Chapter 66

In the sixty-sixth minute, Thomas Müller took a ridiculously high shot from outside the penalty area, once again wasting Bayern Munich's attacking opportunity. The score was still 0-0, as if stuck with glue, without budging.

After this outrageous long shot, Müller was replaced by Guardiola.

Götze came on.

This was Bayern Munich's first substitution of the match, meaning they were about to start exerting themselves.

This season, very few teams, or rather almost none, had managed to resist Bayern Munich for more than sixty minutes without conceding a goal.

Mainz had.

But they were under tremendous pressure, and that pressure would only increase.

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With a two-goal lead and complete dominance of the game, Dortmund's coach Klopp could afford to pay attention to his rivals.

The coaches were animated as they discussed Bayern Munich's failure to break the deadlock.

Klopp was certainly happy, but he had to sternly remind his own people not to celebrate too early. There were still more than twenty minutes left in the game. Bayern Munich would definitely not be content with a draw in Mainz.

"Didn't Guardiola bring on Götze? That's the evidence. Bayern Munich is about to make a push."

Knowing Götze as he did, Klopp knew what he was there to do.

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Götze had only just come on when he pulled off a beautiful dribbling move. Faced with a Mainz player's defense, he pushed the ball through his opponent's legs, then accelerated past him while he was still stunned, completing the breakthrough.

"Wow! A beautiful nutmeg! It looks like Götze is in great form in this match! This is only the third minute since he came on as a substitute, his first touch! With almost no adjustment time, Götze has integrated into the game. This is definitely good news for Guardiola and Bayern Munich, who are in trouble!"

After Götze came on, Bayern Munich's advantage became even more obvious.

This advantage wasn't reflected in possession, Bayern Munich's possession rate was already very high, but rather in the threat they posed to the goal.

After breaking through the opponent, Götze sent a pass to Ribéry in the penalty area, who took a close-range shot!

The shot was blocked by Karius, who went to ground and used his feet.

Although there was still no goal, it was a very positive sign.

Guardiola made further adjustments, replacing Robben with "Swiss Messi" Shaqiri to further strengthen the breakthrough and crosses on the right flank.

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On the Dortmund side, at the same time as Bayern Munich made their second substitution, Dortmund's full-back Piszczek intercepted the ball in the attacking half and took a right-footed curler from twenty-five meters out, but the ball went over the crossbar.

Dortmund continued to suppress Hannover 96, giving them no chance at all.

Although Dortmund hadn't scored again, few believed that Hannover 96 could still turn the game around.

Even many Dortmund fans watching on television had begun to switch over to Bayern Munich's game.

They kept cheering for Tuchel and Mainz, hoping they could complete the task of stopping Bayern Munich and give Dortmund a hand.

In the eightieth minute, Bayern Munich launched an attack, causing chaos in front of the Mainz goal. Alaba took a shot in the melee, but it went wide.

"Alaba's shot went wide... It's already the eightieth minute, leaving Bayern Munich only ten minutes. Mainz is now defending with all their might, with no counterattacks at all. In fact, Bayern Munich only needs one goal, but it's hard to say when that one goal will come..."

Just as he finished speaking, Guardiola made another substitution, Bayern Munich's last substitution of the match.

He replaced Mandzukic with Lewandowski.

As soon as Lewandowski came on, he moved to the wing to get the ball, then passed it to Shaqiri, who came up to meet him.

Shaqiri crossed from the right, the ball flew to the front of the goal, and "Little Pig" Schweinsteiger suddenly burst in diagonally, jumping up and heading the ball into the goal from close range!

This time, Mainz goalkeeper Karius, who had been quick to react and performed brilliantly, could no longer do anything effective. He could only watch as the ball flew into the goal he was guarding!

"Schweinsteiger! Schweinsteiger! Schweinsteiger—!" the commentator shouted excitedly. "In the eighty-second minute, Schweinsteiger breaks the deadlock for Bayern Munich! They lead 1-0!"

When Schweinsteiger scored, Guardiola, who had been squatting anxiously on the ground, jumped up and opened his arms to embrace the coaching staff who rushed up to him.

This goal had been waited for for eighty-two minutes. The huge stone that had been pressing on everyone's hearts could finally be lifted...

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"Ah! Damn it!" When Klopp heard the news that Bayern Munich had scored, he couldn't control his emotions, slapped his thigh hard, and leaned back in his chair, not wanting to say anything.

Although the game wasn't over yet, he knew that once Bayern Munich scored, Mainz was doomed to lose. The Bayern Munich players, having regained their confidence, would never allow any more surprises to happen in the game.

Then he got up from his seat, walked to the sidelines, and shouted the names of his players, reminding them not to relax too much.

Then he turned around and asked assistant coach Buvac to call back Großkreutz, who was warming up. He was going to make a substitution.

The battle between Dortmund and Bayern Munich was far from over. There was still a long journey ahead, and he had to protect his star player.

Soon, Klopp made a substitution, replacing Zhou Yi with Großkreutz. Mkhitaryan returned to his usual position in the center, and Großkreutz replaced him on the wing.

It wasn't until Zhou Yi left the field that Hannover 96 created their first good chance of the second half in the eighty-sixth minute—Bittencourt and Schmiedebach combined, then Bittencourt cut into the right side of the penalty area and passed the ball back to the center. Stindl shot with his right foot from eleven meters out, but the shot lacked power and was easily caught by Dortmund goalkeeper Weidenfeller.

When Zhou Yi was on the field, Dortmund had firmly suppressed Hannover 96 in all aspects, not giving the opponent even such an opportunity. After Zhou Yi left the field, Dortmund's control decreased slightly, and Hannover 96 had a chance to catch their breath.

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Almost at the same time that Hannover 96 created a chance, Bayern Munich also launched a deadly attack at Mainz's Opel Arena.

Lahm sent a long pass directly from the backfield. Ribéry successfully beat the offside trap in the attacking half and received Lahm's pass, creating a one-on-one opportunity.

Seeing this, Mainz goalkeeper Karius had no choice but to abandon his goal and try to block Ribéry's shooting angle.

Ribéry attracted Karius to the edge of the penalty area but passed the ball to Götze instead of shooting himself.

Götze received Ribéry's pass in the center, facing a huge empty goal. It was the best possible opportunity.

Götze knew that as long as he scored this goal, he would seal the victory, and Bayern Munich could continue to lead Dortmund on the league table and suppress Zhou Yi!

Without hesitation, he swept the ball towards the empty goal!

"Götze—!!! 2-0! Bayern Munich seals the victory! They've won this game!!"

After scoring, Götze didn't run towards Ribéry, who had assisted him, but ran towards the corner flag and roared at the Mainz fans, venting all the emotions in his heart.

Before this goal, he hadn't scored in seven consecutive games, including the Champions League and the Bundesliga, a stark contrast to his previous streak of scoring in four consecutive games.

So it could be said that he was under tremendous pressure. Although most of the credit for this goal went to Ribéry, he was the one who scored it after all, which could help him regain his confidence and relieve a lot of pressure.

His teammates were also very excited and came up to celebrate the goal and the victory with him.

Although they encountered strong resistance from Mainz at home, they finally defeated their opponents, took all three points, and continued to lead Dortmund by four points in the league standings.

The television broadcast gave a close-up of Mainz coach Tuchel. The young coach in the shot was shaking his head slightly, looking very helpless.

The commentator said, "In fact, Mainz's performance has been very good. Tuchel really studied Bayern Munich's tactics thoroughly. But unfortunately, the gap in strength between the two teams is still too large. Although Mainz created a series of opportunities, they didn't seize any of them. Bayern Munich, on the other hand, relied on their superior strength to survive Mainz's initial attacks, gradually exerted themselves, and ultimately won the game... But this season, Mainz has been able to rank fifth in the Bundesliga with such strength and still has a chance to advance to next season's Champions League. Whether it's Tuchel or the Mainz players, their performances have been very, very good. This is Mainz's best season in Bundesliga history, and the failure against Bayern Munich doesn't detract from such achievements..."

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When the news of Götze's goal reached the Dortmund coaching staff, Klopp wasn't as agitated as he had been when Bayern Munich scored their first goal. He just shook his head and sighed deeply.

Assistant coach Buvac also sighed, "The gap in strength between the two sides is still too large. Although Tuchel made the most correct tactical arrangements, the gap in the players' strength still limited what they could do..."

"Do your best, do your best..." Klopp shook his head and repeated these words to himself.

Mainz had failed to help Dortmund stop Bayern Munich, but that shouldn't have been a surprise. Before this game, Dortmund probably hadn't expected Mainz to cause Bayern Munich so much trouble, right?

So in the end, you have to do your best, and you can only do your best.