Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
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In Lance's impression, the 2013-2014 season was a high-start, low-finish season for FC Barcelona.
In the first leg of the Spanish Clásico, FC Barcelona thrashed Real Madrid 4-0. It gave people a sense of the return of the Sextuple winners, a restoration of the Dream Team era. FC Barcelona was also one of the biggest favorites to win the Champions League.
However, under the guidance of Argentine coach Gerardo Martino, FC Barcelona seemed to become more and more lost. As long as Lionel Messi didn't find his peak form, FC Barcelona's possession and progression no longer had their former stability.
This ultimately led to FC Barcelona finishing the 2013-2014 season empty-handed, the first time they had not won a trophy since Pep Guardiola left. Later fans would also believe that FC Barcelona only truly rose in the 2014-2015 season when Luis Suárez joined, completing the full MSN.
The 2013-2014 season was a low point for FC Barcelona. But when Bayer Leverkusen truly faced FC Barcelona head-on, and Lance genuinely competed on the same field as the 'Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets' trio and Lionel Messi, he finally experienced the pressure from FC Barcelona!
Thirty minutes had already passed since kickoff! Except for the one attack Bayer Leverkusen launched first at the very beginning of the match, relying on the kickoff, for the rest of the half hour, Bayer Leverkusen hadn't even crossed the halfway line, with 0 shots on target!
"The match has been going on for 30 minutes, and FC Barcelona's possession rate has already reached 81%. Bayer Leverkusen, playing at home, only has less than 20% possession... FC Barcelona's high press against Bayer Leverkusen is very effective, and they constantly use their favored possession to squeeze Bayer Leverkusen's space. Lionel Messi with the ball, Xavi Hernández, Sergio Busquets, Javier Mascherano, Víctor Valdés... then to Jordi Alba! Xavi Hernández, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernández..."
Zhan Jun was numb from watching. He knew there was a gap in strength between the two sides, but who would have thought the gap would be so huge! It was like a professional team playing against an amateur school team, almost completely dominated, with no ability to fight back.
And this was with FC Barcelona playing relatively conservatively away from home, not risking through balls behind the defense. Otherwise, if FC Barcelona's attack were more aggressive, Bayer Leverkusen would have conceded 3 goals already!
"In terms of shots, FC Barcelona has 12, while Bayer Leverkusen only has 1. FC Barcelona had 4 shots on target, all saved by Bernd Leno. Bayer Leverkusen hasn't even threatened Víctor Valdés yet... Corner kicks, FC Barcelona has 8 corner kicks... This shot!! It's another shot from Lionel Messi, blocked by Bernd Leno out for a corner! FC Barcelona's 9th corner kick of the first half! The pressure in front of Bayer Leverkusen's goal is immense!"
At BayArena, the Bayer Leverkusen fans in the stands couldn't even bother to sing. Everyone felt like they were in a sauna, struggling to breathe, their hearts pounding in their chests.
"Xavi Hernández takes the corner, a short one!"
"Oh!! This ball! Dani Alves is in the box... Cross! No, he pulls it back!"
"Cut back to Lionel Messi!"
"Lionel Messi!!"
"That shot went wide!!"
Zhan Jun almost flinched in shock.
"Fortunately, though Lionel Messi is very active today, his shots haven't found their rhythm yet. Bayer Leverkusen has escaped again."
...
On the field, the Bayer Leverkusen players simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief. FC Barcelona's pressure on them was too strong! They had felt this way when playing Arsenal last time, but Arsenal's pressure wasn't quite enough.
This time, a sense of powerlessness had spread among the players. No matter how hard they tried, it was difficult to win the ball from FC Barcelona's feet. Lance and Stefan Kiessling in the front were practically being made to run around like monkeys.
Lars Bender and Simon Rolfes in midfield could at most block FC Barcelona's progression into dangerous areas, but the opponent's penetration was simply ubiquitous! Alexis Sánchez was fine; his biggest threat was still breakthroughs from the wing.
Lionel Messi and Neymar were the players Bayer Leverkusen truly worried about. These two could take the ball from any position and drive into the box, threatening the goal. Coupled with Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández supplying ammunition, Bayer Leverkusen had to be 120,000 percent focused every second!
Playing for 30 minutes with such high tension would inevitably snap the string. Sure enough, just 32 minutes into the match, FC Barcelona had another fluid passing combination. Xavi Hernández, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, a series of dazzling passes, had already torn open a gap on the left wing!
Neymar and Alexis Sánchez made a cross run, but then Neymar suddenly accelerated from the edge of the left box with a step-over, nutmegging Emir Spahić!
"Oh, oh!! He's through!! Neymar!"
Near the six-yard box, Neymar originally wanted to shoot from a tight angle, but seeing Lionel Messi in a better position, he decisively played a horizontal pass!
"Lionel Messi—"
As Lionel Messi made a late run from deep, curling a shot with his left foot from outside the box, and Ömer Toprak futilely tried to intercept behind him, Lance's heart sank.
"It's a goal!! Lionel Messi! The connection between Neymar and Lionel Messi!"
"A classic FC Barcelona goal, passing the ball into the net!"
Bayer Leverkusen had neither Atlético Madrid's mad dog pressing, nor Inter Milan's defensive bus. With just this defensive line, they simply couldn't stop FC Barcelona's firepower!
"FC Barcelona, playing away, takes a 1-0 lead! And they get a valuable away goal!"
"Bayer Leverkusen cannot just sit back and wait to die like this. They must try more unconventional methods to get the ball out!"
"That's right!"
Zhang Lu also pointed out Bayer Leverkusen's problem today.
"Although Bayer Leverkusen's paper strength is not as good as FC Barcelona's, their performance shouldn't be just like this. The reason they eliminated Arsenal and achieved a winning streak in the Bundesliga is because Bayer Leverkusen dares to attack, dares to take risks. Today, perhaps because the opponent is FC Barcelona, they are a bit too cautious, and their tactics are too rigid, which ironically makes it easy for FC Barcelona to defend. In my opinion, Bayer Leverkusen needs to make more use of Lance, play more balls in behind, and just counter-attack!"
Zhang Lu, with the clarity of an outsider, offered his advice. Unfortunately, the Bayer Leverkusen players on the field didn't seem to recognize the reality yet, still counter-attacking in a methodical way.
After winning the ball, they would play ground passes to Lars Bender, who would then try to find Lance or Son Heung-min on the wing. Anyone could guess how they would pass, and FC Barcelona could easily defend it.
"Oh!! The ball is intercepted!! Sergio Busquets' interception! A decisive through ball! Directly to Lionel Messi!"
"Oh no!!"
Lance was originally marking Xavi Hernández, but when Sergio Busquets got the ball and played a through ball down the middle, Lance slid in to intercept, but it was still too late! Lionel Messi moved into the arc, received the ball, dribbled past Emir Spahić into the box, and decisively shot!
The ball curved past the goalkeeper!
"It's in again!! Lionel Messi!! A brace!"
"Bayer Leverkusen concedes two goals in 5 minutes! The score is already 0-2!"
"FC Barcelona gets two valuable away goals! It seems today's match will be completely dominated by FC Barcelona!"
Zhan Jun was depressed watching. What kind of teammates did Lance have!
35 minutes into the first half, 0-2 down. Bayer Leverkusen's already low morale was hit again! With only 10 minutes left in the first half, Lance knew they couldn't continue like this.
If possible, it would be best to pull one goal back before the end of the first half, to keep a glimmer of hope. But how to get it back?
Considering they were playing FC Barcelona today, opportunities to receive the ball in the opponent's box would likely be few. Most attacks would come from quick counter-attacks from the back. Lance's equipped template was [Bachira Meguru]!
Even if [Bachira Meguru] only had 1 skill, and [Nagi Seishiro] had 3 skills, Lance still believed in the progression ability of [Beast Dribbling]!
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Equipped Template: Bachira Meguru - S (Fusion value 5%)— Skill: Beast Dribbling— Skill: Locked (Unlocked at 25% Fusion value)
Rage Value: 95%
Assisting Character: Nagi Seishiro - S (Fusion value 100%)Assisting Status: On
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The Rage Value was almost full! He would use these last few minutes to try and fill the Rage Value! And it was a perfect opportunity to test it on FC Barcelona!
What kind of power would the [Bachira Meguru] template unleash when at full throttle!