"Congratulations, Marcel!" Surprisingly, Jin Hayes was the first to congratulate Schmelzer. This made Schmelzer overwhelmed. It was like the handsome, brilliant top student in class suddenly sincerely congratulating an invisible classmate for doing well on an exam.
"Thank you! I will work hard!" Schmelzer's excitement completely flustered Jin Hayes.
"We're all brothers. Relax. In the second half, let's win it back together!"
"Okay! Win it back!" Reus, usually quite reserved, rarely showed such passion, raising his arms and shouting. A group of young but passionate individuals, full of fighting spirit, walked out of the dressing room.
"It's good to be young." Watching their backs, Klopp grinned.