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Lance was trending on Weibo's hot search for a full day. Even after scoring, he didn't forget to celebrate National Day, sending blessings to his fans back home.
His fan count, which had grown to 6 million during the World Cup, was now on the verge of breaking 10 million. Rock singer Wang Feng cried again.
He had bought Weibo's hot search and PR articles that day, all to get his new album to the top of the trending list. He never thought that no matter how much money he spent on promotion, he still couldn't compete with genuine traffic.
Lance had only sent a blessing because the timing was right; he didn't care at all about how much traffic he received. Weibo was almost treated as a friend circle, purely managed by himself.
Most importantly, this match was won. They defeated Paderborn 4-0 at home.
Lance had 1 assist, 1 goal, and orchestrated 1 attack, with all three goals connected to him. He was substituted in the 65th minute to rest.
With Lance's help, the team achieved six consecutive wins! Since the third Champions League group stage match was scheduled for late October, this period was perfect for gaining points in the Bundesliga.
Bild also noticed the strong rise of Bayer Leverkusen; they seemed to be back in the title race.
"In Bundesliga Round 6, Hamburg held Bayern Munich to a 0-0 draw at home, ending Bayern's eight-game winning streak across all competitions. Currently, Bayern Munich leads the Bundesliga table with 5 wins and 1 draw, accumulating 16 points."
"Borussia Dortmund is in 2nd place with 4 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss, totalling 13 points; Bayer Leverkusen is in 3rd place with 3 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss, totalling 10 points!"
"After failing to win in the first three rounds of the season and briefly falling into the relegation zone, Bayer Leverkusen's recent resurgence and winning streak have brought them back into the title contention!"
Only 6 points behind Bayern at the top, it seemed not an insurmountable gap. Rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach, Schalke 04, Werder Bremen, Wolfsburg... all were at least 3 points behind Bayer Leverkusen.
The title race situation was identical to last season. Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, and Bayer Leverkusen in a three-way battle!
Bayern Munich will likely continue to dominate the Bundesliga; it just depends on which of the two challengers, Bayer Leverkusen or Borussia Dortmund, falls behind first…
"What do you say? Are you confident about winning the Bundesliga this season?"
"Of course, Mr. Rummenigge, didn't you hire me for a championship? There are too many variables in the Champions League, making it hard to predict."
"But the Bundesliga is still a sure bet…"
"Then why didn't you win the championship last season?"
"This…"
Facing Rummenigge's questioning, Guardiola awkwardly scratched his bald head, feeling extremely ashamed. Theoretically, Bayern should have easily dominated the Bundesliga last season!
Who knew a player would suddenly appear out of nowhere! It's truly bizarre!
Guardiola wiped the sweat from his forehead and forced a smile:
"Believe me, Mr. Rummenigge, this season we have already gelled, and it's absolutely impossible for us to make a mistake."
"Alright, I'll trust you one last time, but you need to know that Bayern Munich is not a charity organisation. Given that you are a champion coach, I'll give you more opportunities, but opportunities are limited…"
"Don't worry, we can at least stabilise the Bundesliga this season."
"Hmm, it's best if you can stabilise it."
Rummenigge nodded, got into his luxury car, and drove away. Guardiola only breathed a sigh of relief after watching the taillights disappear in the car park.
With no one around, he couldn't help but curse under his breath.
"Pendejo!!"
He came to the Bundesliga with the halo of a six-time champion, but who knew that both Bayern's management and the German media were scrutinising him with a magnifying glass.
It was fine when Guardiola won, but whenever they lost or drew, there were countless criticisms, from his on-the-spot substitutions to his tactical designs, scrutinising him from head to toe until he was utterly flawless. It made Guardiola out to be the culprit for Bayern losing the championship, and his tiki-taka style seemed outdated.
But Guardiola believed he had no problems, and tiki-taka was not outdated. The reason Bayern couldn't achieve the same effect as Barcelona in its prime must be that the players' execution was not as good as La Masia's, and their chemistry was far inferior to La Masia's.
Unfortunately, at the end of the season, Guardiola had repeatedly suggested to Rummenigge that they should buy Lance, no matter the cost. But Bayern simply ignored Guardiola's request.
Who told them to easily kick Lance out? It was too late to regret it now.
Lance's agent, Mendes, explicitly stated that no matter where Lance transferred in the future, he would never return to Bayern Munich. After Guardiola learned the whole story, he wished he could grab the reserve team coach Erik ten Hag by the collar and question him, asking if his brain had gone bad? As for the culprit, Erik ten Hag, he had already been dismissed by Bayern after the 2013-2014 season and returned to the Eredivisie to coach, tail between his legs.
No one cared about this matter. Who was Erik ten Hag?
Just a small character; no one would have thought he would cause any waves in the football world later on.
"What should we do? The pressure is so immense?"
Jordi Roura, the assistant coach who had always followed Guardiola, was at his wit's end. If they couldn't retain the Bundesliga title this season, Guardiola's position would also be lost.
Guardiola himself, however, calmed down, his expression returning to normal:
"Don't panic yet; everything depends on the direct confrontation in Round 14. I trust we can take them down this time, right?"
"Of course, of course!"
Jordi Roura quickly agreed, but he wasn't very confident in his heart.
"Can we really do it?"
No one could understand Bayer Leverkusen's growth potential…
"Accelerate, accelerate!! Push harder!!"
"Brothers, hold on!!"
"Beautiful!!"
After a series of wins, the Bayer Leverkusen team was not complacent. On the contrary, driven by Lance, everyone's training attitude was very serious.
On the training ground, the Bayer Leverkusen players, despite being exhausted, De Bruyne's face was flushed, Son Heung-min gasped for air, leaning on his knees, and even Julian Brandt, who was always lazy, had a serious expression, completing today's training tasks with the highest intensity.
Dribbling around cones, balance training, agility training... each exercise was done as well as possible, even if the coach had approved it, if he himself wasn't satisfied, he would do it again.
It made Hyypiä laugh.
"Julian, you've changed into a different person. Honestly, who are you really?"
"Coach, I just feel that I need to improve myself."
Julian Brandt forced a smile. He joined the team at the same time as Lance last season.
At that time, Julian was a standard first-team rotation player, while Lance was just a 16-year-old substitute, a rotation within the rotation, with a world of difference in their statuses and salaries.
Who would have thought that in less than a season, Lance was already the highest-paid player on the team, with a weekly salary of nearly 250,000 euros, and had become Bayer Leverkusen's core, repeatedly playing the saviour in crucial battles, a pillar of the team at just 17 years old.
And he, Julian Brandt, after a season, was back to being a substitute. With De Bruyne anchoring the right wing, Julian Brandt could only play in cup games and less important Bundesliga matches.
He didn't even get a chance to play in the Champions League… It was only now that he truly understood the meaning of Lance's hard work.
"I hope it's not too late…"
Watching Lance chatting relaxedly with De Bruyne, Son Heung-min, Firmino, and others, Julian Brandt felt a bit lost.
Next to him, Kießling and Derdiyok, also relegated to the bench, stood together, forming a "League of the Disgruntled."
"Do we… still have a chance?"
"Yes, brother, yes."
Lance was their role model! Lance, who was chatting with De Bruyne, also noticed the gazes of several teammates at this moment. He turned his head and gave them a thumbs-up.
If they wanted to achieve results in all three competitions this season, no one could be missing. He couldn't rely solely on his cheat to take on the peak Barcelona or the MSN trio.
"Come on, everyone! There's a real big boss waiting for us!"