Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
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There was still more than half a month until the Champions League quarter-finals.
Bayer Leverkusen's Sascha Lewandowski and Sami Hyypiä were under immense pressure after drawing FC Barcelona.
"Why FC Barcelona?"
"How could it be FC Barcelona?"
"Why?!"
"Shut up. Stop nagging."
Sami Hyypiä truly couldn't stand Sascha Lewandowski's incessant chatter.
Their opponent today was 1. FSV Mainz 05!
Bundesliga Matchday 23: Bayer Leverkusen vs. 1. FSV Mainz 05.
Ten minutes into the match, Sascha Lewandowski's attention was still on their Champions League opponent.
Is this how a coach acts?
"Besides, making it to the Champions League quarter-finals means we've already achieved our goal. The rest is just about having no regrets. What are you still agonizing over?"
Sascha Lewandowski also felt wronged.
"I thought we could make it to the semi-finals."
"How will you know if you don't play?"
"But they are FC Barcelona!"
"Stop, stop, stop! Look at this ball!"
Sami Hyypiä quickly stopped Sascha Lewandowski and pointed to the field.
At this moment, Lance was launching an attack from the middle, dribbling past two 1. FSV Mainz 05 players without passing, choosing instead to continue dribbling!
Commentator Mehmet Scholl also realized that Lance was acting unusually today!
"Lance! One more! At the edge of the box, step-over, break to the right?"
"No!! Elastico! Change direction to the left and burst into the box!! Right foot shot—"
"That shot!! So close!! It grazed the post and flew out!"
"But Lance's individual performance was absolutely brilliant!!"
"After leading the team to victory against Arsenal and reaching the Champions League quarter-finals, do you feel Lance has evolved?"
Mehmet Scholl was very puzzled, yet full of pleasant surprise.
Even Oliver Kahn nodded repeatedly:
"Indeed, Lance seems to be in excellent form today, and his style of play with the ball is somewhat different from before. He's become more confident in receiving and dribbling the ball; he's even daring to dribble like this!"
In the past, Lance would definitely have passed the ball.
But today, no matter how many defenders Lance faced, he just charged straight through!
If not for a bit of bad luck, Bayer Leverkusen would have already scored three goals!
"The stadium is erupting in warm applause, encouraging this 16-year-old prodigy!"
"Those consecutive dribbles just now were truly beautiful!"
Lance's individual show left both coaches wide-eyed.
"When did he become like this?"
"To be precise, it was already evident in training."
Sami Hyypiä had already noticed Lance's transformation in the training sessions two days prior.
However, there's a big difference between the training ground and the match field.
To be able to perform so perfectly in the intense confrontation of a match, Lance's dribbling and breakthroughs were indeed confident enough!
"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Let's see the outcome. I think it's a good thing."
Sami Hyypiä had always had full confidence in Lance.
Lance wasn't the type to make thoughtless breakthroughs; on the contrary, Lance had a lot of ideas when receiving and holding the ball.
He would only choose to dribble and break through if he saw a genuine opportunity.
FSV Mainz 05's compact defense today prevented Bayer Leverkusen's passing from penetrating.
Lance chose to use breakthroughs to disrupt the opponent.
It looked like the effect was really good!
Indeed, Sami Hyypiä's judgment was correct!
Before the end of the first half, Bayer Leverkusen broke through 1. FSV Mainz 05's solid defense.
The one who created the goal was Lance!
"Not much time left in the first half, 1. FSV Mainz 05's defense is very resolute…"
"Son, he has no space to break through on the left, pass it to Lance!"
"Lance receives the ball! Good! Cruyff turn! Then a Marseille Roulette!! Can he even do that?! He's in! Rabona flick and change of direction! Breaks into the box, a sudden shot!!"
"Laaaaaance—"
"Goooooooooal!!"
"In the 42nd minute of the match, Bayer Leverkusen scored first by creating an opportunity through Lance's individual breakthrough!!"
After scoring, Lance was very excited, sprinting towards the Bayer Leverkusen South Stand, jumping onto the advertising board to celebrate with the fans.
The 1. FSV Mainz 05 players, however, were puzzled.
Their coaching staff had repeatedly emphasized before the match that Lance was best at receiving the ball at the edge of the box to create shooting opportunities, and his actual dribbling threat was not significant.
As long as Lance was forced outside the box, he would pose the least threat when far from the penalty area.
Yet, Lance did not insist on staying near the box.
Since they pressed him, he simply withdrew from the box, which ironically gave him better receiving opportunities and space.
——
Equipped Template: Bachira Meguru - S (Fusion Value 1%)
—Skill: Beast Dribbling
(Beast Dribbling: During dribbling progression, ball control, speed, reaction, and physicality are greatly enhanced. Dribbling effectiveness is related to the degree of intuition's influence.)
Rage Value: 25%
Assisting Character: Nagi Seishiro - S
Assisting Status: On
——
This was Lance's first time using Bachira Meguru's ability in a professional match.
Before stepping onto the field, Lance had hesitated.
Should he equip [Nagi Seishiro] or [Bachira Meguru] for this match?
The new character [Bachira Meguru] might be riskier, after all, he had been familiar with [Nagi Seishiro] for nearly half a season.
Lance had not yet adapted to [Bachira Meguru]'s characteristics.
His recent breakthroughs were essentially about integrating with the new character, trying to experience the feeling of dribbling past opponents.
Now, it seemed the effect was quite good.
Regardless of whether he scored or not, he at least had a certain individual combat ability, able to advance with the ball when teammates were restricted.
FSV Mainz 05's compact defense would also find it hard to stop him!
Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Lance scored again!
"Lance, interchanging positions with Son… breaking through from the left! Lance—"
"Opens a gap from the left, dribbling past three players!!"
When the BayArena fans saw Lance on the left side of the field, performing step-overs, Marseille Roulettes, and a backheel nutmeg at the byline to dribble past 3 players and break through to the goalmouth, then slotting it in from a tight angle—
The cheers from the entire stadium pierced the sky!
Speed and passion, dazzling breakthroughs, are the easiest way to ignite the adrenaline of the entire stadium!
Is this still Lance?
Those who didn't know would think Lionel Messi, Kaká, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Ronaldinho had possessed him!
"Beautiful!! One against three! A solo goal!"
"Bayer Leverkusen leads 1. FSV Mainz 05 2-0!"
"Today's match has been completely dominated by Lance!"
"After defeating strong opponents Arsenal, this prodigy, the magician from the East, is in full force!"
Unfortunately, continuous dribbling and breakthroughs were quite energy-consuming.
Lance only played for 60 minutes before being substituted due to exhaustion.
Ultimately, thanks to his two goals, Bayer Leverkusen successfully defeated 1. FSV Mainz 05 2-0!
What's more, on the other side of Germany, at the Allianz Arena, Bayern Munich drew 1-1 with FC Schalke 04!
Pep Guardiola's team's winning streak was ended!
Bayern Munich, who had originally led Bayer Leverkusen by 4 points, now only had a 2-point advantage!
In Bundesliga Matchday 28, five rounds later, if the two teams maintained the 2-point difference, Bayern Munich would directly face Bayer Leverkusen!
That match might become the 2013-2014 season's—Bundesliga final!
The Bundesliga title race suspense continued!
After the match, German legend Lothar Matthäus also highly praised Lance's performance in his column.
"…I observed in this match that the young Lance seemed to have undergone some transformation."
"Previously, his ball control and touch were full of flair, and he had some dribbling ability. Perhaps due to lack of confidence or match experience, he couldn't fully utilize his dribbling skills. In today's match against 1. FSV Mainz 05, Lance repeatedly showcased scenes of taking on multiple opponents and dribbling through the defense. And both goals saw Lance dribble past more than 3 players, single-handedly breaking through 1. FSV Mainz 05's compact defense."
"Perhaps it indicates that after eliminating Arsenal, Lance has become more confident and daring with the ball. This is good news for Bayer Leverkusen! From now on, besides Son, Lance also possesses the ability to advance with the ball, making Bayer Leverkusen's attacking methods more diverse! They might truly be the biggest dark horse in the Bundesliga this season, the team most likely to threaten Bayern Munich's throne!"
Scrolling through Lothar Matthäus's comments on Twitter, Lance felt a little embarrassed.
"It seems the Bachira Meguru template's intensity is even higher than I imagined!"
The rage value accumulation speed of the [Bachira Meguru] template was much slower than [Nagi Seishiro].
So much so that throughout the entire match against 1. FSV Mainz 05, he couldn't accumulate 100% rage.
Lance couldn't help but feel a little anticipation.
If the normal form could tear through 1. FSV Mainz 05's compact defense, if he really managed to accumulate 100%, how terrifying would the peak power of the [Bachira Meguru] S-rank template be?