Chapter 861: Half-Time Break

"A surprising result for the first half! Somehow, Schalke 04, today’s underdog, managed to steal a point first and hold on to the lead until the end! Michael, what do you think about it?"

Right after the referee blew the whistle three times in a row, the camera shifted back to the studio, where Daniel Herzog and Michael Ballack were ready to analyze what had happened so far in the game.

Hearing the question flying at him, the legendary midfielder coughed for a moment before answering, "The surprise is not from Schalke’s side here. We have already talked about what those two Japanese boys are capable of when they are on fire, and it is clear that they are in their best state today, right?"

"Yes! 5 saves so far for Ryusuke Higo, and an assist for Koki Morita! I have to say that they are the main protagonists so far." The host nodded in agreement.

"The surprise, though, comes from Dortmund’s side." Ballack leaned slightly, trying to get himself serious. "I mean, only five entries to the penalty box, and three of them come from Jude Bellingham while the other two from Raphael Guerreiro. Only two passes arrived at Haaland’s feet as well. This is definitely not a level of performance that a team like Dortmund should have."

"Also, let’s talk about their defense," Ballack added, wanting nothing but to tear Dortmund apart for their lackluster performance. "I love Hummels to death, but that goal shouldn’t happen if he coordinated well with Manuel Akanji. That lack of communication in the counterattack scenario is always his problem, and this costs his team a goal that should be avoidable."

Daniel Herzog nodded as well, clearly agreeing with the words. However, as a host, of course, it was his job to throw a thought-provoking question.

"So, you mean Schalke’s lead could be credited to Dortmund’s terrible performance?"

To his surprise, though, Ballack didn’t even hesitate to answer that.

"Yeah. While I admit Schalke’s two Japanese players are good, you cannot say the same for the others. Hell, you could also see how many times that goalkeeper snapped, right? He has a reason to be like that, since so many lazy actions could be seen on Schalke’s defensive end. Once again, it is Dortmund’s fault that they couldn’t even take advantage of it to tie the game."

Daniel Herzog had a sweat drop on his face right now. He knew that Ballack was still new in this pundit territory, but attacking the team so bluntly like this was definitely not a good idea.

Still, when he glanced around subtly at the production team, they just shook their head, signaling him to let Ballack cook whatever he had in mind. It was clear that the audience loved the man’s blunt honesty, especially those who were Dortmund supporters who also thought the same.

"So, what do you think would Dortmund do next?" The host asked, deciding to focus on the home team’s part.

"Well, if I were them, I would at least make two changes," Ballack answered, showing two fingers like a sign of peace at the camera.

"The first one is to take off Giovanni Reyna. He is a talented player, but unfortunately, today, he played like a confused person, not knowing where to go. He wasn’t there to attack the flank when Raphael Guerreiro backed down, and he stuck there instead of shrinking into the box when Guerreiro was about to attack. Their coordination is terrible, and one of them has to go."

Well, Daniel Herzog couldn’t deny this part. He himself didn’t see Giovanni Reyna doing much except that one half-volley chance that went far high to the sky.

"As for the second one, free Jude Bellingham from his task of guarding Morita." Ballack continued. "We have seen how talented this young Englishman is so far, but his start is always late because he has to dodge Morita’s side first. Don’t forget that Morita is also a smart guy when it comes to defense, and he would always be able to slow Bellingham down in any moment."

Once again, the host nodded along, accepting this analysis. They talked for a while about everything while also waiting for the break to be over. Little did they know, though, that Ballack’s analysis was shared by Borussia Dortmund’s head coach, Lucien Favre.

Soon enough, once the referee was back on the pitch again, all players from both teams followed. This time, though, Dortmund decided to make two quick changes, taking advantage of the new rule that added the substitution to five for both teams in every game.

There, Axel Witsel, a big dude with an afro, was ready, followed by the handsome captain Marco Reus, who was still warming up on the sideline. After waiting for a while, the fourth referee finally raised the board, signaling who they were going to replace.

The former went for Thomas Delaney as the holding midfielder, while the latter came for Giovanni Reyna, who was not effective in the first half.

"So, Axel Witsel coming in to support the mid and free Jude Bellingham from his task there, while Marco Reus joins the game to put a better ball to the box, feeding Haaland with more passes." Daniel Herzog commented once he connected the dots. "It seems that Lucien Favre agrees with your assessment, Michael." He looked at his friend teasingly.

"At least, it shows that he is a competent coach." Ballack nodded in agreement. "Now, we have to see what kind of an adjustment that Torsten Frohling will make, because if he didn’t do anything, it would be him who got killed later."

Soon enough, all the players were finally ready on the pitch. Goncalo Paciencia and Fabian Reese were currently waiting, while the rest of the Schalke players behind were quite excited to start the second half. After all, their kick-off game was quite strong, and they couldn’t wait to see whether it would be enough to get into Dortmund’s defense or not.

After a while, though, the referee finally got the OK signal from all of his assistants, and...

FWEEE!