Julien's left foot chipped the ball.
The football sailed over Courtois's head.
Between his rapid succession of saves, Courtois had no way to make an accurate judgment.
He could only stretch out his hand on pure instinct. He didn't touch the ball at all.
The football dropped neatly into the net.
Whoosh!
The Atletico fans at the Calderón Stadium let out gasps of shock. They couldn't imagine that their team had fallen behind less than ten minutes into the match.
And this was Bastia's first attack of the game.
Who was Bastia? Before this match, none of them had even heard of them.
But now Bastia was actually in the lead?
Courtois turned to look at his goal, his expression darkening. He shook his head slightly, then got up, walked into the net, fished out the ball, and kicked it toward midfield.
The moment Julien scored, he immediately spun around and waved to his teammates behind him.
He slid on his knees toward the sideline, leaving four tracks in the grass, then smoothly rose to his feet and spread his arms wide before the cameras.
This is youth in its prime!
The Atletico fans naturally booed, but the opposition's jeers were the sweetest praise.
His teammates rushed up to celebrate. Julien turned around, and the first person he sought out was De Bruyne.
He hugged De Bruyne tightly. "We must win!"
The other teammates echoed him. "Let's give it everything!"
De Bruyne's heart burned with passion. He said softly to Julien, "Thank you."
Julien didn't answer him, only smiled, then embraced and celebrated with the other teammates.
"De Rocca's fifth Europa League goal!" The TF1 commentator couldn't help but get excited. For French fans, Julien was the player they most hoped would produce results.
Not yet eighteen years old and able to score five goals in the Europa League—that was proof enough of his talent.
French fans watching the broadcast were equally thrilled.
Especially in Bastia.
The roar of celebration shot straight into the sky, startling seabirds on the beach. They flapped into the night sky, chirping as if responding to the people of Bastia.
In the tavern, fans downed a few more drinks.
On the sideline at Calderón.
Simeone looked agitated, constantly waving at his players. "Defense! Defense!!"
In his view, this defensive lapse was utterly unacceptable. He refused to believe there was any player they couldn't defend against.
From his playing days through his coaching career, Simeone deeply understood the importance of defense.
That's why he had brought iron-blooded defense to Atletico Madrid!
When his eyes fell on Gabi and the others, they were full of fierce intensity. Gabi and the rest knew exactly what he meant.
"Aha! Julien scored! What a composed finish! Julien was so calm!" In the stands, Mbappé excitedly hugged Saliba in celebration.
Only forwards truly understood that sometimes even one-on-ones weren't easy to finish.
It was a psychological battle with the goalkeeper.
And a one-on-one after a long sprint was even more difficult, because after the continuous running, the leg muscles were tense, making it hard to execute the technical movement you wanted.
But Julien had made it look easy.
As Saliba watched Julien with his arms spread wide, his eyes showed the same light as Mbappé's. They were both die-hard fans of Julien, both hoping that one day they could be his teammates on the national team.
But that day still seemed so far away.
From Bondy to the national team.
It was a journey that countless young people with football dreams could never complete in their entire lives.
In his excitement, Saliba suddenly looked at Mbappé. "Hey, Kylian?"
Mbappé turned his head, somewhat puzzled. "What is it, William?"
Saliba pointed toward the center circle, where all eyes focused, where the spotlight shone.
Julien seemed like a beam of light itself.
He said, "Do you think we'll make it there someday?"
"Of course!"
Fire ignited in Mbappé's eyes. He always remembered what Julien had told him: "I'll wait for you on the national team."
He would use his speed to carve out a path to the national team!
The match continued.
But from this goal onward, commentators broadcasting this match, whether familiar with Bastia or not all began to take this team seriously.
Or rather, they took seriously Julien's influence on the team.
Bastia today had no stars as fans might imagine, only a group of young players and a few veterans in the twilight of their careers.
Such a combination could actually strike first at the Calderón Stadium.
It was truly surprising.
"Julien's ceiling will be very high," Deschamps said to Zidane, adding, "He can step up at crucial moments."
Zidane nodded. He felt he already knew enough about Julien.
When Julien chatted with him, Zidane's advice had been to take the path of a Leader.
Even when transferring after this season ends, he must go to a team that would give him a core position.
Of course, doing so would come with tremendous pressure.
Because being the leader of a team meant not only gaining status but also bearing responsibility.
You had to take responsibility for the team's results. And you had to command respect in the locker room.
Zidane felt Julien still had some distance to go. It would be difficult.
Zidane himself had gone from Cannes to Juventus to Real Madrid. He deeply understood that the better the team, the harder it became.
Every genius has their own personality.
Situations where no one respects anyone else often occurred at top clubs.
Forget about squeezing out a player, even head coaches could be sidelined by the locker room and forced out directly.
So, Zidane still hoped Julien could train well at a mid-to-lower table team.
He needed honors to support his entry into a top club.
During their casual chat, the Calderón stands erupted in gasps.
Koke passed into the box. Costa went up for the header, but Choplin headed it out of the area.
Mario Suárez, at the edge of the box, unleashed a volley from distance!
It was struck beautifully.
The football shot toward goal at tremendous speed.
Clang!
The ball hit the post and bounced back. Suárez instinctively clutched his head in regret, but seeing the ball coming toward him, he quickly rushed forward.
But Kanté got there first, poking the ball away. Then Suárez's foot came down on Kanté's.
"Ah!"
Kanté cried out in pain and fell to the ground, rubbing his foot. But he quickly stood back up.
The referee whistled Suárez for a foul, though he didn't issue a card.
Rothen came up to protest, even making a card-pulling gesture. "He stepped right on his foot! We would have had a counterattack! No card for that?"
The referee was firm, shaking his head and signaling for play to continue quickly.
Kanté grimaced as he walked back to his defensive position.
De Bruyne stood over the ball. Julien pointed forward, and De Bruyne immediately understood.
Boom!
A long ball toward the flank.
Julien sprinted toward where it would land, but De Bruyne's pass was a bit short. Before his speed advantage could manifest, Filipe, tracking back, got there first and passed back to the goalkeeper.
Lukaku pressed forward to pressure his national team teammate Courtois.
But Courtois didn't commit a "superstar blunder," launching a long ball upfield.
After some chaos, Atletico retained possession.
Julien barely had a chance to touch the ball, dropping back to the wing to participate in defense when appropriate.
Atletico's attack had great depth, putting tremendous pressure on Bastia even in their low defensive block.
Fortunately, Bastia's defensive resilience was sufficient.
Especially Kanté. He was like a midfield sweeper, his covering presence was everywhere.
The TF1 commentator noted, "At Kanté's current work rate, is he planning to come off at halftime? But looking at Bastia's bench, there's probably no player with better defensive ability than Kanté.
In the last few Ligue 1 rounds, Kanté has averaged 1.3 tackles per game, extremely impressive on the defensive end. He was also called up to Deschamps's latest national team squad, though he hasn't played yet."
As time passed, French fans and Bastia supporters alike kept their hearts in their throats, unable to relax.
Because Atletico's attacks came like waves, one after another.
The few counterattacking opportunities Bastia got didn't have the same space as when they scored.
They couldn't get going.
But amid Atletico's relentless siege, Bastia still capitalized on one of their mistakes.
Suárez dribbled forward, but Kanté poked it away. De Bruyne received the ball and launched a long pass.
Straight to Mané on the left flank.
Wide open!
Mané sprinted forward at full speed, unleashing his pace completely.
Atletico's recovery was also quick.
Mané got a bit nervous. Facing Juanfran's pressure, he slowed down involuntarily to check his teammates' positions.
Seeing only Lukaku in the middle, he accelerated again, trying to continue dribbling forward.
But his momentary hesitation had been anticipated by Juanfran, who made a sliding tackle and knocked the ball out for a throw-in.
The quick counter was gone.
Mané felt dejected and had his head down, too embarrassed to look at his teammates. He knew counterattack opportunities were precious in this match, and he had wasted one.
Sidibé came up to take the throw.
Julien gestured for him to slow down while signaling his teammates to push up a bit. They couldn't just defend passively, they needed to attack occasionally too.
The throw-in came quickly.
This time Bastia's attack was more determined. Having finally gotten such a counterattack opportunity; they naturally didn't want to waste it.
De Bruyne received and passed to Mané.
Mané was still a bit young. Whether it was the earlier turnover or now facing Atletico players pressing him, he got nervous.
Seeing the opponent approach, he quickly passed back to De Bruyne.
De Bruyne smoothly pushed it toward the center. At this moment, Atletico's defensive line was still relatively high. They had a psychological advantage over Bastia.
After all, an unbeaten La Liga team facing a Ligue 1 promoted side naturally held a huge psychological edge.
In many people's eyes, Ligue 1 was just a farmers' league anyway.
At that moment, Julien suddenly burst forward.
De Bruyne read his mind perfectly.
With the outside of his right foot, he chipped it toward the right flank, the ball curling past Gabi and Raúl García's defensive zones.
The ball arrived at Julien's feet on the right.
After receiving, Filipe was first to block his advancing route.
Facing Filipe's ready defense, Julien didn't immediately accelerate after controlling the ball. Instead, his left foot feinted over the ball while his body remained stable.
The ball sat quietly on the ground.
Filipe knew Julien's breakthrough ability was strong and didn't try to win the ball at his feet.
Seeing he wouldn't take the bait, Julien suddenly dropped his shoulder, then pushed the ball down the outside.
Filipe quickly followed but still didn't lunge, only using his body to block Julien's passing lane.
But Julien didn't push forward even one step, instead cut the ball back. Filipe stopped his body.
Julien's left foot smoothly pushed forward, the ball going through Filipe's legs as Julien explosively accelerated, bursting past Filipe's left side.
A nutmeg at the edge of the box!
Whoosh!
The home fans were stunned by Julien's move. The opponent was one thing, but admiration for skill was another matter completely.
By the time Filipe reacted, Julien had already gained a body length.
He wanted to pull Julien back but was too late.
Fortunately, center-back Godín pulled out to cover in time, blocking Julien's path and preventing him from cutting inside.
Julien had a cutting shot in his arsenal, and Atletico had specifically prepared for it defensively.
In such a short distance, Julien repeated his trick: push the ball, cut it back, then another nutmeg!
Godín was shaken by the continuous feints, but his head remained relatively clear, anticipating what Julien would do.
So, the moment Julien attempted the nutmeg, he stuck out his foot to block!
He committed to the challenge confidently!
However, he underestimated Julien's foot speed. Julien had already kicked the ball through before he got there.
As a result, he stepped on Julien's ankle and foot.
His body couldn't keep up with his brain.
"Ah!"
Julien screamed and fell to the ground.
Godín's heart sank instantly.
This is bad!
Sure enough, the referee's whistle immediately sounded.
Tweet!!
The referee decisively pointed to the penalty spot.
It was a penalty.
Roar!
The Atletico fans weren't having it, booing and cursing. In their view, this was a successful defensive play: Julien was diving!
Simeone also appeared extremely agitated, yelling at the fourth official. "Godín pulled his leg back! There was no contact! This isn't a penalty!"
The fourth official could only tell him to listen to the referee.
On the other side, Hadzibegic also ran over to apply pressure. "This should be a yellow too! He stepped on Julien's ankle!"
The fourth official was rather helpless, and could only keep appeasing both head coaches.
Communication was in English.
So Simeone, hearing Hadzibegic's words, shouted at him, "That's a dive! Julien should get the yellow card!"
Hadzibegic was furious. "Do you need Julien's leg broken before you'll admit it's a foul?!"
Both were getting heated. At such a key moment in such an important match, every call had to be contested.
The fourth official and both teams' assistant coaches quickly pulled them apart.
Otherwise, if they kept arguing, who knows what might happen.
Hadzibegic was still shouting, "I'm not afraid of you! When I was playing, you were still playing in the mud somewhere!"
Simeone naturally fired back, muttering and not backing down at all.
Actually, they were only thirteen years apart in age.
The coaching staffs had their conflict on the sideline.
On the field, players also exchanged words. If teammates hadn't held them back, physical confrontation would have erupted.
The standoff was quickly stopped by the referee.
This was an indisputable penalty.
However, the referee didn't issue a yellow card.
Julien was currently Bastia's first penalty taker. Just as everyone expected him to face off against Courtois, he picked up the ball and handed it to De Bruyne.
"You take this one."
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