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So, Roma isn't considered a strong team?
Seeing that the Fusion Value hadn't changed, Lance carefully considered the pattern of its previous increases. Last season, the Fusion Value increased easily, mostly because it was his first time participating in the Bundesliga, and he was unfamiliar with all the Bundesliga teams.
And as a 16-year-old newcomer, challenging the intensity of the Bundesliga was a test for Lance. With winning the championship last season, plus Lance's skill intensity, match experience, and personal training improvements, most Bundesliga teams no longer offered much challenge value for Lance. In matches against non-strong opponents, the Fusion Value would almost never increase.
Additionally, in the Champions League, only powerful giants like Liverpool and Real Madrid could increase it, and the increase was directly related to the cruciality of the match.
During the World Cup, the intensity was high enough, so the increase was relatively fast. In the Champions League group stage, the intensity was low, and Real Madrid didn't play with 100% effort, so the increase was relatively slow.
When facing Roma, the system simply didn't recognise Roma as a strong team.
"Could it be that..."
Changing his perspective, since the system felt the match intensity wasn't enough for an increase, Lance might have been scaring himself. The opposing lineup looked intimidating, but was it actually vulnerable?
Lance wasn't entirely sure and could only probe first. With the referee's whistle, Roma kicked off first.
CCTV commentator Duan Xuan was still reading out the starting lineup.
"Home team Bayer Leverkusen rotated in the Bundesliga three days ago and were held to a draw by Freiburg. For today's Champions League group stage, they've fielded their main lineup."
"Goalkeeper Leno, defenders Hilbert, Harry Maguire, Rüdiger, who has recovered from injury and starts, and left-back Nathan Aké."
"Midfield double pivots, Rolfes partners Lars Bender. On the left, Son Heung-min, on the right, De Bruyne, with Lance anchoring as the attacking midfielder."
"The lone striker is still the highly functional Firmino."
"Now looking at the Roma lineup, they've deployed a 4-3-3 formation. Goalkeeper, Skorupski;"
"The defence lines up across, Maicon, Manolas, Mbemba, and England veteran Ashley Cole. Midfielders Pjanić, Keita, Nainggolan."
"Up front, Florenzi, Totti, and Gervinho form the trident..."
"Number 10 Totti, the 38-year-old Roma captain, is still active in the Champions League starting lineup..."
Duan Xuan was about to talk about this legendary player, an epitome of one-club loyalty. However, an unexpected event occurred on the field, and his introduction came to an abrupt halt.
"Eh? Let's look at this ball!! Son Heung-min, he's overtaken Maicon on the outside!! Cuts inside, pulls it back, right-footed cross!!"
"Lance—"
"Oh my!!! That's a goal!!! Barely one minute into the match, home team Bayer Leverkusen's counter-attack strikes first!"
"1-0!!! Bayer Leverkusen leads! Lance's late run from deep was brilliant, his perfect first touch fooled the defender, and he volleyed it in with his right foot!"
If Robin van Persie was the king of first-time volleys, Lance was the king of volleys after a touch. His most common way of scoring was to use his exquisite first touch in the penalty area to unexpectedly shake off opposing defenders, creating unforeseen shooting opportunities.
To chip the ball with his toe to the other side and then volley it with his right foot should have been heavily marked. Clearly, Roma hadn't done their homework... It proved that Roma truly hadn't paid enough attention to Lance, whether due to arrogance or not expecting Lance to be so fierce.
Less than 10 minutes later, Bayer Leverkusen's counter-attack once again started from the left wing!
"Son Heung-min!! He looks very confident against Maicon, forcing his way through!!"
The former "world's best right-back" Maicon, the meritorious right-back who won five trophies with Inter Milan, the attacking and defending iron curtain on Brazil's right flank... after being torn apart by "The Great Bale" Gareth Bale, his spirit was shattered, and his decline was somewhat exaggerated.
Later, Maicon left Inter Milan in obscurity, and fans who didn't follow Serie A hardly saw Maicon anymore. At Roma, Maicon was also diligent and recovered some of his form.
But he was still far from his peak. Furthermore, Son Heung-min was in his ascending phase, with outstanding physical qualities, strong explosiveness, and a certain level of dribbling skill.
Maicon was once again broken by Son Heung-min, who drove straight in! This time, Son Heung-min's pass, De Bruyne unexpectedly appeared in the attacking midfield position, and a defender rushed to mark De Bruyne, leaving the right defensive area empty.
De Bruyne curled a ball with the outside of his foot, Firmino made a run in the box to draw away a defender, it looked like the pass was going to be lost, but then the figure in the black jersey charged out again!
"Lance!!! Unmarked!!"
His left foot perfectly brought down De Bruyne's curved pass and precisely guided it to his right front, the most comfortable position for a shot! Lance's shooting was even smoother and more fluid than in training, he aimed and blasted it into the net from a tight angle!
"That's a goal!!! A brace!!!"
"Seven goals in 3 Champions League group stage matches!! Lance is far ahead in the Champions League top scorer list!"
The entire Roma team was stunned. Being beaten by Juve in Serie A was one thing, and even losing to Real Madrid and Liverpool was nothing.
This time, being drawn into the Group of Death, Roma's goal was only one: to aim for a small defeat or a draw against Real Madrid, and to try to steal victories from Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen to get enough points to qualify for the knockout stage.
Bayer Leverkusen was clearly the easiest soft target. Unexpectedly, this squeeze directly pierced both hands; Roma was the softest target in the group!
"De Bruyne, moves to the centre, a calm through ball!!"
"Firmino's clever backheel pass..."
"Lance!!! A backheel touch and flick!!! It's in!!!"
"A hat-trick!!! 3-0!!!"
Duan Xuan was laughing like a simpleton. Watching Lance's performance in the penalty area was simply delightful.
Which forward at home could still backheel a stop when triple-teamed in the penalty area? Stopping the ball and nutmegging Manolas was one thing, but he also managed to go past him with the ball, and then poke it into the net from the six-yard box!
The 17-year-old Lance was as composed as a player far beyond his age; Filippo Inzaghi was probably no better than this? 3-0 up after 30 minutes in the first half, averaging a goal every 10 minutes.
Roma had been completely broken by Bayer Leverkusen. The suspense of the match was lost early...
"Full time! Bayer Leverkusen wins 5-0 at home against Serie A runner-up Roma! Three wins out of three, temporarily leading Group C!"
"Lance scored four goals! He leads the top scorer list with 8 goals!"
Looking at the top scorer list, Duan Xuan could only feel it was incredible. Messi + Suárez + Neymar, Barcelona's strongest trident, only had 8 goals combined.
Lance alone was equivalent to all three members of Barcelona's MSN trio! A runaway lead in the top scorer list!
"If Bayer Leverkusen can continue their dark horse momentum from last season, and Lance can maintain his current form, then the Champions League Golden Boot award this season will probably also lose its suspense!"
Who said Lance would hit a rookie wall? Facts prove that the rookie wall has been shattered to pieces by this young player!