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"This stadium feels a lot worse than Camp Nou."
"Tsk, what do you guys think, if we meet those guys from Real Madrid in the semifinals, do we have a good chance?"
"Uh… why say that? We beat them twice this season! We'll definitely be fine!"
"Maybe this season, the three La Liga brothers will take all the semifinal spots."
"It just depends on whether Atlético Madrid can do it; anyway, we're fine in the lower bracket."
BayArena.
The day before the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, in the afternoon. The FC Barcelona players were training to adapt to the BayArena pitch, and everyone looked relaxed, not taking tomorrow's match seriously at all.
Bayer Leverkusen? What kind of team is that?
FC Barcelona's opponents are Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, and Bayern Munich! Even Chelsea isn't qualified to play against FC Barcelona. A team like Bayer Leverkusen can be easily crushed.
From the moment the draw results came out, FC Barcelona was bound to advance to the Champions League semifinals and meet Real Madrid. Any surprises? The probability is at most 1%!
Perhaps last season's Bundesliga giants were strong, meeting in the Champions League final. But FC Barcelona has reinforced for the new season! The Brazilian prodigy Neymar, widely considered a candidate for "the world's third best player," arrived in Europe from Santos last summer for 88 million euros, joining FC Barcelona!
Adding to that the powerful winger Alexis Sánchez, brought in from Serie A, the trident of Neymar, Lionel Messi, and Alexis Sánchez is absolutely world-class, with top-tier attacking power! Plus the classic iron triangle of Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, and Sergio Busquets, and the main defensive line of Gerard Piqué, Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba, and Dani Alves.
FC Barcelona is the second biggest favorite to win the Champions League, after Real Madrid! Their odds even surpass Bayern Munich, Chelsea, and Atlético Madrid!
If not for FC Barcelona and Real Madrid being in the same half of the bracket, some media might even predict that this year's Champions League final would be an El Clásico, Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona! Unfortunately, the two super teams, with a clear lead over others, will meet early in the semifinals. The final will most likely be a showdown between Bayern Munich and one of the two La Liga giants!
Last season, FC Barcelona was crushed 4-0 by Bayern Munich. It seems this revenge can only wait until the final!
On the field, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Andrés Iniesta, Alexis Sánchez, and others looked very relaxed, discussing the situation in the Champions League semifinals.
"Oh, by the way, I heard that guy scored again a few days ago. He already has 33 goals before the Bundesliga is even over; that's a bit exaggerated, isn't it?"
"Indeed, he might be the only point of concern for the defense. Piqué, pay attention."
"Yeah, Piqué, if he breaks through, you'll definitely be in trouble."
Being teased by his teammates, Gerard Piqué was very unconvinced.
"How is that possible? Just watch me freeze him! He's just a 16-year-old kid, and I heard he's Chinese? Can they even play football?"
Piqué scoffed at Lance. What threat can a 16-year-old kid pose? He, Piqué, is the "world's best center-back" who has won the Champions League twice! Defending a Chinese player would be like child's play.
The only explanation for him scoring over 30 goals is that the Bundesliga is too weak. If he were in La Liga or the Premier League, he'd score at most a dozen goals.
Hearing Piqué say this, his other teammates also started laughing, and there was a joyful atmosphere on the field. Only Lionel Messi frowned, about to say something, but then swallowed his words.
With Cristiano Ronaldo's personality, he might have said something directly. But Lionel Messi, as the team leader, was relatively more reserved and didn't speak up. A gut feeling told Lionel Messi that Lance kid is definitely not ordinary! (T/N: Yes Yes)
Lionel Messi had seen Lance play with his own eyes, and his talent even surprised Lionel Messi! Fortunately, the midfield maestro Xavi Hernández reminded him. Xavi Hernández appeared honest and reliable on the surface, but he was actually a foul-mouthed stress-inducer.
"Piqué, you'd better be careful. If something goes wrong tomorrow, watch out for the coach giving you trouble."
"Don't worry, the coach still loves me."
At the beginning of the season, FC Barcelona's head coach, Tito Vilanova, left the field due to worsening cancer. The Argentinian Gerardo Martino took over as coach. Martino has quite a fiery temper; everyone except Lionel Messi has been yelled at by him.
Piqué thought of the coach's hairdryer treatment and became slightly more serious. On the surface, he still couldn't help but mutter.
"He's just a 16-year-old kid, I'll show you how I defend him tomorrow."
...
"Welcome to Sina Sports! Today, we bring you the first leg of the quarterfinals of the 2013-2014 Champions League season. Bayer Leverkusen, currently ranked 2nd in the Bundesliga, hosts the challenge of the giant FC Barcelona! This is also Lance's first direct confrontation with a world-class superstar, Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi! Let's first look at the starting lineups for both teams!"
Many fans who couldn't watch on TV often chose to watch live streams online. Recently, with broadband speed increases, live streaming has also moved past its previous lag, becoming increasingly smooth. Moreover, Sina Sports live streams, as well as platforms like PPTV and LeSports that are gradually emerging, fans no longer need to search for live streams everywhere. Important matches can be easily watched, and here we also have the classic duo of Zhan Jun and Zhang Lu. Many fans come specifically for them.
"First, let's look at the home team, Bayer Leverkusen, lining up in their usual 4-4-1-1 formation. Goalkeeper, Bernd Leno. Defenders, Giulio Donati, Emir Spahić, Ömer Toprak, Sebastian Boenisch; Midfielders, Julian Brandt, Simon Rolfes, Lars Bender, Son Heung-min; The attacking duo is Stefan Kiessling, partnered with the current top scorer in the Bundesliga, a prodigy with a chance to break the Bundesliga historical record, Lance!"
Zhan Jun glanced at the backend data; the live stream already had over 1 million fans! As Lance gradually broke through, more and more people followed him to watch Bayer Leverkusen's matches. What's more, the opponent is FC Barcelona, with the extremely popular superstar Lionel Messi! Today's match is bound to be a major battle!
"Now, let's look at FC Barcelona's starting lineup. They are also in their familiar 4-3-3 formation. Carles Puyol, Cesc Fàbregas, and Cristian Tello all have varying degrees of injuries. Goalkeeper, Víctor Valdés. Defenders, Dani Alves, Gerard Piqué, Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba; Midfielders, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, a European championship-winning core. The attacking trident, Alexis Sánchez, Neymar, and… Lionel Messi!"
Watching this luxurious, world-class lineup, Zhang Lu kept exclaiming.
"Today, FC Barcelona, perhaps, is the strongest opponent Lance has faced so far. It is also a very difficult hurdle for Bayer Leverkusen to overcome. Their possession-based system aside. Just looking at this trident is terrifying. Alexis Sánchez's dribbling speed and progression, Neymar's small techniques and finishing ability, plus Lionel Messi... no need to say more. Let's just see how long Bayer Leverkusen's defense can hold up… ha ha ha ha."
Zhang Lu couldn't help but chuckle again. Zhan Jun also had a wry smile. He felt that in these two legs, Bayer Leverkusen was very likely to be in trouble. Lance would probably stop at the Champions League quarterfinals.
But thinking about it, reaching the Champions League quarterfinals in his first professional season is actually already satisfying. Today, the hope is more for Lance to be able to play against world-class stars like Lionel Messi, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, and Neymar. Hoping that Lance can gain experience and learn more.
It's hard to imagine that a young player would have the opportunity to compete on the same field with a world-class lineup like FC Barcelona! From the perspective of Chinese fans, they've already won big!
Watching the Bayer Leverkusen players line up, the FC Barcelona superstars shook hands one by one. The moment Lance and Lionel Messi shook hands, Zhan Jun felt a strange sense of daze. Fans in front of their televisions also began to feel dazed.
Lance's most difficult battle. Can he defeat the world's best, the future GOAT?