Chapter 423 - 91: Advancing to the Final! Wang Shuo Goes Berserk! The Most Important Renewal in History

"Damn it, how did the match turn out like this?"

In front of the home team’s bench, Flores was on the verge of a breakdown.

The situation was completely beyond his expectations!

According to the opening strategy he and his coaching staff had meticulously designed, the plan was to score within the first 10 minutes. This would have turned the aggregate score in their favor.

Afterwards, Atletico Madrid would settle into their preferred rhythm of defense and counter-attack.

’Doesn’t Dortmund love to press high up the pitch?’

’Then let them push forward.’

Aguero, Fran, and Reyes were all masters of the counter-attack with superb individual skill.

’As long as the Bumblebees pushed up, Atletico Madrid would defend and launch a counter. Wouldn’t every single one be a sure-fire goal?’

Most importantly, Flores knew his own strengths and weaknesses.

He was a master at coaching defense.

But when it came to organizing the offense, that wasn’t his forte.

Flores’s strategy was for the offense to rely on the individual brilliance of his star forwards.

This worked well for counter-attacks, but it clearly wasn’t enough when they got bogged down trying to break down a set defense.

"This Wang Shuo is really hard to deal with!" Assistant coach Antonio Diaz shook his head in frustration.

"I have a feeling his form tonight is even better than in the first leg!"

It was a very obvious change.

"Yeah, we can’t stop him at all!" the other assistant coach, Escriva, said helplessly.

Flores clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. "So what do we do now? Do you have any good ideas?"

His two assistants looked at each other, at a loss for words.

With the match in this state, what good ideas could there possibly be?

Dortmund was now leading 2-1, making the aggregate score 5-3.

In other words, if Atletico Madrid wanted to advance, they needed to score at least two goals just to level the aggregate score.

Only then would they have a chance to go to extra time after 90 minutes.

Scoring two goals without conceding another wasn’t impossible.

"We still need to stabilize ourselves first. Dortmund has complete control of the tempo right now. If this continues, it’s only a matter of time before we concede again," Dias said, worried.

"And that Wang Shuo... we have to mark him tightly," Escriva added.

After a moment of thought, Flores walked to the sideline and called over several players, including Antonio Lopez and Assunção.

At the same time, he had center-back Domingos pull the defensive line back to stabilize their formation first.

But inside, he was so furious he could feel his teeth ache.

’This is our home turf, yet we’re playing so wretchedly!’

"It’s all that damn Chinese player’s fault!"

Flores cursed angrily.

But when he looked again at Aguero and Fran up front, his resolve hardened.

’With Atletico Madrid’s attacking power, there will definitely be a chance in the second half. We can take advantage when Dortmund’s stamina is nearly depleted.’

After all, in the away leg, Atletico Madrid had held an overwhelming advantage after the 70th minute.

If it weren’t for Wang Shuo’s goal, Atletico Madrid would have completely dominated.

The thought only deepened Flores’s resentment toward Wang Shuo.

’The guy is just too strong!’

’He’s practically on the same level as Barça’s Messi and Real Madrid’s Ronaldo!’

’When he goes on a rampage, he’s completely unstoppable!’

「...」

The Atletico Madrid fans in Calderon Stadium were still cheering for their players on the pitch.

After seeing his team turn the score around to 2-1 and Atletico Madrid starting to fall back to reinforce their defense, Klopp immediately called over to Wang Shuo, Shahin, and Hummels, signaling for them to control the tempo.

The situation was now in Dortmund’s favor.

Most importantly, Klopp was also starting to realize just how effective Wang Shuo was on the front line.

’This kid is just too versatile!’

Klopp sat comfortably in the away team’s dugout, grinning from ear to ear.

He had nothing but praise for Wang Shuo!

He especially felt that since agreeing to a contract extension with the team, Wang Shuo was performing even better than he had in the first leg.

This was a normal phenomenon for professional players.

"If the team had renewed his contract earlier, maybe we wouldn’t have had such a bumpy ride."

Hearing Klopp’s complaint, Buvac couldn’t help but laugh.

Back in their Mainz days, he had been very optimistic about Wang Shuo.

You could say he had watched Wang Shuo’s entire journey, from being a complete unknown to now being renowned throughout Europe and even the world of football, becoming a hot commodity.

In just three short years, everything had changed dramatically.

"With Wang Shuo up front, Götze and Shahin in the midfield, and Hummels and Subotic at the back, we can control the tempo with a spine like that."

Buvac voiced some of his thoughts.

"Right now, more and more teams are trying to exploit our fitness issues in the last half hour of the match. I actually think we can use this spine to really play to our strengths."

Klopp understood what Buvac meant.

Next season, Dortmund would be playing in the Champions League.

The intensity of the matches and the ferocity of the competition would surely far exceed the current UEFA Europa League.

And they would definitely face teams with superior passing ability like Barça, Arsenal, and Real Madrid.

If Dortmund stuck with their current style of play, it simply wouldn’t work.

They had to upgrade and evolve their tactics!

’Mindlessly playing fast and mindlessly running isn’t always a good thing!’

"You and the staff should look into this. Use the summer pre-season to prepare and figure out how to manage stamina more effectively," Klopp instructed.

"Also, we need to strengthen our injury prevention and management. We’ve had a few too many injuries this season."

As soon as Kael got injured, Dortmund’s squad selection became stretched thin.