The God of Football Starts With Passive Skills-Chapter 190 - 57: The Secret Weapon Is Effective! A One-Sided DFB-Pokal Semifinal! No Dark Horses in the Second Half of the Bundesliga
This was something very difficult for many full-backs to defend against.
Furthermore, Tony Kroos’s diagonal passes from the wing and his long, cross-field switches were exceptionally precise.
On the left wing, Tony Kroos was adept at Passing, while on the right, the Brazilian player Renato Augusto was skilled at the Breakthrough.
Bayer Leverkusen’s two wings were actually very dangerous.
Looking at their squad configuration, this lineup was absolutely capable of getting results.
That was why in the first half of the season, Bayer Leverkusen’s performance had been stunning, their attacks relentless like a surging tide.
However, Labbadia’s conflict with the management was escalating, leading to many problems within the team’s locker room as well.
Now, a title challenge was definitely out of the question.
Bayer Leverkusen’s only goal was the DFB-Pokal!
"Frankly, I don’t really think much of Mainz."
Labbadia had a very illustrious professional career, so naturally, he had high standards.
"But I still have to say, we can look down on this team, but we must take our opponent seriously."
"They’ve made it this far, so they must have something special."
"I also firmly believe that we are far stronger than them, and the match two weeks ago is the best proof of that!"
"I hope that tonight, with more than fifty thousand fans watching, you will all give your best performance."
"Finally, let me remind you one more time. Our defenders and midfielders, when you’re marking Wang Shuo, get physical with him whenever you have the chance. That’s his weakness. Don’t give him any breathing room!"
"Shut him down, and Mainz will be completely toothless!"
"Tonight, we will punch our ticket to Berlin for the end of May!"
The Olympic Stadium Berlin at the end of May—the venue for the DFB-Pokal final.
...
It was an incredibly fierce contest!
Almost as soon as the match began, both sides engaged in direct, physical, close-quarters combat.
Less than a minute into the game, Vidal took down Hainauer with a slide tackle, injecting a tough element into the match.
Bayer Leverkusen stuck to their high-press tactics.
Relying on their numerical and skill advantage in the midfield, they immediately put Mainz on the back foot right from the start.
Just 1 minute and 32 seconds into the game, near the left touchline in Mainz’s half, Tony Kroos received a pass from his teammate Kadlec behind him and sent a through ball past the defensive line.
Kiesling made a quick diagonal run into the left side of the penalty area, received the ball, and hit a square pass across the face of the goal.
Helmes unleashed a furious shot with his left foot, but it was blocked by the combined efforts of the charging goalkeeper Wach and center-back Nowitzki.
The ball hit goalkeeper Wach’s hands and went out for a corner.
Corner kick.
Wang Shuo stood at the bottom of the center circle in his own half.
He saw Tony Kroos take the corner, but it was headed clear by a Mainz player.
He immediately started running.
But the ball was still at the feet of a Bayer Leverkusen player.
In the 4-4-1-1 formation, Wang Shuo was isolated up front as the lone striker.
He kept chasing the ball.
But the Bayer Leverkusen players were technically solid, stringing together a series of passes.
Before Wang Shuo could get close, Friedrich sent a medium-long pass to the other center-back, Sinkywitz.
Wang Shuo immediately changed direction and charged toward Sinkywitz.
In truth, this kind of running was often ineffective.
But Wang Shuo had to run.
As long as he had the stamina, he had to keep running.
No one ever knew when an opportunity might arise.
Several of his goal-scoring chances had been created through his tireless, energy-sapping runs.
For a team like Mainz, they had to fight and scrap for every single sliver of an opportunity!
That’s how they had gotten this far!
Bayer Leverkusen’s advantage in the midfield and attack was very obvious.
Mainz was completely on the defensive.
To what extent?
For the first 10 minutes, the game was played entirely in Mainz’s half.
Whenever Mainz won the ball back, it was difficult for them to even get it out of their own 30-meter zone.
Because Bayer Leverkusen immediately started to press to win it back.
The Mainz players couldn’t hold onto the ball, nor could they pass it out.
This same situation had occurred in the match two weeks ago.
It wasn’t until the 11th minute that Mainz had a chance to enter Bayer Leverkusen’s half.
Foyelner carried the ball over the halfway line on the left flank, but before he could make a pass, he was blocked by Castro and immediately chose to pass it back.
The ball was back in Mainz’s half again.
Bayer Leverkusen began to press forward.
Wang Shuo was trying to run into space up front, but when he saw the ball passed backward, he had no choice but to track back as well.
Mainz’s first real attack into Bayer Leverkusen’s half occurred in the 15th minute.
Wang Shuo finally received the ball near the center circle.
As he controlled the ball and turned to sprint, he was fouled in a timely manner by Friedrich.
After Mainz took the free-kick quickly, they seized the opportunity. Helle sent a through ball into the space behind the defense.
Schürrle made a high-speed run up the right wing, but when he took a touch, he couldn’t cross it in time and knocked the ball straight out of play over the byline.
Wang Shuo looked up at the clock; it was exactly 16 minutes in.
Even though the chance was gone, he still gave Schürrle a thumbs-up and applauded.
The overwhelming advantage on the field made Labbadia appear exceptionally calm on the sidelines.
With his hands in his pockets, he would occasionally gesture and direct his players.
Klopp, on the other hand...
...Uncle Mustache was getting agitated on the sidelines, constantly shouting at his players, yelling at them to push forward, push forward...
The problem was, they just couldn’t do it!
Looking back at all the matches over the entire season, Wang Shuo had figured it out.
When Klopp’s system went up against teams that could match their running intensity but possessed superior individual talent, especially technical ability, they often found themselves on the back foot.
