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Sascha Lewandowski and Sami Hyypiä, the two coaches, had a bit of a headache.
In the shot, both of them were in the exact same pose, leaning back in their chairs with their arms propped up in an inverted triangle.
In contrast, the bald coach of the away team, VfB Stuttgart, stood confidently on the sidelines, chewing gum with a faint smile.
Sascha glanced at the shiny bald head opposite him and curled his lip in disdain.
"Another bald head, bad luck."
"You hate bald heads that much?"
"Yes, I hate Pep Guardiola, and I hate this guy too; he looks so arrogant."
Sascha didn't sound like a coach at all, but more like a primary school student who had been wronged and was trying to act tough.
Sami Hyypiä ruthlessly retorted from the side:
"He's a Champions League-winning coach, and you?"
"I..."
Sascha Lewandowski was speechless.
Due to VfB Stuttgart's dismal performance in the first half of the season, former coach Bruno Labbadia had led the team plummeting into the relegation zone.
Labbadia was sacked during the winter break and replaced by the current coach, Roberto Di Matteo.
This bald coach had once taken over Chelsea as an assistant coach in a moment of crisis.
After renowned coach Carlo Ancelotti left Chelsea, the new coach André Villas-Boas had a terrible record.
As a caretaker coach, no one believed in Roberto Di Matteo.
But Di Matteo defied expectations, leading Chelsea to their first Champions League title in club history!
Claudio Ranieri, José Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink, Carlo Ancelotti, André Villas-Boas...
Numerous world-class coaches of various styles had failed to lead Chelsea to the title.
The relatively unknown Roberto Di Matteo led the team to the Champions League, instantly making a name for himself in world football!
However, after he was made permanent, the team faced issues such as aging players, a lack of new talent, reduced hunger after winning the title, and the loss of key players.
Chelsea's performance declined, and Di Matteo was sacked not long after being made permanent.
Originally, Bundesliga clubs FC Schalke 04 and VfB Stuttgart, and Serie A club AS Roma, had all invited Roberto Di Matteo to join.
Di Matteo was almost on the verge of signing with FC Schalke 04.
But then VfB Stuttgart suddenly raised their offer at the last minute and finally signed this "Champions League-winning coach."
Under Roberto Di Matteo's leadership, VfB Stuttgart seemed to show signs of improvement.
He utilized Carlo Ancelotti's football philosophy and José Mourinho's team-building ideas.
He transformed VfB Stuttgart into a system of an iron-clad defensive line plus quick counter-attacks.
At the start, it indeed made Bayer Leverkusen very frustrated.
Sascha and Hyypiä both realized that VfB Stuttgart's compact defense was very disciplined.
They needed to commit more players to help Lance create opportunities.
But if too many players from the midfield and defense went forward to attack, VfB Stuttgart could easily launch a counter-attack.
Bayer Leverkusen preferred playing against strong teams, using their own defensive counter-attacks against others.
Whenever they faced an opponent playing defensive counter-attacks, Bayer Leverkusen always found it very difficult.
The two coaches, who usually had a single-minded approach, were now completely stuck, with no idea how to break through VfB Stuttgart's iron defense.
"What should we do?"
"What else can we do? We can only hope Lance scores quickly; as long as it's a draw, we can turn the tide."
Lance hadn't expected that the two coaches would pin all the team's hopes on him.
...
"Fusion Value: 99%!"
Unfortunately, not today; I still need to accumulate more integration value.
Lance glanced at the system, then refocused his attention on the match.
Twenty minutes into the second half, he had been battling Antonio Rüdiger for a long time and had already expended a lot of energy.
Now, when Lance accelerated and sprinted, he felt a metallic taste in his mouth, and his chest felt like it was about to burst.
He was practically running on willpower alone.
Rani Khedira and Antonio Rüdiger constantly stuck close to him, preventing him from getting the ball.
A slight misstep and he would be knocked to the ground.
The referee's officiating was very lenient today, not calling fouls for most collisions and challenges.
This made it even harder for Lance to play.
"God Lance, it's all up to you!"
"Try to score one, God Lance!"
"VfB Stuttgart is tough to deal with; a win or loss is normal, actually."
"Is VfB Stuttgart a weak team?"
"Don't worry about that, I just want to see Lance score."
Fans back home were already a bit anxious; if nothing unexpected happened, Bayer Leverkusen might very well fail to break through VfB Stuttgart's defensive shell, ultimately causing the team to lose points.
The fans were also hoping Lance could make a difference.
After nearly 70 minutes of observation, Lance had basically figured out Antonio Rüdiger's weakness.
This guy was very aggressive, but it was a "double-edged sword"!
He could definitely be exploited!
At the 72nd minute, Lance finally got his chance!
Bayer Leverkusen had possession in the attacking third, Son Heung-min couldn't break through on the left, and just as he was at his wit's end, he saw Lance rushing up to receive the ball.
Son Heung-min had no choice but to play a cross-field pass, shifting it to Lance's position.
Lance and Son Heung-min already had a certain understanding.
The moment Son passed, Lance immediately turned and moved closer to Son Heung-min.
"No way!"
Antonio Rüdiger, with his high-knee running style, covered the distance in a few strides and charged to Lance's side, intending to block Lance's path if he tried to break through to the left.
But the next second, Lance didn't stop the ball immediately!
Instead, he casually let the ball run past him!
Then, he subtly changed direction with a backheel, nutmegging Antonio Rüdiger!
At the same time, he turned his body and went around him, bursting into the penalty area!!
Rüdiger's momentum was too strong, and he overran the play!
He instinctively tried to grab Lance's jersey with his hand.
But Lance was already inside the box!
Antonio Rüdiger hesitated for a mere 0.2 seconds, and Lance had already slipped past him!
"Beautiful!! Lance!! He dodged Antonio Rüdiger inside the box, now he's shooting!!"
Rüdiger had frozen Lance for 72 minutes, causing VfB Stuttgart's players to relax their guard slightly.
But anyone who dared to ignore Lance would be punished!
Bang--
From the edge of the penalty area, he drew his bow and arrow; with no one marking him, Lance could aim fully and unleash the power of his fundamental skills!
"It's a goal!!"
"As expected, we have to believe in Lance!! His individual brilliance has once again helped Bayer Leverkusen equalize!"
Both sides were back on even terms, entering the final 10 minutes with a 1-1 score!
...
Having found a way to deal with Antonio Rüdiger, Lance was incredibly active in the final 10 minutes!
Even though Sascha and Hyypiä could tell that Lance was nearing his physical limit, the only effective player on the field was Lance!
And only his 3 shots had threatened VfB Stuttgart!
Every time Antonio Rüdiger liked to charge in fiercely, Lance could completely use his first touch to draw Rüdiger out!
"Timo Werner, dribbling down the wing... intercepted!! A counter-attack chance for Bayer Leverkusen!"
In the 83rd minute, Timo Werner couldn't stand being idle.
He dribbled deep into the opponent's half, almost tearing open Bayer Leverkusen's defense.
At a crucial moment, Lance's teammate stepped up.
Lars Bender's sliding tackle from an angle precisely poked the ball away!
Son Heung-min received the ball, took a powerful touch, and accelerated past his marker!
BayArena, which had been subdued for a long time, finally erupted in cheers again!
"Son Heung-min!!! He's beaten two defenders!! The two Asian players are Bayer Leverkusen's most active players!!"
"Lance is still trying to battle Antonio Rüdiger, Son Heung-min is near the box, he's not cutting inside! He chooses to cross!"
"Lance!!"
Amidst Duan Xuan's exclamations, Son Heung-min was already exhausted from running.
He knew that blindly dribbling past opponents could easily lead to his legs feeling heavy and his movements becoming distorted, resulting in losing the ball.
At this critical moment, Son Heung-min trusted Lance's ball control skills even more!
In Son Heung-min's opinion, for close-quarters ball control and evasion, Lance was the best in the world!
Facing this fast and urgent pass, Lance feigned a run towards the goal.
Stefan Kiessling drew away the other center-backs.
Antonio Rüdiger continued to follow, blocking Lance's path if he tried to cut inside.
Logically, it should have been foolproof.
But in the nick of time, Lance suddenly stopped short while running forward and extended his left foot!
The ball struck the outside of his left foot, and like a remote-controlled toy, it obediently flew to his right side!
When Lance stopped the ball, he had already calculated Antonio Rüdiger's tackling line.
He stopped sharply and turned, narrowly avoiding his opponent!
As Rüdiger passed by, he almost instinctively tried to swat the ball away with his hand!
In a flash, Lance had already moved to the right side!
Rani Khedira came over to cover, rushing up to pressure Lance, but Lance pulled the ball back with his right foot, beating two defenders in a row!
Elegant and graceful!
"Lance—that goal!!"
Under the shocked gazes of Duan Xuan and all the fans, Lance, facing the charging goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, displayed a calmness far beyond his years!
A masterful toe poke, a chip shot!
"Oh my goodness!! It's a goal!!"
"In the dying minutes of the match, Bayer Leverkusen completes a dramatic winner!!"
"Lance scores a brace! He's scored 24 goals in 19 rounds, full throttle!"
Fans who were worried about Lance at the start of the second half were now completely silenced!
It turned out he wasn't failing to explode, but saving up for something big!
Now, it was Sascha and Hyypiä's turn to smile, while the mask of pain had shifted to Roberto Di Matteo's face.
"This kid, he's a true monster!"