In the second half, both sides came back out and Dortmund attacked even more fiercely.
Right from the start,
Lewandowski dropped back to the top of the box, received the ball, and shaped as if he would shoot from distance. But that was only a feint.
The Pole's real intention was to draw Atlético's defense inward toward the middle, and then he sent a long pass out to the wing.
Left-back Schmelzer surged forward.
By the time he received the ball,
inside the box,
Lewandowski, Reus, Kuba, Großkreutz, and the others had already flooded into the penalty area.
Outside the box were Gündoğan, Sven Bender, Piszczek, and others.
Schmelzer crossed it.
Under pressure from several defenders,
Godín got his head to it and sent the ball out to the far touchline, where Piszczek quickly rushed over and took the throw-in.
Gündoğan received it, played a quick wall pass with Lewandowski, then laid it into the top of the box. As Reus drew back his leg to shoot, Shane Carter sprinted in and blocked it, sending the ball out for another throw-in.
Dortmund's increased pressure
did, in fact, make their attack more effective.
For this stretch of the match, the action was much more intense than in the first half.
The Dortmund fans in Westfalenstadion were going wild.
The cheers shook the entire stadium.
It seemed as if a goal was just around the corner.
But in reality,
for the first ten minutes of the second half,
all of Dortmund's repeated bombardment still failed to break Atlético Madrid's goal.
Beyond making Atlético's defenders look a little frantic,
they did not create any truly dangerous chances.
And as time went on,
the aggressive opening burst from Dortmund slowly began to ease off.
The Dortmund players, who had been holding their breath and going all out, gradually lost that edge as their energy drained away.
After the 55th minute,
the tempo and pace of the match both eased down noticeably.
Aside from physical exhaustion,
the Dortmund players were also worried about the space behind them being exploited by Atlético on the counterattack.
Under those circumstances,
Dortmund had no choice but to slow things down for the moment.
Atlético Madrid, sensing the chance, pushed their line a little higher.
But they did not suddenly raise the intensity of the duel or the tempo of the game.
They still looked calm and unhurried.
Especially once Dortmund relaxed their high press at the front—high pressing is a highly draining tactic, and no team can maintain that level of pressure forever.
Players are human.
They are not robots.
Sustained front-line pressing mostly relies on repeated sprints, and keeping that up for even ten minutes is already impressive.
So without that kind of pressure,
Atlético's passing game in the back and middle became much safer.
And they were happy to use that situation to keep the ball.
Sure, Dortmund had not really threatened their goal before this either.
But as long as the ball was with the opponent,
danger still existed.
It was better to keep the ball themselves.
If you don't press, I control.
If you do press... then we can talk.
Shane Carter repeatedly pressed both hands downward, signaling his teammates to stay calm.
He knew very well
that Dortmund's retreat was not a sign of discouragement, but a tactical choice.
This was also a team that was excellent on the counterattack.
Their transition speed was frighteningly fast.
If he rushed a pass forward and got intercepted, even Shane Carter could not cover the whole field.
What Shane needed was qualification.
So naturally he would choose the safer option.
When Atlético Madrid began playing this way at Westfalenstadion,
the Dortmund fans were furious at what they saw as a shamelessly conservative approach.
They thought Atlético were killing the game.
The boos started out scattered, then became louder and louder.
For Dortmund's fans,
they wanted Atlético to push up and trade attacks with them.
Dortmund were especially good in fast, high-tempo exchanges of offense and defense.
But Atlético Madrid clearly understood that as well.
They were away from home and did not need to panic,
but Dortmund absolutely could not afford to stall.
If the match dragged on like this, it would eventually work against them.
Atlético could live with a 0-0 away draw.
Dortmund absolutely could not accept a 0-0 draw at home.
Under those conditions,
the Dortmund players had to grit their teeth and keep pressing.
They had to raise the intensity again.
Fortunately, Dortmund's players were very fit.
This was a young side, and Klopp's tactics demanded enormous physical output.
In preseason preparation every year,
fitness training was an absolute priority for Dortmund.
At that point,
Atlético's defensive line became very compact.
Shane kept scanning the front line as he defended.
Whenever the chance appeared,
he would launch the ball forward immediately and create danger.
Under Dortmund's pressure, Shane's passing and ball retention came through brilliantly.
He could always get the ball out before they arrived,
or use his close control to hold on to it, draw defenders in, and then slip the ball into open space.
In the end,
Dortmund had to turn to fouls to stop Shane Carter.
But all that did was give Atlético free kicks,
while Sven Bender and Großkreutz picked up yellow cards.
Beyond that, it had no other real effect.
Because every time the match was stopped,
Atlético could waste a little more time.
To Dortmund's fans, that was unforgivable.
The man leading Atlético in this deeply frustrating brand of football, Shane Carter, became a thorn in their side.
Every time Shane got the ball,
the whole Westfalenstadion erupted in boos.
In the 63rd minute,
Shane Carter received the ball.
Gündoğan stepped up and fouled him.
Shane was tripped and fell to the ground.
The referee blew his whistle.
The stadium unleashed a shrill torrent of boos.
In Dortmund fans' eyes,
that looked no different from a dive.
And the Dortmund players had assumed Shane would do what he had done before—lie on the turf for a bit, complain, take his time getting up, adjust his socks and shin guards...
Basically, they expected him to milk the stoppage for all it was worth.
They were all mentally prepared for that.
But...
Shane suddenly got up.
He quickly settled the ball and played it forward in one touch.
The ball skidded across the grass at high speed.
At the exact same moment,
Griezmann had already turned and sprinted forward as soon as Shane got back to his feet...
"Shane... quick restart!"
"Griezmann! One-on-one!!!"
Amid the commentators' cries of shock, Griezmann burst through alone.
Facing the onrushing Weidenfeller, he squared it...
"Costa!!"
Under the commentators' roar,
Costa rolled the ball into the empty net!
The match...
suddenly changed complexion.
The Dortmund fans and players alike looked stunned.
That sudden change of tempo
had caught them completely off guard.
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