"Oh, De Rocca's coming on. The nightmare for Brest's defenders has arrived."
The TF1 commentator laughed and continued, "I'm sure defenders from both Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 teams should know how difficult De Rocca is to defend against.
His delicate footwork enabled him to toy with Italy's strong defense at the Euros. He knocked out Italy, who had championship ambitions, in the quarterfinals. Let's see if Brest's defense can withstand the test."
Dupont waved his arms, gesturing to the defensive line to hold firm.
Brest's left-side defenders had mentally prepared for Julien's entry.
In fact, they'd been preparing to defend De Rocca as their core tactical focus since before the match.
Seeing Dupont's gesture, they all knew what to do.
The Brest fans in attendance all looked somewhat tense. As French people, they knew Julien's capabilities all too well.
As the westernmost city on France's Atlantic coast, Brest's football had always been lukewarm.
Brest claimed to have been founded in 1903, though this was disputed. The current Stade Brestois was formed in 1950 from the merger of five different local clubs.
The reason they claimed founding in 1903 was because one of the merged clubs, Armoricaine de Brest, had history traceable to the early 20th century.
So, they considered themselves founded in 1903.
They first entered French top-flight football in 1979, staying until relegation in 1991. Over the years, they'd spent most of their time in Ligue 2.
Though they remained in Ligue 1 this season, their strength was relatively ordinary.
So, seeing their team leading Bastia by a goal, they especially hoped to maintain the scoreline.
However, Julien's very first touch gave them quite a scare.
De Bruyne played a through ball. Julien cut from the wing into the half-space. Defensive midfielder Ahmed Kantari had been marking Julien but failed to keep up on the first step, causing him to lose position.
If center-back Bernard Mendy hadn't been positioned there to block Julien's pass to Lukaku, Brest's goal would have been in danger.
Lukaku gave Julien a thumbs up. But Julien shook his head, not quite satisfied with that pass. To save time, he'd used his right foot.
He looked at Bernard Mendy, who'd just blocked his ball—the name rang a bell. Not for any particular reason, but because Julien had once watched a charity match.
Facing an attacking player, Bernard Mendy had defended with his eyes, watching the opponent score.
Of course, in that match the goalkeeper deserved a lot of blame too—the opponent's shot wasn't particularly powerful, yet the keeper failed to make a timely save.
Oh, in that match, Mbappé's father Wilfried was also on the red team with Bernard Mendy.
The goal was scored by a small forward on the white team, only 173 centimeters tall.
Julien refocused, turning his attention to Brest's defensive line, searching for opportunities.
At this moment, whether it was the Bastia fans in the away section or the fans back in Bastia, none had lost faith in this match.
They believed in Julien.
After Bastia kicked off, they maintained sustained pressure.
Brest's purpose was now very clear—defend to the death, including forward Benschop, who had already dropped back into the defensive line.
"Half an hour left. Hold on and we win." This was what all Brest players and fans were thinking.
Dupont was actually very nervous on the sideline.
If anyone at Brest lacked confidence in holding the scoreline, it was definitely him, the head coach.
The more you understood both teams and their players, the less confidence you had.
This season, Bastia's squad and their actual on-field performances amazed Dupont. This was absolutely not an ordinary Ligue 1 team.
More crucially, Bastia's investment wasn't much. Compared to PSG's spending of over a hundred million euros, they'd only invested around ten million yet achieved such results—it was an absolutely maximum value.
There was a mastermind behind Bastia!
If Dupont did it himself, he definitely couldn't make ten-plus million euros produce Bastia's current results.
So, he was somewhat pessimistic about this match. Of course, being pessimistic didn't mean not striving for victory.
If possible, he still hoped to win this match.
Time kept passing.
Brest fans were seeing more and more hope.
The time had reached 70 minutes, and the score remained 1-0.
Bastia had several threatening attacks, but none converted to goals.
Lukaku was getting irritable now because he was being defended extremely uncomfortably—in the center, two players were practically hugging him at all times, not giving him any easy running space.
However, the cost of Brest's defensive approach was rapidly declining stamina. When the time reached the 75th minute...
Julien received the ball on the right again. He glanced at his teammates' positions in the center, feinted a pass but instead pushed the ball forward, then cut it back in a change of direction, directly leaving defender Mario Ličković in his wake.
Ličković was too eager to mark Julien, so Julien's feint completely fooled him.
Fortunately, he had teammates. But Julien's quick footwork, combined with Brest players' declining stamina, became their nightmare.
Julien cut inside, driving between Kantari and fullback Benoît Pedretti's defensive zones. Seeing Ličković beaten, they immediately converged to double-team Julien.
Bang!
Julien smoothly played a horizontal pass to the surging De Bruyne.
De Bruyne carried the ball forward through the center. The other defensive midfielder, Seko, blocked De Bruyne's path.
But, as if reading each other's minds, De Bruyne didn't look at Julien, and Julien didn't look at De Bruyne.
The instant Kantari and Pedretti relaxed, Julien burst from their defensive zone, driving into the six-yard box.
De Bruyne chipped the ball. Their movements were perfectly synchronized, impeccably timed.
Like a magnet, Julien's left instep gently cushioned the ball to his foot, smoothly dribbling forward.
Center-back Bernard Mendy quickly stepped out to block, with Kantari behind trying to grab Julien.
Throughout his dribble, Julien never looked at the goal but instead at his teammates making runs in the center.
This one glance fooled not only the defending players but also goalkeeper Alexis Thébaux! But in Julien's mind, the sense of the goal was exceptionally strong.
It was a feeling of "I know the goal is right there."
Shooting enhancement!
Without hesitation, Julien pushed with his left foot toward the near post!
Bernard Mendy's attention had also been disrupted by Julien's glance. He worried about a pass and wondered if he should drop back.
But the next second, Julien shot!
He instinctively extended his leg, trying to intercept the ball, but it went right between his legs.
Mendy shouted, "Shot! Thébaux!"
Goalkeeper Thébaux had already made a move shifting his weight toward the center. When he saw Julien's shooting motion and heard Mendy's shout, he forcibly twisted his body and dove toward the near post.
He crashed to the ground. The ball crashed into the net.
He was too late.
1-1.
"GOOOAL!! De Rocca! Of course it's De Rocca who scored! This time Brest's defensive line was completely dismantled by the combination of De Rocca and De Bruyne. With declining stamina, they couldn't keep up with De Rocca's movements. Now the score is level, and there are still over ten minutes left. Will there be another goal?"
Hearing the commentator's words, Bastia fans at the Sunset Café celebrated wildly.
"I told you—as long as we have Julien, the team never worries about being behind! See?! Did he score or not?!"
"Do you even need to say it! As long as Julien's on the pitch, I'll always believe he can score!"
"Yes, yes, yes! This season's squad is so much better than last season's. Last season Julien was often left alone, frequently having to force openings by himself. Now it's different—we have De Bruyne, and that combination was so slick. They have great chemistry."
"That's the chemistry between geniuses."
Meanwhile, at Stade Francis-Le Blé's away section, Modoso led the hardcore fans in shouting with all their might toward Julien.
"Julien!"
"FORZA Bastia!!"
After scoring, Julien rushed toward the stands, pointing at the Bastia fans in the corner, pumping his fist in celebration toward them.
Teammates rushed over to embrace Julien.
Rothen said, "Good! We've still got a chance! Let's overturn them!"
"We must overturn them—we're Bastia!" Choplin also shouted.
This season, Bastia had brought in many newcomers who occupied starting positions.
So, some hardcore Bastia fans felt the club had changed character.
The old Bastia was full of tough guys; now they were all technical players. But in reality, what represented Bastia most was the back line!
They were truly tough.
Even though they were a Ligue 2-level squad, facing La Liga powerhouse Atlético, they could still withstand the pressure.
Conceding a penalty to Brest today was just an accident.
After all, Bastia was fighting on multiple fronts with a congested schedule—player mistakes were perfectly normal.
With this goal, both Brest's players and fans felt uncomfortable.
Their lead had been equalized.
On the sideline, Dupont had a conflicted feeling of having predicted this outcome.
He looked at the scoreboard and saw about fifteen minutes left. Could Brest hold on?
Whistle!
The referee's whistle sounded and play resumed.
Bastia clearly didn't want to end with a draw. To chase the league leaders, they needed to fight for every victory.
To win the title, you couldn't rely on competitors dropping points.
After all, this wasn't the Premier League: there was no Arsenal.
After celebrating, Hadzibegic kept shouting from the sideline for his players to push forward, yelling at them, "Give the ball to Julien!!"
This was Hadzibegic's tactical core, when you can't break through, give the ball to Julien.
Julien would definitely find a way.
In Madrid, at the Cerro del Espino training facility, Simeone was still working late in his office, studying the upcoming match against Bastia.
To study an opponent, you naturally had to understand them.
So, he was watching the match between Brest and Bastia. Brest's defensive approach seemed very mediocre to Simeone.
Many players' movements in the second half had issues, in his view—this was purely giving Bastia opportunities.
Sure enough, Julien seized the chance.
Certainly, declining stamina was a factor, but more importantly, Brest players' defensive awareness wasn't good.
However, Simeone suddenly felt a sense of helplessness. So, what if Atlético's defensive awareness was better?
Hadn't they been torn apart by Bastia just the same?
"Sigh."
Simeone sighed, watching Julien and De Bruyne repeatedly flash across the screen.
He knew clearly this was Bastia's core. To win at Bastia in the second leg, they absolutely had to freeze De Bruyne and Julien.
Without solving those two, Bastia's attack couldn't be contained.
Suddenly, a thought emerged: "Buy them?"
After the first leg against Bastia, club president Cerezo had discussed this topic with him: "What about that number 10? Do you think he'd be useful? We could try buying him."
At the time, Simeone had nodded in approval of signing Julien.
However, after the French league valuations were updated in recent days and the Golden Boy shortlist was announced, Simeone suddenly felt Julien was a player Atlético couldn't afford.
He believed Julien's transfer fee after the season would be even higher than his valuation.
Right now, for Atlético to come up with such a large transfer fee would be quite painful.
Ultimately, Simeone decided, "Forget it, he doesn't fit my tactics."
After all, Julien didn't track back, and Simeone required everyone on his team to actively defend.
To swarm opponents, using running and iron-willed defense to forge Atlético's soul!
Julien wasn't suitable for Atlético.
Whistle!
As Simeone was thinking, the referee's whistle on TV sounded.
And he was pointing to the penalty spot.
"Hm?"
On the pitch, Julien sat on the ground. De Bruyne pulled him up, saying, "Beautifully done. Small spaces in the penalty area are practically a stage tailor-made for you."
Julien smiled, watching Brest players protest to the referee. He just quietly adjusted his shin guards.
Just now, it was another combination between him and De Bruyne. He drove inside, shielding the ball from Kantari as he charged into the box, deliberately showing a gap to lure Kantari into extending his leg.
Then he went down.
Kantari's protests to the referee were futile. The more he replayed it in his mind, the more frustrated he became.
It was already the 84th minute!
The match was about to end, and he'd given the opponent a penalty.
Julien took the ball without hesitation and walked toward the penalty spot.
As the team's first-choice penalty taker, you had to have absolute confidence to take penalties in any situation. Otherwise, why be the first-choice?
Unless a teammate had some special significance in that moment, why give it up?
If you give away penalties, how can you call yourself first-choice?
Julien placed the ball down, stepped back several paces, and looked firmly at goalkeeper Thébaux.
Thébaux kept waving his hands, trying to distract Julien.
Behind him, Brest fans continuously made various noises.
Whistle!
The referee's whistle signaled to take the kick.
Julien exhaled lightly, ran up, and blasted it!
The ball headed straight for the top corner!
Absolute dead angle!
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