"BUUUUUT!!"
"Hat-trick! Julien's hat-trick on his eighteenth birthday night! He's done it!!"
"This is pure genius! Julien!! My God, who could have predicted this scoreline before the match? This top-of-the-table clash has become a one-sided slaughter by Bastia. I believe this is completely beyond everyone's expectations."
The TF1 commentator was extremely excited. "Looking at the replay closely, we can see another detail—this goal was scored with Julien's right foot. As everyone knows, Ligue 1 teams facing Julien now defend his left side, forcing him onto his right foot. That's exactly what Marseille's defense did this time.
But now, Julien has given his response!
So, what if it's his weaker foot? He can still deliver high-quality shots!
Bastia's beat reporters have previously reported that in daily training, Julien has been constantly strengthening his weaknesses, most importantly his weaker foot training.
For someone with Julien's historic level of ball control talent, as long as he's willing to train, becoming truly two-footed is completely achievable. Many players simply rely too much on their dominant foot, develop path dependency, and aren't willing to overcome negative feedback and put in the hard work on their weaker foot."
Finally, the TF1 commentator watched as Julien was mobbed by Bastia players, and sighed, "After suffering three consecutive defeats, Bastia has recovered. Julien is still Julien—the goals keep coming! With this goal, Marseille has proven they lack the strength to compete with Bastia for first place.
Unexpectedly, after one-third of the season, it looks like Marseille will be the ones falling behind. Lyon and Paris Saint-Germain behind them are surging.
I predict the final Ligue 1 championship race will be contested among these three teams!"
The commentator's words met disagreement from fans at the Sunset Coffee Bar.
They shouted, "We're number one!"
In the eyes of Bastia fans now, they had no rivals in Ligue 1. The only reason for losses was that the team was too tired and in poor form.
At the same time, fans drank heartily, their minds full of praise, but when the words reached their lips, they could only manage "Julien is really amazing."
The three-goal lead allowed Bastia fans to relax.
This time it was truly first place, no longer temporary first.
Hadzibegić clearly understood this. As he turned, his gaze happened to meet Chataigner in the stands behind the bench, his face full of excitement.
Hadzibegić raised his arm in celebration toward Chataigner, who responded with applause.
The two of them, though often disagreeing on many matters, ultimately achieved good results.
Ligue 1 leaders!
After scoring, Julien didn't rush to the nearest stand this time. Instead, he charged directly to the general admission section of the long side stand where his family sat.
"Enzo! You're my idol!"
As he approached, he heard his brother Rowan's voice, beside himself with excitement.
His younger siblings, who were supposed to be in school, were all there cheering passionately.
His youngest siblings had previously received Chelsea's sponsorship, but after Julien broke through at Bastia and earned money, they stopped accepting Chelsea's support and tried to return the previous sponsorship fees to Chelsea.
But Chelsea refused. The Chelsea representative's exact words were: "You were once a Chelsea child. This is your rightful benefit. Even if you become the world's richest man, we have no reason to take this money back."
Julien rushed to the stand barrier, celebrating excitedly with his siblings.
His parents were so moved that tears welled in their eyes.
Seeing their child achieve such success on his eighteenth birthday night—as parents, it was impossible to control their emotions.
If not for the barrier between the stands and the pitch, they would have wanted to embrace Julien.
Watching the Bastia teammates surround Julien in the center, celebrating excitedly...
Julien's mother's tears finally rolled down her emotional face.
Time is sometimes cyclical—a year ago on this day, she was also crying when Julien was imprisoned for robbery.
But a year later, Julien had become Bastia's darling, become the future of French football.
The tears wouldn't stop flowing. These tears were saturated with a year ago's panic, and reflected a year later's dreamlike glory.
Pierre held her, patting her shoulder in comfort.
Pierre, being a man, didn't have as many thoughts as his wife. He was simply proud of Julien. At least now, when he went out and said Julien was his son, he would receive countless praise.
"You've raised a fine son."
"If French football wants to win championships, it relies on Julien."
"Get me an autograph."
On the sideline...
Baup felt drained of strength. He slumped back into the coaching seat.
Shaking his head helplessly—Marseille ultimately couldn't prevent genius from shining.
'Julien...'
Baup murmured the name, finally showing a smile. The old coach had made peace with it.
'It's fine. Julien's emergence is a blessing for French football.'
If he set aside his identity as Marseille's manager, when Baup looked at Julien, his eyes held only appreciation.
An eighteen-year-old kid performing like this deserved higher expectations.
Baup felt that in his lifetime, he might see the French team lift the World Cup again.
As for Marseille...
'Sigh~'
Baup let out a long sigh.
After the celebration ended, before returning to midfield, De Bruyne gave Julien a special high-five, saying, "Remarkable eighteen years."
He was three years older than Julien. Thinking back to his own eighteenth birthday, how could it compare to Julien's radiance?
Tweet!
The whistle blew and play resumed.
But countless people remained immersed in the shock of Julien's birthday night hat-trick.
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