After laying out the tactics, Coach Schaaf looked seriously at his players.
"I know this will be difficult. You need to withstand their relentless attacks while conserving your energy for a counterattack in the final stages, especially the attacking players who will play the full match!"
As Schaaf spoke, he looked toward Lin Quan and asked,
"Lin, do you still have the strength to run?"
Lin Quan nodded. Although he had used up a great deal of stamina, he still had the system's Stamina Potion as a backup.
If it came down to it, he could spend some Points to buy a Stamina Potion. It would last exactly thirty minutes!
"Good. Then I won't substitute you off. The team needs your dribbling ability to change the scoreline. In the second half, watch how you manage your stamina so that you still have the strength to sprint in the final stages. Understand?"
Lin Quan nodded heavily. He could clearly feel just how much expectation the Head Coach had placed in his words!
Fifteen minutes later, the match resumed.
The frantic goals at the end of the first half had completely shaken Dortmund's players out of the dazed state they had been in at the start.
They firmly believed they were invincible at home. No enemy could stop their attack!
Thus, from the very start of the second half, Dortmund's players continued to carry out their high press in the front field with conviction.
This kind of stamina-draining running was probably something only a team like Dortmund, perpetually fired up on adrenaline, could keep executing!
Werder Bremen's players clearly could not do the same. They simply could not outrun them.
Of course, this style of play had major limitations as well.
Once the players grew older and injuries began piling up, their ability to execute this tactic would decline severely.
And once other league opponents gradually adapted to this style, they would quickly develop tactics to counter it.
Therefore, after several peak seasons, if the team could not further refine and alter its tactical approach, its results might plummet.
Historically, Dortmund's results began declining after the 2012–13 season. In the 2014–15 season, they even briefly became a relegation-threatened team.
Had the team not regained form in the final stretch, taking 13 Points from six matches and climbing out of the relegation zone, they might truly have been relegated.
Squeezing out their stamina and potential like this could easily cause injuries. Take Dortmund's summer signing Reus, for example. After joining Dortmund, he began suffering injuries frequently and missed national team matches several times because of them!
A large part of that was caused by Klopp's tactical style.
Just like Liverpool's injury-ravaged situation this season.
Klopp was a good coach, but he was not suitable for every player.
For someone like Lin Quan, he felt that Klopp's tactical style did not suit him particularly well. The same went for Atletico Madrid's Simeone.
On the pitch, Dortmund's players pressed and ran with tremendous effort.
But their opponents no longer played along. Werder Bremen did not raise the tempo alongside them as they had at the beginning of the first half, nor did they trade attacks with them.
Instead, they set up an Iron Bucket Formation, packing their own half with players and using dense defending to limit the opponent's attack.
Dortmund's attacking firepower was indeed fierce, but when their opponents set up an Iron Bucket Formation, they did not have many good solutions.
There were simply too many people in the penalty area, and Werder Bremen had brought on several fresh players.
Those players' aggressive challenges caused Dortmund's attacks to come to nothing time and again, so they began attempting long shots from outside the box.
Long shots and set pieces were standard methods for dealing with dense defenses.
Since Werder Bremen dared to deploy an Iron Bucket Formation, they naturally had prepared for this.
Through zonal cover, they restricted the opponent's passing and ensured that defensive players were always close enough to interfere with the shots of Dortmund's most dangerous midfield and attacking players.
With their shots disrupted, Dortmund's players sent several attempts blazing high over the bar in succession, failing to pose any threat to Werder Bremen's goal.
On the sidelines, Klopp could no longer sit still. This opponent's tactic was downright disgusting.
He really wanted to ask Schaaf: You're behind on the scoreline, so what's the point of defending?
If the match dragged on at this score, Dortmund would be the ones who won in the end!
Were they really going to willingly accept defeat like this?
If the team in the lead right now had been Barca, then any opponent daring to set up an Iron Bucket Formation would simply be handing Barca the victory.
They could use passing to run down the clock and exhaust their opponents!
But Tiki-taka was not Dortmund's style, nor did they have such a tactical alternative.
So Klopp could only tell his players to be more patient. They were the ones leading, so the opponents should be the anxious ones.
If this had not been their home ground, he might even have wanted his players to retreat into their own half and play on the counter.
But judging by the opponent's posture, even if Dortmund truly pulled back, Werder Bremen might not necessarily attack.
If the other side did not attack, and both teams parked the bus in their own halves, how ugly would this match become? Wouldn't the fans in the stadium boo the roof off?
Klopp cared about appearances. Since his team was leading anyway, there was no need to go that far.
If the team could score one more goal, the result of the match would no longer be in doubt. Then there would be nothing to worry about!
Klopp hoped his team could score another goal, but his hopes came to nothing.
With Werder Bremen's players united in defense, Dortmund attacked furiously for over twenty minutes yet still failed to breach their opponents' goal again.
During those twenty-plus minutes, they had over 70% possession and fired 17 shots, 12 of them from long range. They practically besieged the opponent's goal.
Unfortunately, although they had plenty of shots, fewer than half were on target, and not one of them resulted in a goal.
After going so long without scoring, coupled with the fading effects of their earlier adrenaline rush, Dortmund's players began hitting a physical wall. Their running speed and intensity on the pitch both showed an obvious decline.
In the 55th minute, seeing their opponents' stamina drop and their high press weaken,
Werder Bremen's players finally began to counterattack!
In an instant, they raised the tempo of the match and abandoned their previous defensive shell, launching an attack toward Dortmund.
Dortmund's players were clearly startled. Their opponents had been pinned down and battered for over twenty minutes, and they had almost instinctively assumed the other side would not fight back.
Yet the moment they relaxed even slightly, their opponents launched a furious counterattack.
That gave Dortmund's players a bad feeling!
"So this is your tactic? You don't dare fight for the whole match, only for the first five minutes and the last five minutes?"
Dortmund's Head Coach Klopp was the first to react, guessing his opponents' intentions.
The moment he recalled the sharp counterattacks at the start of the match and the two goals they had conceded, his heart gave a violent thump. He immediately realized the danger!
"Quick, fall back! Don't let them get their counterattack going!"
If Werder Bremen could produce another terrifying counterattack like they had in the first half, Dortmund's goal would be in danger!
They were only one goal ahead. If the opponent scored, both sides would be back on level terms!
And there was not much time left in the match. Once it was tied, they might not have enough time to score another goal and turn the score around.
If that happened, they would be dragged into a Penalty Shootout!
So this was your true goal?
Klopp turned to look at the opposing bench. Over there, Werder Bremen's coach had already risen to the touchline, his eyes bright as he watched the pitch and followed the team's counterattack.
Klopp's guess was completely correct. Werder Bremen truly wanted to drag the match into a Penalty Shootout.
After an entire match, they had almost no stamina left. They could only support one high-quality counterattack.
If this attack succeeded, then encouraged by it, they might still be able to dig deep, defend desperately, and hold on through the final few minutes of normal time.
If this counterattack failed, they would have no strength left to alter the scoreline and could only accept defeat.
And this counterattacking chance had been earned through the entire team's all-out defensive effort in the second half, preventing the opponent from extending the lead.
Otherwise, once the score gap exceeded one goal, even if they completed a counterattack, it would be useless.
So they absolutely could not miss this opportunity!
The ball rapidly moved from Werder Bremen's backfield to the front, arriving at De Bruyne's feet.
Under the tugging of Dortmund's number 5, he gave everything he had and passed the ball away just before falling.
At the moment he fell, he saw the number 10 in green sprinting at full speed up front.
Lin, it's up to you. You have to score!
Lin Quan did not want to let De Bruyne's assist go to waste. He had practically strolled around for more than ten minutes in the second half just to conserve his strength for this lethal strike.
And now, it was time to use it!
After receiving the ball, he feinted sideways, evading Dortmund's number 7 Leitner's challenge. Then, with one stride, he burst into the penalty area and dribbled past the covering Ginter.
There were no defenders left in front of him, only the goalkeeper!
So Lin Quan decisively raised his foot, aiming at the goal and preparing to shoot.
But at that moment, a figure charged in from behind and to the side, sliding in before Lin Quan could get his shot away.
The ball was kicked clear, and Lin Quan fell inside the penalty area as well.
Every spectator in the stadium rose to their feet involuntarily and looked toward the referee, unsure how he would rule.
The referee rushed into the penalty area immediately and pointed toward the penalty spot.
Penalty!
Before you continue