Chapter 52 - 33: Klopp Panicked

"Now let’s look at the Mainz side."

Goalkeeper: Ischdonat;

Defense: Marco Rose, Nowitzki, Subotic, and Hogland;

Midfield: Gunkel, Pekovic, and Kalhan;

Forwards: Foyelner, Wang Shuo, and Balik.

"These are the players who have performed best during Mainz’s recent winning streak."

"Both sides have invested a great deal of resources and energy into this match. Now, it all comes down to who can secure the victory and seize the initiative for promotion to the Bundesliga."

...

"Hurry, hurry, the live feed is here."

"What the hell is the forum doing? Why is the feed so late?"

"They said there were too many people and the servers couldn’t handle it."

"Why didn’t they sort this out sooner?"

"Quick, look! We have a picture! The starting lineup... Wang Shuo!"

"Wang Shuo is really in the starting lineup!"

"Attaboy! Starting in a crucial match proves he’s the forward Mainz values most."

"This match is critical. Wang Shuo needs to give it his all."

"If they win this, we’ll get to see a Chinese player in the Bundesliga next season!"

"Let’s go, Wang Shuo!"

"Klopp’s formation is the same old story. It seems like he’s not very flexible."

"Cologne is stronger than Mainz. Both of their forwards are top-three scorers in the 2nd Bundesliga. This is very dangerous."

"That’s how it is for smaller clubs. You only have so many cards in your hand, so you’re bound to have holes in your game."

"Wang Shuo still needs to step it up, deliver better performances, and try to move to a bigger club soon."

"Didn’t someone say Bayern was interested in our Wang Shuo?"

"Bayern is stacked right now. They’ve got World-level forwards like Luca Tony, Podolski, and Gomez. Plus, they have their own Direct Lineage player, Thomas Müller, in the U19s. If Wang Shuo went there, he’d have no chance to play."

"Yeah, instead of warming the bench at Bayern, it’s better to stay at Mainz."

"The key is whether Mainz can get promoted to the Bundesliga."

"Isn’t that what they’re doing now?"

"Alright, stop arguing, everyone. It’s about to start."

...

With a blast from the referee’s whistle, the highly anticipated match officially began.

Both teams came thoroughly prepared, employing specific tactics to counter their opponent.

As a result, neither side could gain an advantage right from the kickoff.

Mainz wanted to press the attack, but Cologne wasn’t intimidated in the slightest.

A team coached by Dom was nothing to scoff at.

With a center-forward like Novakovic up front, as soon as they won the ball, they’d seize the opportunity to play a quick long pass to their tall striker.

After trying this a few times with little effect, they immediately switched to playing on the ground.

And they focused primarily on the two flanks.

Just four minutes into the game, Balik, while tracking back to help Hogland, fouled Broich on his overlapping run and was shown a yellow card.

If he hadn’t committed the foul, Hogland would have likely gotten the card instead.

When a full-back gets carded that early, it puts the team on the back foot.

This also made it clear that Cologne was indeed the stronger team.

But all of this was within Mainz’s expectations.

Wang Shuo ran tirelessly in the attacking third, constantly looking for opportunities.

After his excellent performances in the previous rounds, Cologne had tightened their defense on Wang Shuo.

Compounded by Mainz’s old problem of getting the ball out of midfield, Wang Shuo found it difficult to receive the ball up front.

However, because Cologne’s wing attacks were very active, Balik and Foyelner often had to drop back, which meant Wang Shuo had to stay up front to hold the line.

This meant he saw very little of the ball for a while.

He didn’t have much of a presence.

But he was still making a contribution.

If he weren’t holding the line up front, Cologne would have just pushed everyone forward.

Overall, although the match was deadlocked, the situation wasn’t dire.

It was within Mainz’s expectations.

Especially after the 10-minute mark, the game fell into a stalemate.

Both sides were neutralizing each other’s attacks, and neither could create a threatening offensive.

Then, in the 18th minute, Cologne launched a quick counterattack, once again with a long ball looking for Novakovic.

Nowitzki and Marco Rose both went to challenge for the header, but Marco Rose stopped just as he started to sprint.

In the end, Novakovic won the ball, heading it down to Helmes.

Helmes’s shot was off-target.

It wasn’t until that moment that everyone noticed Marco Rose lying on the grass in his own penalty area.

’We’re screwed!’

Seeing this from a distance, Wang Shuo felt a very ominous premonition.

The other Mainz players also had complicated expressions on their faces.

This season’s wave of injuries was like a Sword of Damocles hanging over every player’s head.

No one knew who would be the next to fall.

Especially for the veterans like Marco Rose who were over thirty.

The referee paused the match. The team doctor immediately entered the field, followed by a stretcher.

Demetraz appeared on the sideline to replace Marco Rose, who was being carried off on a stretcher.

It was obvious the injury was quite serious.

...

"A great opportunity!"

The moment Christopher Dom saw Mainz make the substitution, he was like a shark that had smelled blood, walking straight to the sideline.

"Umit."

Dom called the right-back on the side closer to the dugout, Ozat, over to the sideline and gave him a series of urgent instructions.

After the match restarted, Cologne abandoned their previous composure and decisively launched a fierce assault.

Ozat on the right flank was particularly active.

In fact, he was practically playing as a right winger.

Mainz’s defensive line, especially on the left flank, was suddenly in a state of panic.

18th minute, Marco Rose was subbed off due to injury.

21st minute, Ozat received the ball on the right wing and sent in a cross.

He wasn’t aiming for Novakovic, nor for Helmes.

Loda Antal, making a run from deep, met the ball with a powerful flick of the head, sending it into Mainz’s goal.

1-0!

The entire Rhein Energie Stadion erupted with the cheers of Cologne fans.

"He truly is a renowned German manager!"

"Christopher Dom’s in-game management is as magical as ever!"

"Right after the adjustment, Ozat assisted Antal for a goal from the right flank."

"This goal is a huge blow to Mainz."

"Their starting left-back gets injured and subbed off, and in the blink of an eye, they concede a goal."

"Now, the moment of truth has arrived for Mainz!"

The television broadcast also cut to the sideline.

Head coach Klopp had his face in his hands, clearly very disappointed with the conceded goal.

Although he could blame it on Marco Rose’s injury, a goal conceded is a goal conceded. The result couldn’t be changed.

More importantly, Cologne’s morale was now soaring.

The right flank, led by Ozat, began to relentlessly attack Mainz’s left side.

They weren’t satisfied with 1-0; they wanted to score more goals.

Preferably, they wanted to settle the match in one fell swoop.

It was just like this time last year, in that crucial relegation battle where Mainz played away against Bayern.

Three goals conceded in eight minutes!

Could it be? Was history about to repeat itself?

Klopp panicked.