Julien was through on goal!
The fans couldn't stay seated, rising to their feet and instinctively raising their arms to their chests, their widened eyes filled with hope.
"Julien, Julien"
They silently chanted their Bastia captain's name, praying continuously.
Meanwhile, Julien made it look effortless, raising his right foot to control the ball, then quickly connecting with his left for a volley!
With top-class ball control, executing these shooting movements was extremely smooth.
The ball rocketed toward goal like a cannonball!
Ruffier dropped down to block.
But the ball beat him to it, once again drilling through the near post into the net.
Swoosh!
4-4!
The ball crashed into the net, seeming to create ripples of white waves—Mediterranean surf was now washing over Cesari.
BOOM!!
The Cesari Stadium exploded!
After a moment of silence lasting mere milliseconds, the violent roar erupted instantly.
BOOM!
The pent-up emotions of the Bastia faithful ignited at this moment, gathering together like a sword piercing the night sky.
Julien's emotions also burst open the instant the ball went in.
No matter how many people defended, no matter how physical they got, no matter how desperately they wanted to hold on!
They just couldn't stop him!
"C'est moi!" (It's me!)
Julien charged toward the corner flag, roaring wildly. Two goals down, twice equalized!
He faced the stands, pounding the crest on his chest.
De Bruyne embraced Julien from behind, and other teammates rushed up, all roaring at the stands together.
"C'est moi!!"
Julien released all his emotions.
"Julien!!"
Responding to him were the fans' hoarse, exhausted cheers.
Countless arms waved before Julien's eyes, with equally excited teammates behind him.
De Bruyne, Mané, Lukaku, and even Kanté from the corner all surrounded him, embracing him, patting him, their words full of praise.
At this moment, Julien faced the fans with arms spread wide.
This was his home ground.
This was his team!
"Non, c'est pas possible! Incredible! Hat-trick! Once again De Rocca stepped up to save Bastia."
The commentator's voice seemed so faint.
In every corner of Bastia, fans watching the broadcast couldn't hear what the commentator was saying.
In that instant, they were completely overwhelmed by intense emotion.
Shouting, waving, excitement—continuously impacting everything within them.
On the sideline, Hadzibegic nearly shed tears when he saw the goal go in, but the former Yugoslav legend, having weathered many storms, held back.
He turned and hugged his assistant coach. "After tonight, we fear no opponent!"
The substitute bench was equally jubilant.
Zidane, Deschamps, Julien's family and many others were all applauding for Bastia, for Julien, at this moment.
Zidane exhaled slightly. Just moments ago, he had been sweating for Bastia.
But Bastia withstood the pressure. Julien could always step up at the most crucial moments. In this match, he completed another hat-trick to secure the equalizer.
Technically speaking, this was just a draw. But Zidane knew that for Bastia, this was more than just a draw.
More importantly, it was about team morale.
This was something mystical, but it truly affected the team.
Twice falling two goals behind, twice equalizing.
After tonight's baptism, Zidane felt that Bastia might truly be ready to rise.
"Julien."
Zidane couldn't help but murmur Julien's name. This truly was a magical player, a big-game player.
He suddenly remembered that Bastia had Europa League matches to play this season. He quickly took out his phone to check the group stage draw.
"Atlético?"
Zidane shook his head slightly. Atlético wouldn't be easy to beat. Since the Argentine Diego Simeone took charge of Atlético last December, the team was undergoing transformation.
Simeone's "iron defense" plus "efficient counterattacks" had left a deep impression on too many people.
For Bastia to beat Atlético would be extremely difficult.
But this thought was immediately suppressed.
Looking at Julien on TV, still showing excitement and waving to the fans, Zidane smiled. Perhaps in the match against Atlético, this kid who could always step up at crucial moments would do so once again?
At the Cesari Stadium, Saint-Étienne's players were in the wrong emotional state. They clearly hadn't lost, but watching Bastia's wild celebration, they felt as if they had.
This was a match that couldn't be measured by the final score.
They had twice been pegged back.
Such a blow was not light either.
Galtier sighed. From such a great position, they ultimately couldn't secure all three points.
It was truly demoralizing.
There were only three minutes of stoppage time.
Bastia still wanted to attack at home, while Saint-Étienne continued looking for Aubameyang, but after sprinting for the entire match, Aubameyang had no energy left either.
The only counterattack opportunity in stoppage time was again thwarted by Kanté, who tracked back and won the ball.
Tweet!!
When the three minutes of stoppage time ended, the referee decisively blew the final whistle.
Clap clap clap!
The fans gave the Bastia players applause—this match had truly been fought with everything they had.
But Bastia gained so much. They at least saw how the team could play when Julien faced heavy marking.
They no longer had to rely solely on Julien's individual ability like last season.
Of course, their most reliable asset remained Julien. The three goals in this match were proof of what he could deliver.
After the match, Hadzibegic was held back by reporters asking how he viewed this game.
With excitement still showing in his expression, Hadzibegic replied, "This was a key battle in our fight against relegation. We proved we can face any difficulty. Every player gave everything for this match. I'm very happy to have such a group of players."
A reporter said jokingly, "Bastia is now the highest-scoring relegation battler, with 12 goals in four league matches—three per game. The team even has three players with more than three goals each. Do you think Bastia has a chance to finish in the top two and secure Champions League qualification for next season?"
Hadzibegic shook his head. "We're just a relegation-fighting team and have no thoughts of securing Champions League qualification. Moreover, while we score many goals, our defensive problems still exist. We've scored 12 goals but also conceded 7, which also ranks among the highest in Ligue 1. We still need to work hard."
A seasoned politician like Hadzibegic wouldn't fall for a reporter's leading questions.
On the other side, Galtier didn't look nearly as pleased.
Twice leading, twice pegged back.
This was going to sound very bad.
He could only say helplessly, "This is football. No matter what the score is, nothing is finished until the final whistle blows."
"Julien? This is a top-class player. He will become a legend of French football. I expect him to join a European giant—the winter window would be a good opportunity."
Galtier's implication was clear: Please leave quickly and stop tormenting Ligue 1!
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