Chapter 137: Chapter 50: The Great Comeback! Hat-trick! Another Record

But now he had lost his position, forced to leave for Mainz.

Therefore, he was determined to prove his strength in front of his old club, especially in front of Rangnick.

Fired up, Lővér suddenly charged forward in the 67th minute, successfully tackling Yangkel near the centerline and stealing the ball.

After winning the ball, Lővér quickly passed it to Foyelner, who was ahead in the half-space.

Mainz quickly organized a counter-attack.

Foyelner dribbled the ball forward from the left half-space.

Wang Shuo was double-teamed by two of Hoffenheim’s center-backs and couldn’t get a pass from his teammate, so he could only continue to charge forward.

But he kept looking back to observe his teammates’ movements, constantly analyzing and predicting the play in his mind.

Especially when he saw Foyelner, under pressure from Weis during the counter-attack, pass the ball to Hainauer, Wang Shuo estimated the distance and immediately accelerated into the penalty area.

Outside the Arc Top District, Hainauer received the ball and found himself in an unmarked, open space.

He took a touch, adjusted his position, and unleashed a fierce shot.

Hainauer wasn’t just good at free kicks; his long shots were also incredibly skillful.

This long shot, in particular, was completely unimpeded. Both its power and angle were of an exceptionally high caliber.

But Hoffenheim’s goalkeeper, Daniel Hass, was completely focused. He made a decisive flying dive and punched the ball away with one hand.

The deflected ball didn’t travel far; it was still at the edge of the six-yard box.

Hoffenheim’s German international center-back, Marvin Kemper, was nearby and raised his foot to clear it.

But he never expected that, at that very moment, a figure as slippery as an eel would suddenly dart out from beside him, quickly circle to his front, and raise a right foot.

The Regional Level [Swift] was demonstrated to its fullest extent in that instant.

The 1.85-meter-tall Marvin Kemper was not slow; he was known for his speed, agility, and physical challenges.

And it was his left foot.

In front of the goal, he intended to kick the ball straight out toward his own left flank with one touch.

Even kicking it directly out of bounds was better than leaving it in the penalty area.

So his action was very natural and fluid.

But Wang Shuo’s right foot, though moving later, reached the ball first. He met the falling ball and gently flicked it up with the tip of his boot.

However, Kemper’s attempted clearance kick landed squarely on the bottom of Wang Shuo’s right boot.

Although he wasn’t injured, it still affected his balance.

Fortunately, with the boost from [Coordination], Wang Shuo only stumbled for a moment before quickly regaining his balance and preparing for his second touch.

The entire sequence of actions happened in the blink of an eye.

By the time Wang Shuo had brought the ball down in front of him and to his right, Marvin Kemper’s left foot had just landed. He was still trying to adjust his center of gravity; how could he possibly think of chasing Wang Shuo?

The process sounds long when described, but in reality, to everyone watching, it was just Wang Shuo taking two quick consecutive touches to flick the ball over Kemper and the fallen goalkeeper, Hass.

The next moment, Wang Shuo dashed to the right corner of the six-yard box, caught up to the ball, swung his right leg, and leaned his body to the side, unleashing a powerful shot with an incredibly fluid motion.

In an instant, the ball crossed Hoffenheim’s goal line at lightning speed and crashed into the back of the net.

At that very moment, the more than 20,000 Mainz fans at Bruch Road Stadium erupted in a frenzy, leaping from their seats and the standing terraces.

Before they could even finish their roar, Wang Shuo pushed himself up from the ground, sprinted forward into Hoffenheim’s goal, scooped up the ball, and ran quickly toward the centerline.

“Get back, get back!” Wang Shuo roared at his teammates.

“Let’s get the game started!”

“We keep attacking!”

Amidst the thunderous cheers, the Mainz players, whether they heard him or not, all followed Wang Shuo and ran back.

By the time the Hoffenheim players recovered from the shock of conceding a goal, Mainz was already in formation and ready to go!

[…]

Anyone who has played soccer will understand that in a team sport like this, everything comes down to momentum.

When you ride the momentum, everything you do seems to be right.

Take this match between Mainz and Hoffenheim, for example.

From the first half, and even into the beginning of the second, Hoffenheim had relied on their own strength, coupled with Mainz’s poor form, to firmly control the flow of the game.

Having seized the momentum, they scored again and again.

Mainz, on the other hand, had a very difficult time.

Gustavo’s red card became the turning point of the match.

Down a man and with their morale hit, the scales of the game gradually began to tip.

Mainz seized the opportunity and rode the shifting momentum.

Wang Shuo’s goal allowed Mainz to take complete control of the situation on the field.

Now, every move Mainz made was a threat.

Just like in the 78th minute, when a fullback pressed high again.

Before it was Lővér; this time it was Helle on the right.

After intercepting the ball in midfield, he immediately tried to launch a counter-attack.

But Hoffenheim won it back.

The two sides battled back and forth.

Finally, Hainauer played a through ball from the right side of the center circle, sending it into the space behind Hoffenheim’s vacant left-back position.

At that moment, Andre Schürrle shot forward like an arrow, breaking through Hoffenheim’s defensive line at incredible speed. After catching up to Hainauer’s pass, he cut into Hoffenheim’s penalty area from the right side.

Center-back Marvin Kemper immediately rushed out to intercept Schürrle.

Wang Shuo, meanwhile, ran behind Marvin Kemper, deliberately staying a step behind.

This way, he could see Schürrle, and Schürrle could see him at all times.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep