Bang!
The ball dropped.
The Italian prodigy lived up to expectations, cushioning it perfectly and giving Lucio no chance at all.
That kind of approach might work against less technical teams, but against a technically gifted player like Cassano, it was almost insulting.
Lucio had no choice but to step up and battle Cassano head-on.
Bang!
Cassano didn't give Lucio any opportunity to foul him, releasing the ball first time to Guti, who was surging forward down the right.
Guti was that kind of player—ferocious, wolf-like. In attack, he always appeared exactly where his teammates needed him.
Bang!
Guti whipped in a cross from the right.
Van Buyten had been tight on Su Hang all the way, but just as they entered the box, Su Hang suddenly drifted backward toward the far post.
Van Buyten was caught completely off guard.
More importantly, Su Hang gave him a shove just before peeling away.
Damn it!
In the next instant, the Bayern bench collectively turned pale.
The ball was flying toward the far post!
Guti was picking out Su Hang!
Perfect understanding!
Su Hang judged that Van Buyten's recovery would be slow, so he didn't go for the first-time volley.
For attackers, volleys are always full of uncertainty.
But shooting after controlling the ball allows you to pick your spot.
Bang!
Su Hang's first touch was just as clean—control and shot in one fluid motion, precisely finding the gap in Kahn's positioning.
The ball beat Kahn.
Clang!
But it slammed into the near post.
Bayern escaped by the narrowest of margins.
No surprise there. Shooting from the far post already leaves very little angle, and once you factor in the goalkeeper's position, there's barely any space left.
But Bayern had no time to breathe.
The danger returned immediately.
Su Hang's shot had been all about placement and finesse, not power, so the rebound didn't travel far—rolling right back toward him.
Bang!
Su Hang cushioned it with his left foot and pushed a shot from where he stood.
He didn't switch to his right foot, nor did he lift his left again—everything was done to save time.
Opportunities like this vanish in an instant. Miss it, and it's gone forever.
This was elite penalty-box instinct and finishing reaction.
It looked simple, but it was full of detail.
Those "happy blue boys" who play carefree football will never learn this.
Sterling: "Hey, that feels targeted! My kit's always been blue, damn it!"
But Kahn showed what a truly world-class goalkeeper is.
He went to ground instantly, spreading himself wide—
And actually blocked the ball.
At that moment, everyone at Bayern wanted to stamp the words world's number one goalkeeper onto Kahn's forehead!
No—
Not just a goalkeeper. A goalkeeping god.
But precisely because Su Hang's shot had been rushed for time and lacked power, Kahn's save made the ball bounce even more gently.
And once again, it bounced toward Su Hang.
Behind Kahn, Van Buyten was charging back.
Lucio had already abandoned Cassano and moved to the center of the goal, ready to clear if the ball slipped through.
The moment was gone!
Bayern's defense was back in place, Kahn had made a heroic save—Su Hang had missed his chance!
Bang!
Su Hang lifted his right foot and struck it on the volley!
The third attempt!
There was no time for accuracy anymore, but with Van Persie's "if I stop the ball, I lose" blessing, the ball rocketed upward, sailing over Kahn's head.
It skimmed past Van Buyten's shoulder and missed Lucio's head by less than ten centimeters.
Swish!
The ball ripped into the net, splashing up white waves of mesh!
In that instant, everyone was stunned.
Even Derek Rae couldn't help glancing at the clock.
"This… this… this hasn't even been five minutes yet, has it? This…"
Boom!
A roar erupted inside the Allianz Arena—one that wasn't particularly loud.
But considering it came from fewer than a thousand Real Madrid fans, the scene was utterly electrifying.
"Siuuuuuu!"
"Hat trick!"
"My god!"
"What are we witnessing?!"
"Three–three! Su Hang descends like a god! Three goals in four minutes! He's leveled the single-match score!"
"Who else? Who else can stop him?"
"This has to be the fastest hat trick in Champions League history! Too fast! Everything happened far too fast!"
"Kahn did everything he possibly could—he stopped Su Hang twice—but Su Hang's lightning-fast triple strike defies logic!"
"I feel like I just saw a miracle!"
"No! I feel like I just saw a divine sign!"
"God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light! God said, 'Real Madrid shall score,' and Su Hang scored! God said, 'One goal isn't enough,' and Su Hang scored three!"
In the stands, Real Madrid fans were on the verge of going insane with excitement.
Only now did they wake from their daze.
One more goal!
They were just one goal away!
If Su Hang scored once more, Real Madrid would overturn the scoreline and storm into the Champions League quarterfinals!
"Hey! Mary, come back! The match isn't over yet!"
"Tom, hurry up, run back! We scored—no, not one! Not two! Three! We've caught up!"
"Jack! Get your ass back to the stadium right now! Or you'll regret it for the rest of your life! No—you already will! Su just completed a hat trick!"
"Yes! You've been gone less than ten minutes, but Su scored three goals in four minutes!"
"I'm not crazy! Su Hang is the one who's gone crazy—he's gone on a rampage!"
The cameras kept cutting to the Real Madrid fans. No one was more excited than them, as they frantically contacted everyone who had just left their seats, urging them to rush back.
Meanwhile, the Bayern supporters stood frozen, completely unable to process what they were seeing.
After all, even counting the kickoffs, it had only been about five minutes.
How could three goals possibly happen?
"Oh! What's going on?"
"There's a clash between the two sides!"
The broadcast immediately cut back to the pitch.
Players from both teams were converging inside Bayern's penalty area. Ramos was especially agitated, with Lahm and Raúl holding him back.
Judging by the direction of Ramos's shouting, his anger was clearly aimed at Van Buyten.
The referee stepped in at once.
On the big screen, the replay began to roll.
"Oh! It was Su Hang. After scoring, he instinctively went to retrieve the ball from the net, but Van Buyten shoved him to the ground as he passed."
"Van Buyten is clearly furious at Su Hang's actions. And today's miracle—three goals in four minutes—has already nailed Van Buyten and Lucio to the pillar of historical humiliation."
"It's only natural that he couldn't keep his anger in check."
"Raúl, Cassano, Guti, Ramos, and others were all fired up, but under Su Hang's control, Real Madrid's side calmed down quickly."
"On Bayern's side, Lucio, Van Bommel, and Van Buyten are all visibly upset, though Lahm, Sagnol, and Hargreaves are trying to intervene."
"Su Hang ushers his teammates out of Bayern's penalty area."
"The referee shows Van Buyten a yellow card. That means the center-back will be suspended next match. If Bayern advance, he'll miss the first leg of the quarterfinals."
"But the bigger question now is this…"
"Can Bayern still advance?"
"Five minutes ago, if you'd asked me that, the answer would have been an absolute yes. But now—now, I believe no one knows the answer anymore."
...
(35 Chapters Ahead)
p@treon com / GhostParser