Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
----------
With 80 minutes gone in the match, German television's close-up cameras remained fixed on Pep Guardiola.
On the scoreboard, Bayer Leverkusen led Bayern Munich 1-0. Quite counter-intuitively, the technical statistics showed that Bayern Munich had 78% possession, while Bayer Leverkusen had only 22%.
Bayern Munich had 10 corners and 5 free kicks throughout the match, with 21 shots, 4 of which were on target but saved. Bayer Leverkusen had 2 shots, 1 on target, and 1 goal. Yet, Bayer Leverkusen was still leading.
"As long as Lance is on the field, Bayern Munich's formation won't dare to push too far forward; fullbacks Rafinha and David Alaba won't dare to assist in the attack, and center-backs won't dare to charge up to contest headers. Perhaps Pep Guardiola should consider letting Mario Mandžukić go in and try. After all, he was the starting center-forward for last season's treble winners; surely he's better than no center-forward at all?"
In the shot, Mario Mandžukić sat on the bench, his face gloomy. Ever since Pep Guardiola took charge, his life had been difficult. He was clearly one of the top center-forwards in the Bundesliga; after Mario Gomez's decline in form, the only one who could challenge Robert Lewandowski was Mario Mandžukić.
How could Pep Guardiola not value him? The bald man from Spain, everyone was praising his six-title halo, and this was the result?
Originally, Bayern Munich was an iron-blooded team, sharp and efficient in attack. Now, Pep Guardiola had turned them into a weakened version of FC Barcelona. What was the point of constantly passing the ball around in the opponent's half? It was hard enough to even get into the penalty area, let alone have effective shots!
Mario Götze, Thomas Müller, and Xherdan Shaqiri – none of them were the type of shooters who were good at finding opportunities. After 80 minutes, the player with the most shots was surprisingly the defensive midfielder Toni Kroos! He had taken several long-range shots!
Mario Mandžukić felt nothing inside at this moment, even a little like laughing! Pep Guardiola, under immense pressure, stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed, lost in thought.
"Pep Guardiola's in-game coaching ability has always been criticized; clearly, the team lacks a finisher. Whether it's bringing on Mario Mandžukić or adjusting other positions, he needs to change something, right? But with less than 10 minutes left in the match, Pep Guardiola still has all 3 of his substitutions remaining!"
Mehmet Scholl was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Pep Guardiola's past glorious achievements were undeniable, but this was just too ridiculous.
The Bayer Leverkusen coaching staff, of course, was delighted. They even made substitutions first, using all 3 of their changes sequentially to run down the clock. First, Lars Bender replaced Eren Derdiyok, further strengthening the midfield defense and completely entrusting the forward attack to Lance.
Then, Son Heung-min came on for Andrés Guardado, putting pressure on Bayern Munich and making them hesitate to attack aggressively. The two substitutions alone wasted at least 5 minutes, and the match had already reached the 85th minute, with Bayer Leverkusen leading Bayern Munich 1-0.
Lance's continuous activity in the front kept threatening Bayern Munich.
"Have you noticed that Lance's stamina seems to have improved a lot?"
"Yes, in the first half of the season, his stamina was always a weakness; he couldn't last past 60 minutes. Now he can play up to 80 minutes, and he just played a full Champions League knockout match three days ago."
"It's said that since Lance joined the team, he has been consistently training. At 16 years old, he's not only exceptionally talented but also hardworking!"
The two commentators, while talking, once again praised Lance. In reality, Lance was already exhausted. For the last few minutes, he was mostly walking on the field, trying to conserve as much energy as possible.
The coaching staff not substituting him out probably hoped he would continue to threaten Bayern Munich's defense and relieve pressure on his teammates. The Bachira Meguru template seemed to provide some hidden stamina bonuses, enough for Lance to last a bit longer.
He was not satisfied with the 1-0 score. This score was not safe at all. There were many cases of multiple goals being scored in injury time. The 1999 Champions League final, where Manchester United overturned Bayern Munich by scoring 2 goals in three minutes of injury time to win the title, was the most classic example.
Lance needed to score another one! To seal the victory! Currently, Bayern Munich still had possession. Lance roamed in the front, disrupting the passes of Philipp Lahm or Javi Martínez.
Bayern Munich captain Philipp Lahm also remained vigilant, his eyes constantly fixed on Lance while he passed the ball! The threat brought by this 16-year-old boy was even greater than Lionel Messi in his prime! Philipp Lahm had never struggled this much defending Lionel Messi!
The scariest thing was his evolution speed. In the first half of the season, Lance was at most a promising rookie who occasionally delivered a few threatening shots, but most of the time his dribbling wasn't very dangerous. Today was different. Every time Lance dribbled forward, it caused tension throughout the entire Bayern Munich team!
"He's terrifying, is he a devil?"
At 16 years old, in half a season, his strength had improved by at least one level! Philipp Lahm truly couldn't imagine what extent this guy could evolve to in the next few years! On par with Lionel Messi? Or… surpassing Lionel Messi?
"With 3 minutes left, Bayern Munich is getting a bit anxious too. Thomas Müller's shot didn't go in…"
"The goalkeeper takes a big kick, Dante wins the header, Javi Martínez controls the ball, passes to Mario Götze, still Bayern Munich's attacking phase…"
Mario Götze, the talented boy from Borussia Dortmund, seemed to be struggling to adapt after joining Bayern Munich. He was somewhat disconnected from the team throughout the match, always wanting to show off and prove himself.
Lance watched him dribble past, his face filled with gloom and obsession…
"Perhaps this is an opportunity?!"
Under the intuition of Beast Dribbling, Lance had a strange feeling, able to predict that Mario Götze's dribbling might not be very stable!
"Son! Son!"
He quickly gave Son Heung-min a look. Son Heung-min, with enough understanding, subtly moved forward, appearing near Rafinha. Rafinha was busy assisting the attack and ignored Son Heung-min. The attention of other Bayern Munich players was also on Mario Götze, as they all ran into the penalty area to try and receive the ball.
"Pass it!! Mario!"
Thomas Müller was almost frantic, raising his hand for the ball. He was unmarked, and Mario Götze wasn't passing despite such a good opportunity? He was single-mindedly dribbling the ball himself, and as soon as he reached the penalty area, he had already run into Bayer Leverkusen's trap.
Lars Bender, with the help of the defender, dispossessed him! Lance immediately turned and sprinted forward!
"Chance!! Bayer Leverkusen counter-attack!!"
"Lars Bender… a long pass directly to the midfield!!"
Lance happened to run to the center circle and looked back at the football. All of Bayern Munich's players temporarily couldn't react, only Philipp Lahm remained vigilant of Lance. However, Philipp Lahm was too short!
Lance deliberately took advantage of him, jumping up to control the ball with his chest, intercepting it over Philipp Lahm's head!
Nagi Seishiro assists! Controlling the ball with his chest while airborne originally offered no space for further play, only waiting to land. In the Bachira Meguru template state, Lance could activate Nagi Seishiro's assistance once! Borrowing his skill!
Perfect Ball Control!
To everyone's astonishment, Lance, after cushioning the ball with his chest while about to land, created a perfect angle, turning sideways and volleying the ball towards the wing! An exaggerated move that could only appear in manga was recreated by Lance on a real-life football pitch! And it felt perfectly natural!
"Awesome!! Lance!!"
The breathtaking ball control sent the ball flying precisely in front of Son Heung-min! Son Heung-min secretly cheered, accelerating with the ball towards the Bayern Munich penalty area!
In a mere instant, Son Heung-min had already cut inside and entered, surrounded by Jérôme Boateng and Dante! Seeing Son Heung-min attempting to break through to the byline with a feint, Dante shifted sideways to block his path.
Little did he know that the breakthrough was a feint! The pass was real!
"Lance, you can definitely get there, right?"
Son Heung-min completely trusted Lance, giving a sudden back-heel pass to the edge of the penalty area line!
"Damn!?"
Lance was almost in tears; he was running on fumes. Son Heung-min still thought so highly of him, treating him like Superman? No choice but to grit his teeth and accelerate!
Relying on the madness of Bachira Meguru's Beast Dribbling, driven by his obsession with victory, he charged towards the Bayern Munich penalty area with a ferocious expression! Before David Alaba could reinforce and disrupt, he extended his foot early to pull the ball back, then smoothly executed a Marseille roulette to get past David Alaba!
He decisively unleashed a furious shot!
Bang—
A stylish side-volley, the ball vanished like lightning from Manuel Neuer's sight! Slamming into the net!
"So fast!"
Conceding the goal wasn't the scariest thing; what Manuel Neuer feared most was the crazy look in Lance's eyes before he shot! He was simply a demon from Dante's Inferno!
"Gooooooal!!! Laaaaaance—"
"A brace! Sealing the victory!"
"In this pivotal match, Bayer Leverkusen's substitute lineup actually defeated Bayern Munich's full starting squad!"
"This surprising dark horse team has seized the initiative for winning the championship this season!"