Chapter 584 Breaking Through the Gegenpressing
The referee blew the whistle for halftime soon after the goal celebrations. The players of both teams immediately headed to their respective dressing rooms for the break.
The Juventus players couldn't contain their happiness since they were already leading by a 3:1 score. Most were all smiles, while a few continuously cracked jokes as they walked toward the dressing room.
On the other hand, the Borussia Dortmund players were in low spirits. They walked with contorted expressions as they traversed the tunnel and eventually arrived in the visitor's dressing room. They then remained silent and gloomy while waiting for their coach's halftime address.
Coach Jürgen Klopp, who had arrived earlier, clapped his hands to draw their attention. He narrowed his eyes and said, "That was a terrible first half."
"We were supposed to use counter-pressing tactics to choke their build-ups before they transitioned into their midfield play. But we didn't work hard to do any pressing up the pitch. We allowed the Juventus defenders and midfielders to play at their own pace. The result is the three goals we conceded during the first half." At this, the coach shook his head.
"Before the game, I emphasized the need for counter-pressing to win against Juventus. When we lose possession, we must run at them like mad and force them to commit errors. We must not give them any second to settle down and pick any of their midfielders or initiate a counter. We must struggle hard to win back the ball and launch another immediate attack against them. The strategy is simple, and it's how we stop Juventus."
Jürgen Klopp's expression turned somber. He spent the next few minutes pointing out the mistakes committed by his players during the first half. He then gave them tips to improve their game as a team before sending them back to the pitch for the second half.
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The second half started after the fifteen-minute break, with the Dortmund players exhibiting more energy and spirit on the playing field. They were more active than they were during the first half and fought with their all to win possession during the first few minutes. Then, after getting hold of the ball, they raced out of their half and immediately launched an attack against Juventus' defense.
Ilkay Gündogan was the initiator of the attack. He collected a loose ball close to the center circle and found Henrikh Mkhitaryan, his counterpart in midfield, with a brilliant pass through the middle. His through ball was perfect, and he set Mkhitaryan up for a one-on-one against Arturo Vidal high up the pitch.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan, on his part, played brilliantly and escaped the harassment of Vidal with a well-timed first touch followed by an abrupt 180-degree turn. He then unleashed a first-time lofted diagonal pass towards the left wing, where Marco Reus was lurking.
Marco Reus controlled the ball with his chest in the wing before twisting and turning to skip past Stephan Lichtsteiner, Juventus' right-back for the day. The winger then sprinted along the touchline on the left flank before unleashing a cross towards the box from around the border of the final third.
The tricky lofted ball flung Juventus' box into a volatile state, with Ciro Immobile and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang simultaneously going into action.
The two forwards battled the Juventus defenders, hoping to connect with the incoming cross. They were doing everything possible to get their team a 2nd goal. They wished to reduce the score difference between them and Juventus to only one goal.
But try as they had, their efforts soon became fruitless due to Leonardo Bonucci's game-reading brilliance. The center-back read the incoming cross like an open book before clearing the ball away from the area and towards the left wing.
Patrice Evra, Juventus' left-back, collected the just cleared ball, intending to pass and initiate a counter against Dortmund. But no sooner had he taken a touch than two Dortmund players rushed towards him, all guns blazing as if they wished to commit murder.
Not wishing to lose possession, Patrice Evra acted quickly and passed the ball back to Gianluigi Buffon, the keeper.
Buffon controlled the ball well, close to his goal. But before he could take a second touch, Ciro Immobile, the Dortmund forward, rushed toward him with a speed rivaling that of a predator on the hunt.
Buffon reacted as any experienced keeper and also passed the ball quickly. He played it into the right wing to find Stephan Lichtsteiner, Juventus' right-back.
Stephan Lichtsteiner was comfortable while receiving the ball. But before he could do anything with it, he faced the same problem, eerily similar to what his two teammates had just gone through. Within a blink, he saw Marco Reus, Dortmund's left-winger, closing him down like there was no tomorrow.
Stephan Lichtsteiner hurried to release the ball into the middle towards Claudio Marchisio. But his unsettled mind, mainly caused by the fast-approaching Marco Reus, affected his accuracy, and the pass went slightly off the mark. The ball didn't find its intended target but floated into a pocket of space close to Ilkay Gündogan, the Dortmund midfielder.
On the sidelines, Coach Max Allegri witnessed all this and shook his head. His heart wasn't at ease as he had just seen Borussia Dortmund executing the gegenpressing strategy common in some top teams in Germany.
The strategy was all about counter-pressing. At its core, it required a team to win the ball back from the opposition immediately after losing it, preferably in advanced areas of the pitch.
Dortmund had just done that and forced three Juventus players to commit a few eras. They used their pressing to pressure the opponent and win back the ball immediately after they lost it in advanced areas. Moreover, they had just launched another offensive before Juventus' defense could reorganize itself.
Coach Max Allegri's eyes narrowed as he saw Ilkay Gündogan, the midfielder who had just collected the loose ball, feed it straight into the heart of Juventus' defense. The midfielder effortlessly picked out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who had already made a spirited run on the right side of Juventus' box.
Aubameyang, on his part, gathered the ball mid-stride with a brilliant touch that took him past Giorgio Chiellini, Juventus' center-back. Then, without losing a second, he drew his leg back and unleashed a carpet shot towards the bottom left corner.
Fortunately for Juventus, Buffon was once again alert. He reacted brilliantly and dived to punch the ball away from the goal and back into the pitch.
Ciro Immobile, the center-forward lurking in the box, pounced towards the loose ball. The striker moved like an assassin and slid in all guns blazing before kicking it back towards the goal.
Coach Max Allegri felt his heart start to race as he witnessed everything. Time seemed to freeze in his eyes as the ball from Ciro Immobile rolled towards the goalline. But just as he was about to break from pressure, a yellow boot abruptly appeared at the last minute and blocked the ball.
Coach Max Allegri let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He relaxed as his eyes registered that Stephan Lichtsteiner, Juventus' right-back, had acted on time and saved Juventus from conceding the 2nd goal during the 49th minute. Moreover, the defender had also sent the ball away towards the middle third to clear the danger.
"At least we can have a few seconds to relax and reorganize." The thought flashed through Coach Allegri's head as he saw the ball soar above the pitch. He breathed another sigh of relief and prepared to give tactical instructions to his on-pitch players.
But right then, Coach Allegri stopped whatever he was planning when he saw Zachary, his best player, pounce towards the ball that had started descending. His eyes lit up when he witnessed the boy wonder controlling the ball with his chest.
Nuri Sahin, the player playing as Dortmund's defensive midfielder, immediately raced towards Zachary to close him down. However, the latter reacted calmly by spinning around and executing a swift Marseille turn with the ball sticking to his left boot.
The cheers and whistles from Juventus' home fans reached another peak as Zachary completed the move with grace to spin around and away from the opponent. Even more yells of excitement sounded when the boy wonder accelerated to top speed within a second and started racing toward the other side of the pitch like a bullet train on the rails.
Juventus had finally broken through Borussia Dortmund's gegenpressing, and the counterattack was on for the first time during the second half. Zachary continued sprinting forward, doing what he always did best. His long strides consumed yards of space like nothing as he cut through the middle like a specter.
He eventually drove deep into the opposing half and slalomed his way past Sokratis Papastathopoulos, the Dortmund center-back. He then remained composed and played a pass forward to release álvaro Morata, who had just made a spirited run towards the box.
Morata timed his run well and connected with the ball from Zachary without being offside. He then took another touch and stepped into the box before slotting the ball past the keeper with a well-time chip. His effort found the back of the net, and with that, he scored Juventus' 4th goal on the night during the 50th minute.
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