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According to the information from the prophetic dream, Real Madrid ended the 2014-2015 season empty-handed. The Champions League title belonged to Barcelona, and MSN was invincible.
The La Liga title also belonged to Barcelona. Although Real Madrid once led Barcelona, they were ultimately overtaken by Barcelona and lost the championship.
As for the Copa del Rey, it was snatched by their city rivals, Atlético Madrid. Ancelotti's Real Madrid did not win any trophies, which led to Ancelotti's departure and Zidane's gradual rise, writing a new legendary story.
Leaving aside subsequent events for now, Lance only remembered that Real Madrid went "empty-handed" that season, instinctively judging the 2014-2015 season as a relatively weak one for Real Madrid. But Lance forgot one thing.
Real Madrid's lineup across all three fronts was essentially composed of peak-era players, and Cristiano Ronaldo had evolved into his "Golden Edge Ronaldo" form in the past two years. A team like this would not be weak.
The reason for going "empty-handed" was related to the strength of Barcelona and Atlético Madrid, as well as Real Madrid's frequent injuries in the middle and late stages of the season. Real Madrid once led Barcelona by 8 points!
At that time, everyone was saying that Real Madrid was about to win the La Liga title, and they all thought Real Madrid's championship was secure. And at the beginning of the season, Real Madrid went on a winning streak, with unstoppable momentum!
They quickly showed Lance what the level of peak-era Real Madrid was like.
"After conceding a goal, Real Madrid's offensive became more and more fierce. Bayer Leverkusen was temporarily unable to counterattack, and could only give up possession, retreating to the backfield to defend."
"Taking the ball in midfield, Modrić, Toni Kroos, then back to Modrić..."
"Suddenly a pass to the wing, Cristiano Ronaldo receives the ball and cuts inside!!"
"A direct shot on goal!!"
He Wei exclaimed! Cristiano Ronaldo's shot this time was so decisive that it caught goalkeeper Leno by surprise, who made a hurried dive!
Fortunately, Leno was focused, and his fingertips grazed the ball, changing its trajectory to hit the crossbar and bounce out. Real Madrid got a corner kick.
"The goal conceded in the third minute of the match did not affect Real Madrid's morale. They launched a siege on the Bayer Leverkusen penalty area, like a wounded beast, extremely fierce."
"Toni Kroos is responsible for taking this corner kick..."
Watching Toni Kroos raise his hand in the corner flag area, Lance suddenly had an ominous premonition. He subconsciously looked up for Cristiano Ronaldo's position, who was being defended by Harry Maguire;
Pepe was also marked by Van Dijk, and captain Ramos was also marked by Rolfes. These key aerial threats were all contained, so theoretically, there should be no surprises.
But what was this premonition exactly? It was only after Toni Kroos took the corner kick that Lance realised!
It was the far post! Cristiano Ronaldo, Ramos, and Pepe were all fighting for the ball at the near post, drawing everyone forward.
Who was at the back? He Wei also noticed, the ball quickly arced, perfectly bypassing the goalkeeper's area, and precisely dropped towards the far post!
In the open space, a figure instantly accelerated and burst out, catching the Bayer Leverkusen players off guard!
"Gareth Bale!!!"
Amid He Wei's exclamation, Gareth Bale, using his run-up speed, leaped into the air like a monkey, heading the ball lightly! The ball arced slightly, just grazing past goalkeeper Leno's fingertips, and dropped into the net!
"Goal!!! In the 11th minute of the first half, Real Madrid quickly equalised the score! Both teams are back on level terms!"
Only now did Lance realise that the difficulty of this match was much higher than he had imagined. Real Madrid was very strong!
"Real Madrid's pressure continues. After equalising, they played much more calmly, and threatening attacks frequently appeared in the front field."
"On the contrary, Bayer Leverkusen, after taking an early lead, became somewhat passive, constantly being led by Real Madrid."
"Although Lance is playing in midfield today, he is more often looking for opportunities up front. Bayer Leverkusen's two defensive midfielders, Rolfes and Lars Bender, they are both quite well-rounded, but there is a certain gap between them and world-class midfielders. Conversely, Modrić and Toni Kroos, they are absolutely the top-tier midfield combination in the world."
According to Zhang Lu's analysis, Bayer Leverkusen's passivity on the field today was more due to the gap in midfield and tactical differences. Bayer Leverkusen had strengthened personnel in both the front and back lines, but not in midfield.
It was more than enough to handle the Bundesliga, but to achieve results in the Champions League, more dominant midfielders were needed. Sascha and Hyypiä had clearly realised this.
They hoped to move Lance's position back, using his ability to hold the ball, protect it, and pass to activate the midfield, but Lance was, after all, used to playing as a forward, and always wanted to push forward. This resulted in Bayer Leverkusen's control being significantly weaker.
Bayer Leverkusen attempted a counterattack... Rolfes was entangled by Khedira! Rolfes couldn't turn and could only pass back to goalkeeper Leno for further action.
But his back pass, under Khedira's interference, lacked power, and someone burst out from the side, intercepting the pass in the crowd!
"Benzema!! This is dangerous!"
Bernd Leno had intended to receive the ball at the edge of the penalty area, but before he could, Benzema chipped the ball over his head, and incredibly, scored into an open net! 1-2!
Bayer Leverkusen conceded two goals in a row to Real Madrid!
"Oh my, that goal!! Oh dear!"
Zhang Lu was even amused. Bayer Leverkusen made a huge passing error.
Benzema is a player who is very good at finding opportunities between defenders and the goalkeeper, and very good at punishing errors by defenders and goalkeepers. He always manages to poach some inexplicable goals.
This time, he capitalised on Rolfes' mistake to change the score!
"Bayer Leverkusen, who had a dream start, unexpectedly conceded two goals in less than 20 minutes. Playing at home, Bayer Leverkusen probably needs to think of a solution."
From Bayer Leverkusen's perspective, He Wei also felt a headache. Real Madrid's displayed intensity was a bit unexpected, and they seemed unable to find a good way to deal with it for the time being.
Counterattacks couldn't be launched and were easily intercepted by Real Madrid's midfield. On the passing lanes to Lance, there was always someone marking and intercepting.
Lance spent most of his time defending and hadn't touched the ball for a long time. Crucially, he was using the Nagi Seishiro template today, which didn't allow him to dribble directly from the backfield to the front...
Standing on the field, Lance clearly felt his teammates' frustration. Could he only rely on the Bachira Meguru support?
It could only be used once per game, and at most, it would only result in 1 goal. Lance didn't plan to use the support easily.
He was waiting for a better opportunity.
"It must be possible!"
Lance didn't believe he couldn't receive a single ball. With Son Heung-min and De Bruyne, there would definitely be an opportunity!
Just as Lance expected, his trusted teammates delivered. The match continued until the 30-minute mark, with Bayer Leverkusen steadily retreating, defending passively, and temporarily holding off Real Madrid's relentless attacks.
Son Heung-min was almost pushed back to the edge of the penalty area. He finally found an opportunity!
A clearance in front of the goal, Harry Maguire won the header, sending it towards the left wing. Son Heung-min seized the opportunity, controlled the ball, bypassed Modrić, and burst forward with speed!
The two players, both with connections to Tottenham, competed fiercely. In Modrić's surprised gaze, the young East Asian player was very strong and fast, accelerating again to create distance!
"Son Heung-min's breakthrough!! He gets past Modrić, then changes his rhythm... and gets past Khedira!!"
But there were still Pepe, Ramos, and others in the attacking third, so this attack still seemed hopeless. Just then, Son Heung-min, while dribbling, suddenly played a diagonal pass to the top of the penalty area!
A Bayer Leverkusen player in black burst out from the side, stopped the ball with his toe, and turned, expertly fooling Pepe!
"Eh?! Lance!! He's gotten past him!! A direct shot inside the box!"
"Goal! Lance—"
"At Bayer Leverkusen's most difficult moment, it's Lance who steps up to equalise the score!"
"2-2!"