Outsiders didn't know what Zhou Yi was thinking, but seeing his disheveled appearance, they all thought he was about to collapse.

As the core of Dortmund, if he couldn't hold on, it definitely wouldn't be good news for them…

Dortmund fans were worried, constantly praying to God that Zhou Yi absolutely couldn't fall…

In fact, Zhou Yi's stamina this season had far exceeded their expectations.

In the past, Zhou Yi had always given them the impression of being physically weak, and being able to complete a full ninety-minute game was considered an exceptional performance. There had always been a view that physical fitness was the only bottleneck restricting Zhou Yi from becoming a world-class midfielder. Not physical confrontation ability, but stamina.

When it came to physical confrontation, Xavi and Pirlo weren't outstanding either, but no one had ever heard that they had poor stamina.

Modern football places great emphasis on stamina. Without stamina, there's nothing to talk about.

But this season, Zhou Yi's stamina had improved by leaps and bounds, which was surprising but also gratifying—Zhou Yi had finally broken through that damned bottleneck.

This season, except for being rotated in two games, Zhou Yi hadn't missed any of the remaining games, and he was rarely substituted early. In most games, he played the entire time.

Even during consecutive weeks with two games, he was the same, without failing.

So Zhou Yi's stamina had been excellent this season, and it had been a long time since everyone had seen Zhou Yi like this.

But playing the last game of the season, and such a fast-paced, high-intensity Champions League final, placed even higher demands on the players' stamina.

Originally, after a season of consumption, there was little reserve left, and encountering such a game, playing until the one hundred and fifteenth minute, it was normal for Zhou Yi to be so exhausted.

Although it was a normal thing, it still made the Dortmund fans very worried.

It wasn't that they didn't understand the players' difficulties, but at this last moment, they also hoped that the players would overcome whatever difficulties they faced. They had put in so much effort and paid such a high price to finally reach the last step. To talk about giving up, even if the reason for giving up was sufficient, it still made people feel unwilling…

※※※

Zhou Yi's condition was not only noticed by the fans but also by the commentators.

This seemed to further confirm their idea that Dortmund was likely to collapse.

"Zhou Yi looks very tired… This is normal, he has been running non-stop for one hundred and fifteen minutes in this game. With his stamina, this is already an extraordinary performance…" He Ping said, his voice filled with worry and helplessness.

He didn't say the worries in his heart, for fear of spoiling the mood of the Chinese audience in front of the TV.

Actually, without him saying it, the Chinese fans in front of the TV weren't fools or blind, they could see it and guess it.

Many worried voices subsequently appeared on the Internet.

"Zhou Yi looks like he can't run anymore, will Klopp substitute him?"

"Damn! If he really substitutes Zhou Yi, I'll turn off the TV!"

"That's right, that's right, with Zhou Yi off the field, what's the point of Dortmund playing! If I were Klopp, as long as Zhou Yi has the strength to stand on the field, I wouldn't substitute him, even if he just passes the ball forward in the backfield!"

"I'm afraid Zhou Yi doesn't even have the strength to make long passes anymore, what can he do by staying on the field…"

"Zhou Yi's style of play is very dependent on stamina, and his performance this season has been outstanding enough. Fortunately, he is still young, and even if he can't do it this year, there will always be a time to make a comeback… I can only comfort myself like this…"

"What you said upstairs is right, but when the time comes to make a comeback, will Zhou Yi still be wearing a Dortmund jersey?"

"If we really lose the Champions League title, I'm afraid Zhou Yi will have no reason to continue staying at Dortmund… Actually, I really like this Dortmund team, young, passionate, and full of creativity and imagination… Klopp also has a lot of personal charm, if they ultimately fail to win the Champions League title, it would be a real pity… This may be the best chance for this team…"

"Gotze is already confirmed to leave, if Zhou Yi also leaves, this team will fall apart…"

Everyone felt sad for Dortmund and Zhou Yi.

※※※

Zhou Yi would definitely not know how those fans and commentators viewed him.

He was still in place, maintaining the same posture as before, breathing heavily, even greedily.

He didn't urge the referee, reminding him that Bayern Munich's celebration time was obviously too long. He didn't comfort his teammates either, nor did he cheer them on.

All he could do now was seize every moment to recover.

There were still fifteen minutes left in the game, and Dortmund hadn't reached the end of their rope. Fifteen minutes to score a goal was still possible.

Bayern Munich players finally finished celebrating, and they happily ran back to their own half. Some of them kept waving their fists at the stands, which was both responding to their own fans and a show of force to the Dortmund fans.

When they ran back to their own half, Zhou Yi was still there, breathing heavily.

It wasn't until they were ready, and Lewandowski and Mark were both in the center circle preparing to kick off, that Zhou Yi got up and slowly walked towards the center circle.

His actions also attracted the attention of the Bayern Munich players.

Seeing Zhou Yi like this, the Bayern Munich players breathed a sigh of relief—Zhou Yi was obviously almost done, Dortmund hadn't collapsed yet, but he was about to collapse first. And once he collapsed, it would be the beginning of Dortmund's collapse.

In this game, Bayern Munich already had victory in their grasp!

※※※

Referee Rizzoli blew his whistle, and Mark and Lewandowski kicked the football out. Mark turned and passed the football back to Zhou Yi outside the center circle.

But Zhou Yi didn't make any move. He didn't receive the ball, but let the football roll past his feet, without even looking at it.

The football didn't roll fast, so Zhou Yi not receiving it wasn't because the ball was too fast for him to receive.

Immediately afterward, referee Rizzoli's whistle sounded again—the first half of extra time was over!

Zhou Yi's action was once again interpreted as "lack of stamina," "lack of motivation," and "a symbol of giving up"…

Only Zhou Yi himself knew clearly that he just didn't want to waste energy—it was obvious that as soon as this ball was kicked out, the first half of extra time would be over, so why should he bother with this ball? His stamina had indeed reached the red line, and saving a little bit might be useful in the second half of extra time.

Right now, he was very stingy with his stamina, and he wouldn't allow any unnecessary waste, not even a little bit.

An excellent professional player must learn to manage and distribute his stamina in the most reasonable way.

So Zhou Yi wouldn't do such a meaningless thing.

After the referee's whistle sounded, he let the football roll behind him and turned around to walk slowly towards the sidelines.

He didn't walk fast, and it could be seen that his chest was still rising and falling sharply.

This gave everyone a deep impression—Zhou Yi was already exhausted, and even if Klopp didn't substitute him, he wouldn't be able to do anything in the remaining fifteen minutes.

Although the rules stipulated that there was no rest between the first and second halves of extra time, and the two sides would directly switch sides and start the second half of the game.

But in practice, it wouldn't be so strictly required. Players would still take this opportunity to go to the sidelines to drink water, take the opportunity to rest, and catch their breath. The coach would also seize the time to communicate with the players and make adjustments.

As long as it wasn't too much, the referee wouldn't care—and the referee also needed to rest. He was on the field officiating, running non-stop for one hundred and fifteen minutes, which was also a huge test of their stamina, especially since their age was generally older than the players.

As Zhou Yi slowly walked to the sidelines and picked up a water bottle to drink, Klopp rushed to him in one stride, leaned in close, and asked, "Can you still hold on?"

Zhou Yi smiled a little lazily: "Of course."

"Then I saw you…" Klopp was referring to Zhou Yi's series of actions just now.

"I just didn't want to waste my energy on meaningless things, coach," Zhou Yi explained.

Klopp noticed that even Zhou Yi's speaking speed was slower than usual, and he didn't know if it was because he didn't want to put his energy into speaking, or if it was a real sign of exhaustion…

But now he could only choose to believe Zhou Yi. In fact, he had considered substituting Zhou Yi, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that if he substituted Zhou Yi, it would probably be a huge and heavy blow to the team's morale.

Now in the team, he felt that Zhou Yi's prestige was even higher than his own, and everyone felt that what Zhou Yi said was reliable.

If Zhou Yi stayed on the field, at least he could still play a role in stabilizing the team's morale.

Although his stamina was no longer good, and staying on the field might not be useful, Klopp always had a mysterious trust in Zhou Yi, feeling that perhaps at some point, Zhou Yi would be able to have a flash of inspiration and solve the problem.

Klopp finally convinced himself not to substitute Zhou Yi, precisely holding this kind of "superstition" about Zhou Yi.

Of course, now that he saw Zhou Yi clearly stating that his stamina wasn't as bad as it looked, this "superstition" became even firmer.

"Alright, guys! Fifteen minutes left! It's not time to surrender yet! Cheer up, we've beaten them in the league with a last-minute goal, you should know very well how important it is not to give up until the last second!" Klopp turned around, clapping his hands vigorously, and shouted to his players.