The second half of the match began with neither side making any substitutions, simply switching sides of the field.

Not long after the restart, Dortmund launched a threatening attack. Götze's cross was poked away by Atlético Madrid defender Miranda, but it fell right at the feet of Lewandowski.

However, the Polish striker's shot was caught cleanly by the alert Sun Pan.

"That was close! Sun Pan with a brilliant save!" exclaimed the Spanish commentator. "Atlético Madrid doesn't seem to have gotten into the game yet in the second half... that defensive error was terrible! If it weren't for Sun Pan, they might have conceded a goal!"

Of course, Atlético Madrid quickly retaliated. Sven Bender fouled Koke while trying to defend him, and the referee, Thomson, awarded Atlético Madrid a free kick.

The free kick was sent into the box, where Godín headed it across, and Diego Costa's diving header from nine meters out was tipped over the line by Weidenfeller with one hand.

"Atlético Madrid responds! Both teams have shown some weaknesses in their defense, but both goalkeepers are performing excellently and consistently!"

"The second half has just started, and both sides have already had a threatening attack on goal. It seems the second half of this match won't be boring..." said He Ping. For Chinese fans staying up late to watch the game, an exciting and intense match is the most important thing. If the two teams ended up playing a dull 0-0 draw, Chinese fans would feel like their lives had been wasted.

※※※

Next, the two teams traded blows, but overall, Atlético Madrid was on the defensive. They spent more time defending, while Dortmund's attacks were more intense.

The television broadcast showed close-ups of the two head coaches on the sidelines, Simeone and Klopp, both young and equally charismatic.

Their personalities were clearly reflected in the teams they coached.

Which of these young managers would emerge victorious?

That was the focus of everyone's attention.

※※※

Although Dortmund's attacks were fierce, they were unable to score another goal due to Sun Pan's outstanding performance in front of the Atlético Madrid goal.

As time ticked away, and the match approached the sixty-fifth minute, Klopp decided to make a change.

He replaced Sven Bender with Şahin, removing a defensive midfielder and adding one who was good at organizing the attack. Klopp's intentions were clear: to strengthen the attack and try to score as soon as possible. He was willing to sacrifice defense for this goal.

Simeone was secretly pleased with Klopp's adjustment. Such a change indicated that Klopp was starting to get impatient. Reducing the defensive strength in midfield would leave Dortmund vulnerable to a counterattack. He wanted to see how Dortmund would defend against it with their new midfield setup!

Although Klopp's substitution caused subtle changes on the field, Atlético Madrid began to consciously increase the number and intensity of their counterattacks.

In the seventieth minute, Atlético Madrid launched a textbook counterattack. Koke's low shot from the edge of the penalty area was touched by Weidenfeller's foot and rolled just wide of the far post. However, the referee Thomson did not award a corner kick, but instead gave a goal kick, which angered the Atlético Madrid players. Koke protested to the referee, but Thomson ignored him.

Although Atlético Madrid's counterattack did not result in a goal, it gave many Dortmund fans a scare.

After Atlético Madrid's counterattack, Dortmund further intensified their attack, making it even more rapid.

However, the protagonist during this period was not Dortmund's attackers, but Atlético Madrid's goalkeeper, Sun Pan.

He repeatedly made brilliant saves, denying all of Dortmund's players' shots.

In the seventy-sixth minute, Zhou Yi sent a long pass from the center circle. Piszczek controlled the ball on the right side of the penalty area and crossed it. Reus slid in at the near post eight meters out, but his shot was blocked by Sun Pan's foot and went out past the right post.

Three minutes later, Götze played a one-two with Zhou Yi in the middle. Zhou Yi played a through ball into the penalty area with his left foot, and Götze curled a shot from ten meters out, sending the ball towards the far post of the goal!

Faced with such a sudden and quick shot, Sun Pan, unable to make a save with his hands in time, swept his foot out, his left foot making contact with the outside of his foot, causing the ball to ultimately miss the far post!

"Ooooooh!! Sun Pan!!" The Spanish commentator shouted excitedly. "Sun Pan! Sun Pan! Two consecutive brilliant saves, he keeps the goal safe!"

Marcel Reif said with some regret: "Dortmund has clearly intensified their attack, hoping to score another goal, but such a fierce attack has been blocked by Sun Pan. Dortmund has missed several good opportunities, and even seizing one of these opportunities would have given Dortmund the lead in the score. Now it's still a draw, and I think missing these opportunities will definitely have a negative impact on the Dortmund players' psychology..."

Marcel Reif was right. Reus and Götze had two golden opportunities within three minutes, almost certain goals, but they were blocked by Sun Pan's feet. This was a major blow to Dortmund's morale.

They would certainly remember the situation in the first leg, when they did not have many attacking opportunities to begin with, and all of their limited counterattacking chances were blocked by Sun Pan. Especially Reus's one-on-one opportunity. After that, Dortmund completely lost the idea of stealing a goal on the road.

※※※

Continuous setbacks in attack dampened the morale and confidence of the Dortmund players.

At that time, the Dortmund fans thought, "Oh my god, the worst-case scenario is probably no more than this, right?"

But soon they realized they were still too young...

As the match entered the eightieth minute, the score was still 1-1, with only ten minutes left for Atlético Madrid to advance to the Champions League semi-finals.

In the eighty-first minute, Atlético Madrid launched another counterattack. This time, Koke did not choose to shoot directly at the edge of the penalty area, but suddenly sent a through ball. Falcao cut in diagonally from the center to receive the ball, and then made a shot-like pass. The ball rolled past the onrushing Weidenfeller...

"Danger!" He Ping exclaimed.

Because he had already seen that Diego Costa was in the path of the ball!

Facing the rolling ball, Diego Costa stretched out his foot and poked it, and the ball changed direction and rolled into the Dortmund goal...

A huge boo rang out at Westfalenstadion at that moment.

"Diego Costa!!!" The Spanish commentator almost stood up from his seat, raising his arms and shouting. "Goal!!! Atlético Madrid takes a 2-1 lead over Dortmund on the road!! Two away goals! Leading on aggregate! Atlético Madrid has grabbed fate by the throat!!"

※※※

When Diego Costa kicked the ball into the goal, the Dortmund players were stunned. They never expected that they had been pressing Atlético Madrid just moments before, and now they were behind...

Losing a goal again in the eighty-first minute and falling behind was a huge blow to Dortmund. Many people could not accept such a result.

The television was replaying the goal, but the focus was not on the goal itself, but on Diego Costa's position before the goal.

Using broadcast technology, the moment Falcao kicked the ball, the picture was frozen, and a horizontal line was drawn across the football field, dividing it in two. On the left side of the line was Falcao, and on the right side of the line was the goalkeeper Weidenfeller, who had come out to challenge, and... Diego Costa.

"This ball... is offside!" Marcel Reif exclaimed. "Diego Costa is offside! This goal shouldn't count!"

He Ping did not dare to speak too definitively, and could only say, "This ball is suspected of being offside..."

The Spanish commentator also saw it. As the beneficiary, he certainly could not criticize his own team, but he could not close his eyes and tell a lie, thinking that the goal did not count as offside. He could only say, "...Atlético Madrid is really lucky..."

Although the audience in front of the television all saw that it was an offside goal, it was clear that the players on the field had not seen it, and even if they had, it would not have mattered. The referee cannot arbitrarily change his decisions, and he is not allowed to use television replays to overturn them.

Therefore, since Diego Costa's goal was deemed valid by referee Thomson, it could not be changed.

Yes, Atlético Madrid took the lead, but they relied on an offside goal...

Dortmund was simply having one misfortune after another, as unlucky as could be.

It was already unlucky enough to concede an away goal to Atlético Madrid, but now they were behind because of an offside goal.

If we're talking about being miserable, who could be more miserable than Dortmund at this moment?