Match Objective: Lead Dortmund to a comeback victory.
The match officially kicked off at 3:30 PM local time.
However, before the game even started, as Klopp emerged from the tunnel, a thunderous cheer erupted from the stadium.
Even though Klopp had left Mainz, the fans still remembered him and his contributions to the team!
Seeing such a touching moment, Ye Chen couldn't help but wonder—when he returned to Dortmund in the future, would he receive the same kind of welcome?
Wait…
He hadn't even played a single match for Dortmund yet, and he was already thinking that far ahead!
Could it be that he was naturally unfaithful?
With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Ye Chen followed Klopp and the other substitutes towards the bench.
"Ye Chen!"
Just as Ye Chen was walking past the fans, deep in thought, a crisp voice called out.
Ye Chen instinctively turned his head and was momentarily stunned.
"Lina? What are you doing here?" Ye Chen looked at the youthful girl in disbelief. She was wearing a striking yellow jersey today!
But more importantly, she was standing in the Mainz fan section, making her bright yellow figure stand out among the crowd!
Lina smiled. "Of course, I'm here to watch your first match! Good luck!"
"I will! I'll call you later!" Ye Chen made a phone gesture towards Lina.
Lina nodded eagerly.
"Ye, what are you doing? Hurry up!" Klopp called out to the lagging Ye Chen.
Kuba, who was also behind, put his arm around Ye Chen. "Ye, is that your girlfriend? She's really pretty!"
Ye Chen shook his head. "No, she's just my friend!"
But as soon as he said that, Ye Chen froze for a moment.
Did he… already have a friend?
This might be his first real friend in this world!
—
The match officially began.
Dortmund lined up in their preferred 4-2-3-1 formation.
Shinji Kagawa played in the central role as the tactical core.
Perišić was on the left, Götze on the right.
Lewandowski played as the lone striker, with captain Kehl and Gündoğan as the two central midfielders.
Among these five, only Kehl was slightly less renowned, but in this Dortmund team, he was indispensable.
Firstly, his defensive abilities were outstanding. Secondly, his leadership was crucial.
He was a player with an incredibly strong mental presence.
At the referee's whistle, the match kicked off.
Both sides fought fiercely in midfield.
Of course, Shinji Kagawa was the primary target of fouls—within the first ten minutes, he was knocked down four times.
Mainz players were cunning about it, taking turns fouling Kagawa. Though the referee was keeping track, Mainz managed to avoid receiving a single yellow card in the first half.
Dortmund's best chance came at 14:24.
From the back, Subotić passed to Piszczek, who quickly found Perišić.
Perišić cut inside, drawing defenders before passing to the open Kagawa.
Kagawa struck the ball just outside the penalty area, curling it past the goalkeeper—only to see it smash against the post!
The Mainz fans collectively gasped in relief.
But that was Dortmund's only real chance in the first half, while Mainz created an even better one!
At 32:24, Soto broke past Löwe on the flank and sent a cutback pass.
The arriving Nicolai Müller struck decisively.
Weidenfeller was frozen in place.
The shot was simply too fast!
The home crowd erupted in celebration as Mainz took a 1-0 lead in the first half.
The noise was deafening, as if the stadium's roof would be blown off.
On the Dortmund sideline, Klopp was shouting furiously at his players.
Löwe, in particular, was getting an earful…
Of course, the reality was that Dortmund's weakest spot was their right-back, and starting Löwe had been a last resort.
But watching Löwe get beaten like a traffic cone—any coach would be furious!
Löwe looked frustrated on the pitch…
What could he do? His opponent was a lightning-fast, technically gifted winger!
After taking the lead, Mainz slowed the tempo and focused their efforts in midfield.
After all, Kagawa wasn't just a playmaker—he played more like a shadow striker.
But today, he was being tightly marked, and Lewandowski wasn't having much luck either.
Although Pospech was a ball-playing center-back, his defensive positioning was excellent, constantly cutting off passes to Lewandowski.
Twice, Kagawa had played dangerous through balls, only for Pospech to intercept them!
The first half ended with Mainz leading 1-0.
Even before the halftime whistle, Klopp had already stormed into the dressing room, making his frustration clear.
Even Ye Chen could see that the players weren't in top form!
Perhaps the weather played a role—it was 3:30 PM in September, and the temperature was already 30°C.
Playing in such heat was a real test of endurance.
But Mainz had scored, so Dortmund couldn't use the weather as an excuse. The key was figuring out how to mount a comeback.
Just as Ye Chen stood up from the bench, a familiar voice rang in his mind.
"Ding! Match mission triggered: Lead the Black and Yellows to a comeback!"
"Mission success: Silver treasure chest reward. Mission failure: One random skill will be deducted!"
Hearing this, Ye Chen nearly lost his mind!
He only had three skills in total, two of which were S-rank—if he failed and lost one, that would be brutal!
"Can I refuse the mission?" Ye Chen muttered.
"Refusing the mission will automatically count as failure, and a skill will be deducted immediately."
"Damn, you're ruthless!" Ye Chen gritted his teeth.
But he was only half-joking.
As a player who craved victory, he would give his all to help his team win, mission or no mission!
Of course, even though he was a time traveler, he didn't remember the outcome of every match.
He hadn't even followed Dortmund closely before.
The Dortmund match he remembered best was the 2012-13 Champions League final.
Dortmund faced Bayern and lost 1-2.
But that didn't matter right now. The only thing that mattered was this game!
One step at a time.
One match at a time.
And one goal at a time!
As the team entered the dressing room, Klopp was already moving pieces around on the tactics board. His first words were:
"Robert (Lewandowski), you'll rest for the second half and prepare for the Champions League midweek. Ye, you'll replace Lewandowski. Any issues?"
"No problem!" Ye Chen roared, his blood instantly pumping.
If only there were a background music track to go with this moment—just like in an anime when the protagonist steps onto the battlefield…
But his sudden shout startled the entire team, including Klopp.
Klopp frowned. "Keep it down! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Ye Chen winced and quickly apologized. "Sorry, sorry! I got too excited!"