His roars could be heard even from far away after he entered the locker room.
He was clearly flying into a rage.
In the Mainz locker room, by contrast, Klopp was the picture of calm.
But Klopp also reminded everyone.
"The start of the second half will be very, very difficult!"
Bayer Leverkusen’s tactical approach was actually a bit like Mainz’s.
They would definitely play to their strengths in the second half, launching an all-out attack to try and equalize as quickly as possible.
And Mainz was not the type of team to just sit back, defend desperately, and wait for their doom.
"Wang, rember what I said. In the second half, no matter how much danger our back line is in, you are to stay up front."
Wang Shuo was the only person on the Mainz squad who could threaten Bayer Leverkusen’s goal.
If even he dropped back, the Pharmacy would surely push everyone forward.
The pressure on the midfield and defense would only increase.
"I understand."
"Alright, n!"
Klopp clapped his hands forcefully, drawing everyone’s attention to him.
"These last 45 minutes will be the ultimate test of courage, determination, and fighting spirit!"
"In the first half, we took the lead thanks to Wang’s goal. Our situation in the second half will be even tougher."
"But as long as we work together and hold off Bayer Leverkusen’s attacks, our opponents will be the ones who start to panic!"
At this, Klopp turned and looked at Wang Shuo again.
"Seize your chance, deal our opponents another fatal blow, and completely extinguish their hope!"
If it weren’t for that goal in the 39th minute, Mainz would have truly been in despair.
For most of the first half, the ga had been played in Mainz’s own half.
Forget about taking a shot; it was difficult to even get a pass into Bayer Leverkusen’s penalty area.
But with that one goal, the situation was completely different.
Now Mainz had hope, and the players had confidence.
As the team returned to the pitch and was about to get into formation, the captain, Nowitzki, specifically called everyone into their own penalty area to stand with the goalkeeper, Dimo Wahe.
Everyone stood in a circle, shoulder to shoulder, heads together.
"Brothers, this is the last 45 minutes!"
"I don’t know what the final result will be, but I know we absolutely cannot leave any regrets—for ourselves, for Mainz, or for the fans!"
"Bayer Leverkusen is a powerhouse, and we’ve always just been the *Arsch* everyone looks down on!"
"But now, we’re going to make the whole world hear the voice of Mainz!"
"See it through to the end!!"
"Let’s go!! Let’s go!! Let’s go!!!"
Wang Shuo and all his teammates shouted in unison, then dispersed to their positions.
...
The second half began.
Just as Klopp had predicted, Bayer Leverkusen went on the attack from the very start.
They pushed their entire team forward, relentlessly organizing and planning their offensive waves.
The two center-forwards, Kiesling and Hels, were practically camped out in Mainz’s penalty area.
Passes from behind them and from both flanks were constantly sent to their heads or their feet.
Mainz’s players, however, were incredibly resilient.
First, in the 53rd minute, Sinkywitz sent a long pass with pinpoint accuracy to the right side of the penalty area.
Hels chased it down and unleashed a furious shot, but the goalkeeper, Wach, held his ground at the post and blocked it out for a corner.
The angle was too tight.
But on the subsequent corner kick, Tony Kroos delivered a precise ball into Mainz’s penalty area, causing a mont of chaos.
In the ensuing scramble, the young Bungert even ca dangerously close to scoring an own goal.
The ball grazed the post on its way out for another corner.
Imdiately, it was another corner kick.
This ti, it was a header from Vidal, which went just wide.
On the Chile National Team, Vidal played as a left-back and center-back; headers were one of his specialties.
Under Bayer Leverkusen’s constant pressure, in the 57th minute, Pekovic fouled Rolfes and received a yellow card.
It was the first yellow card of the match.
The tempo of the ga was fast for both teams, and the match was very intense, but flagrant fouls were actually rare.
That was actually one of the great things about the Bundesliga.
anwhile, Wang Shuo remained positioned at the very front.
But he was still running constantly.
The mont his team won the ball, he would start sprinting.
’What if a pass cos my way?’
Besides, his constant running also wore down the opposing center-backs.
Bayer Leverkusen kept up the pressure for about fifteen minutes before their attack finally eased up a little.
But Mainz still found it incredibly difficult to get the ball into the final third.
Take this instance, for example.
Kalhan suddenly pressed high and won the ball near the halfway line, just inside their own half.
Pressured by Tony Kroos, he passed it back to Pekovic.
Pekovic was the deepest-lying midfielder and the designated outlet, but by the ti he was about to receive the ball, Vidal was already on top of him.
So, Pekovic could only rush a straight pass forward.
He was trying to find Wang Shuo, but the pass went astray.
Wang Shuo didn’t have wings, nor could he teleport.
The ball went past Wang Shuo and was intercepted by Sinkywitz.
And so, Bayer Leverkusen organized another attack.
Things like this happened again and again throughout the match.
The players’ limited ability made it difficult for Mainz to maintain possession under such high pressure from Bayer Leverkusen.
And Vidal’s presence was crucial for Bayer Leverkusen’s midfield.
Especially his relentless running and sweeping coverage.
It was the sa principle as Wang Shuo’s coverage up front.
But Bayer Leverkusen’s situation was different.
After getting the ball, Sinkywitz also just booted it long, trying to find Kiesling and Hels up front.
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