The ball slipped through Agassa's legs and crashed into the net.
A spray of white foam erupted.
Goal!
"JULIENNN!!"
The home fans instantly roared Julien's name, with nearly every supporter rising to their feet in celebration.
This wasn't just the first goal of the match. It was also De Rocca's first goal in Ligue 1!
The same signature dribbling, inspecting the opponent's defensive line—Reims had failed to withstand the "inspection."
Bastia 1-0 Reims!
Julien sprinted toward the sideline, leaping high with arms raised in triumph. Upon landing, he spread his arms wide toward the fan section.
Some pale blue smoke still lingered in the air.
"De Rocca's first goal since returning from injury. It must be said that although Julien has been frequently injured with the national team, his form doesn't seem to have been significantly affected by his comeback."
The TF1 commentator took this opportunity to continue discussing De Rocca's injury concerns.
"I think both national team and club coaches must plan Julien's playing time carefully. Don't exhaust De Rocca in every match. Of course, I understand everyone wants to win, everyone wants to score goals, but we must never forget—the current De Rocca won't turn 18 until the end of the year."
At the Cesari Stadium, the entire ground erupted in cheers.
Lukaku smiled and said to De Rocca, "I really have to respect your footwork. You'll have to teach me how to dribble like that—it was absolutely brilliant."
Although De Bruyne said nothing, the way he looked at Julien had changed—in fact, from the French Super Cup onwards, De Bruyne had begun to regard De Rocca as his equal.
De Bruyne carried a certain pride in his heart; not everyone earned his recognition. After two matches, he was willing to consider De Rocca his peer.
As for the other Bastia teammates, if it weren't for being new to the team, he would have already started criticizing some of them.
Off the pitch, he couldn't care less about anything. But on the field, you simply couldn't play so casually!
De Rocca waved his arms once more toward the stands. He walked back toward the center circle with his teammates.
Whistle!
The match continued.
Reims kicked off, beginning their organized advance. Furnier didn't want to concede defeat.
In his mind, both Bastia and Reims were promoted sides.
They were relegation rivals this season.
Dropping points against direct competitors was somewhat unacceptable to Furnier.
So, he wanted to intensify the attack.
However, as Reims pushed forward, they found themselves encountering difficulties in midfield—a black and white barrier blocked their offensive efforts.
Kanté plus Rothen.
Kanté possessed abundant energy and willingness to run, with an enormous sweeping range.
Kanté harassed opponents. Rothen intercepted and tackled based on experience.
One black, one white; one young, one old—they were absolute defensive midfield deities!
No matter which Reims midfielder got the ball, trying to push directly through the center proved extremely difficult.
Crash!
The fans gasped in unison.
Rothen once again tackled the ball away from Devaux's feet, sending it out for a throw-in. Rothen roared, continuously raising both arms toward the fans beyond the sideline.
"Beautiful, Rothen! Tackle them to pieces!"
"Rothen!"
The fans shouted passionately, chanting his name.
Rothen and Kanté high-fived, both their faces filled with fighting spirit.
Rothen felt like this old guy, who hadn't played for a year and was ready to retire, suddenly rediscovered that exhilarating feeling from his peak years.
With Kevin here, Rothen didn't need to organize in the final third. He retreated to the defensive midfield position. His energy expenditure decreased.
The key was that after Kanté played several dozen minutes in the last match, Hazdibegic, the former top-level defender, recognized the excellent chemistry between Kanté and Rothen.
Kanté had sufficient coverage but lacked experience. Rothen was tactically astute but physically limited.
When the two combined: Kanté handled all the dirty work and running, while Rothen's experience was fully utilized.
They became what Hazdibegic considered Bastia's optimal defensive midfield pairing for the new season.
As for Kahusac, Hazdibegic planned to move him to center-back as rotation.
The current defensive line still wasn't stable enough.
Reims's attack faltered, and when possession returned to Bastia, once the ball reached De Bruyne's feet, Reims players discovered that intercepting his passes was extremely difficult.
Whoosh!
De Bruyne delivered a long ball, finding Palmieri on the left. The latter controlled it, cut inside, and curled a shot!
Agassa pushed it out for a corner.
"That shot was too central, no angle, and Palmieri didn't put enough power behind it. He's getting on in years after all. This return to Bastia hasn't shown the same definitive quality as the other signings."
The commentator's words came through the television.
At the Sunset Coffee Bar:
Today's crowd was smaller than usual—because the Cesari Stadium had expanded its seating capacity.
Bertrand watched Palmieri apologizing to his teammates on TV. He shook his head slightly. Back in the day, Palmieri also enjoyed drinking at the Sunset Coffee Bar.
This young man who emerged from Bastia had remarkable talent—at least back then, he was truly dazzling at Bastia. He was something of a wonderkid in the football games too.
Bertrand still kept a jersey signed by Palmieri from those days. When Bastia was promoted this year, Palmieri didn't hesitate to return on a free transfer.
Unfortunately, time had passed—he was no longer the carefree youth he once was.
"De Rocca!"
Just as Bertrand was reminiscing about Palmieri, the bar's fans shouted Julien's name.
On television:
Bastia had won a corner kick—a short corner routine.
De Rocca received the ball on the right side, his delivery was ambiguous between cross and shot. The ball flew directly toward the goal.
This effort not only deceived Agassa but also caught Lukaku off guard.
Lukaku failed to make his run at the right moment. When he realized this wasn't quite a cross and tried to react, he'd already missed the optimal opportunity.
Lukaku was just centimeters away from the ball. He could even smell the earth and grass on the football. But he couldn't quite reach that scent.
The ball skimmed past the goal.
Julien gestured to his teammates in the box, while Lukaku gave him a thumbs up—his second compliment of the day.
On the sideline:
Furnier looked troubled. Bastia had completely controlled the game, and their clear-cut chances far outnumbered Reims's.
Furnier couldn't help wondering how Bastia had managed to find so many new signings in just one month.
And every single one of them was proving effective?
This question also intrigued Zidane. After finishing his business, he tuned into TF1 to watch the live broadcast—not PSG, not Marseille, but Bastia.
The result was that besides De Rocca, whether it was De Bruyne, Lukaku, Kanté, or Sidibé, he found them all very promising.
Especially this Kanté.
He lacked experience, but Zidane absolutely loved his drive and determination.
"Bastia has capable players."
Zidane couldn't help but praise them.
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