After this round of league matches,
UEFA held the draw for the Champions League semifinals.
The four teams that reached the last four this season were Barcelona, Atlético Madrid, Bayern, and Dortmund.
Real Madrid were unexpectedly eliminated, losing 4-1 away to Dortmund.
Klopp's young team showed terrifying energy in that match.
With Madrid out,
the main storyline of the semifinals became Spain versus Germany.
The draw itself was quick and simple.
It was over in ten minutes.
And the result was basically what everyone had expected:
Spain against Germany, one pair after another.
Barcelona drew Bayern.
Atlético Madrid drew Dortmund.
Both La Liga clubs got the more favorable scheduling, playing away first and then at home.
Since the season was already entering its final sprint,
the gaps between Champions League rounds were very short.
The first legs of the semifinals would begin in just two weeks.
And for Atlético Madrid, the schedule was especially brutal.
Between those two legs,
they had to play Real Madrid in the league.
In other words,
they would go to Germany to play Dortmund, return home to face Real Madrid, and then three days later play Dortmund again.
Atlético Madrid were level on points with Barcelona.
That meant any league defeat could end up ruining their title chase.
So these three matches more or less decided what Atlético would get out of the season.
Lose to Real Madrid, and the league title race would be in danger.
Lose to Dortmund, and they were out of Europe.
Before all that, Atlético still had two more league matches to play.
First, in Matchday 31, they hosted Granada.
Thanks to a rare goal from Gabi, they won 1-0 away from home.
Then came Matchday 32.
Atlético traveled away to Sevilla.
In that match, Shane scored once, and the team won 2-1.
Atlético kept their form extremely steady.
Three days after that league round,
the first leg of the Champions League semifinal arrived.
Barcelona traveled to Munich to face Bayern.
Before kickoff, people generally expected a huge battle.
Whoever wanted to beat the other side would have a very hard time.
But the result shocked everyone.
Barcelona lost 4-0 away to Bayern.
They did not even get an away goal.
Bayern swept Barcelona 4-0 at home, against all expectations.
For a moment, people were shouting that the "space team" Barça had fallen back to earth.
And after that match,
Spanish media began worrying about Atlético Madrid.
The intensity Bayern showed shocked the Spanish.
And Dortmund, who had been competing fiercely with Bayern on all fronts in the Bundesliga this season,
were at least in the same tier as Bayern.
Could Klopp's wild young team really be contained by Atlético Madrid?
...
"Dortmund are very strong, especially at home. I've heard of the reputation of the Westfalenstadion, so we won't take this lightly."
In his pre-match interview,
Shane did not talk big.
He sounded fairly low-key.
People thought that was normal.
For Atlético Madrid this season,
reaching the semifinals alone was already a rare achievement.
They had hardly played any knockout football since the Champions League format changed.
And Dortmund, on the other side, were a team that had won the Champions League back in 1998, and were also a member of the G14 elite group.
But then Shane's next words made the reporters forget all about his supposed modesty.
"What are your expectations for the rest of the Champions League?"
"Since we've made it all the way to the semifinals, do you really expect me to say something like 'the semifinals are already excellent, we've exceeded expectations'?" Shane shook his head. "Obviously it's the title."
Then he turned and walked away.
Leaving the reporters a little stunned.
But they quickly came to their senses.
He was right.
If you've made it to the semifinals,
who wouldn't want to push for everything?
...
On match day,
the Westfalenstadion once again showed its astonishing home atmosphere.
The Südtribüne was packed wall to wall.
This is one of the few remaining standing terraces in Europe.
In the past,
fans used to watch football standing on the terraces.
They would sing and jump to create a mad atmosphere and put huge pressure on the visitors.
But because standing terraces were too crowded,
there had been many stampede accidents in history.
So UEFA gradually required clubs to convert standing areas into seated ones.
At the Westfalenstadion's South Stand,
standing was still allowed in domestic league matches under a special German exemption.
But in Champions League games,
the rules required temporary seating to be installed.
Even so,
Dortmund's fans didn't care.
They still packed the South Stand completely.
When the Champions League anthem sounded,
the two teams lined up and walked out.
"The players are already entering the pitch!" He Wei raised his voice.
At that moment,
the broadcast showed a stunning image.
On the Dortmund South Stand,
a gigantic display covered the entire terrace.
Yellow and black were the main colors.
A black devil, holding a telescope, stared down at the players walking out of the tunnel.
Combined with the wild atmosphere in the stadium,
the sense of pressure was unimaginable.
"This is one of the wildest home grounds in all of Europe, a stadium famous throughout the world as a true hellish fortress... Atlético Madrid's players will have to endure immense pressure here!"
Xu Yang took a deep breath and said.
Online,
fans were also shocked.
"Damn, this is insanely intense."
"Wow..."
"A draw would already be a win here."
"Bayern just smashed Barça 4-0. Bundesliga teams are seriously strong this season!"
"Klopp's Dortmund youth side is even more insane than Bayern..."
"Shane Carter: I wonder if I can hold this down..."
Fans were talking excitedly.
Meanwhile, He Wei was busy announcing the lineups.
"Both teams are fielding their strongest possible sides. For the home team Dortmund, there is some off-field news: their main attacking player Götze has already agreed to join Bayern next season, but he also can't play in this match because German media say he has a calf muscle injury... Apart from Götze, everyone else who can play is in the starting XI..."
"Dortmund are usually set up in a 4-2-3-1 this season. Weidenfeller is in goal, Hummels and Subotić at center-back, Schmelzer at left-back, Piszczek at right-back, Bender and Gündoğan as the double pivot, Reus at attacking midfield, Kuba on the right, Großkreutz on the left, and Lewandowski up front!"
"Atlético Madrid are also using their strongest side. Courtois in goal, Miranda and Godín at center-back, Juanfran at right-back, Filipe at left-back, Koke, Shane Carter, Gabi, and Raúl García in midfield, with Diego Costa and Griezmann up front..."
After the commentators finished reading the lineups,
the two teams were already set in their positions on the pitch.
The home side Dortmund kicked off first.
Lewandowski stood in the center circle.
At the referee's whistle,
he tapped the ball to Gündoğan.
Then he turned and sprinted forward.
At the same time,
Großkreutz, Kuba, Reus, and even Piszczek and Schmelzer—
six Dortmund players on the halfway line—
all launched forward at full speed.
Gündoğan received the ball, paused for a moment,
and then sent a long pass forward.
"The match has begun!!"
The commentators finally shouted.
And Dortmund's attack had already burned its way to the edge of Atlético Madrid's box.
This was Klopp's madness.
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