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The atmosphere in the majestic Camp Nou stadium was incredibly somber at this moment.
The 'Cosmic Team,' which had created glory many times and almost dominated the world football scene in recent years, one of the biggest favorites to win this Champions League, with a luxurious squad of world-class superstars like Lionel Messi, Neymar, Xavi Hernández, and Andrés Iniesta, was now facing an unknown Bundesliga 'weak team,' Bayer Leverkusen.
They were facing a 16-year-old rookie, in his first professional season, participating in the Champions League for the first time!
Were they really going to be eliminated?
Fans holding red and blue scarves despairingly covered their faces with them.
Fans with red and blue paint smeared on their faces had their FC Barcelona patterns blurred by tears.
There were also many female FC Barcelona fans, their eyes misty with tears, crying like pear blossoms in the rain, a truly pitiful sight.
Of course, this was from FC Barcelona's perspective.
At this moment, all Chinese fans in front of their televisions, all fans supporting Lance and Bayer Leverkusen, didn't care about any of that!
We were about to overturn the mighty FC Barcelona!
The aggregate score was 6-3!
The current score was 1-2!
FC Barcelona was trailing, and their away goal advantage had been nullified by Lance's miraculous brace!
Next, FC Barcelona needed to score 3 goals and prevent Bayer Leverkusen from scoring.
If Bayer Leverkusen scored even one goal, FC Barcelona would need to score two more!
The away goal advantage, which FC Barcelona fans had boasted about before the match, became the shackles that choked off FC Barcelona's last shred of hope!
Damn it!
The Catalan commentator's tone, which had been full of confidence at the beginning, was now on the verge of breaking into a sob.
"Lionel Messi, the soul of FC Barcelona, is still trying to dribble and find an opportunity... He, he's throwing caution to the wind, good!"
"He's dribbled past one, then another!! He's in!! Oh no! The ball was blocked!!"
"Throw-in! Dani Alves, throws to Xavi Hernández, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta... Lionel Messi, Neymar, Alexis Sánchez—"
"Why are you kicking it so hastily?! That shot was too reckless!"
Alexis Sánchez's hurried sky-high shot completely broke the Catalan commentator!
On the scoreboard, time was relentlessly ticking away, already reaching 88:39!
As the domestic commentators liked to say: Time was running out for FC Barcelona.
On the away team's stands, the 1300 fans who had traveled to Spain with the team had come to Camp Nou with a determined heart.
Everyone said how terrifying FC Barcelona's home ground, Camp Nou, was, and that Bayer Leverkusen seemed to easily crumble here against the mighty FC Barcelona.
But what was the result?
The tenacious German team stood until the very end!
The miraculous player, Lance, was simply a god descending to earth!
The great young Eastern player was their savior!
Bayer Leverkusen fans were also on the verge of tears, singing their team's anthem in unison from the away stands!
They offered heartfelt cheers for their team!
"Bayer Leverkusen! Alllezzz!!!"
As they chanted, the cheers transformed from supporting the team to supporting Lance!
Though he was just a young man, in everyone's eyes, he was already the soul of the entire team! A dazzling superstar!
Boom boom! Boom boom boom—
"Laaaaaance—"
Boom boom! Boom boom boom—
"Laaaaaance—"
In the last few minutes of the match, Lance was almost entirely relying on willpower.
Although he didn't manage to stack 100% rage value even after 80 minutes, Lance's brace was already enough.
Within 7 days, he played 3 crucial matches, scoring in every single one, with key performances in each!
This wasn't signing a youth academy player; Bayer Leverkusen clearly signed a big daddy!
"I believe all our viewers in front of the television can hear it..."
He Wei's voice was already trembling.
"Thousands of away fans at the stadium are shouting Lance's name in unison!"
"As a young Chinese player, playing alone in Europe, I heard he suffered discrimination since he was young, and was even roughly expelled by his coach at Bayern Munich's youth academy!"
"But, heaven will place great responsibilities on such a person!"
"Lance's past experiences might be the secret to his big heart at such a young age!"
"The youngest player in Champions League history has unleashed the greatest energy!"
He Wei began his usual emotional moment again.
It wasn't because of Lance's Chinese identity that he was given special treatment.
He Wei was simply completely awestruck by Lance's on-field performance!
Finally, the coaching staff couldn't bear to watch anymore and quickly substituted Lance with defensive midfielder Emre Can.
In the 90th minute of the match, with the outcome already decided, Lance made a perfect exit amidst the enthusiastic applause from the away stands!
Even the FC Barcelona fans in the home stands were conquered by Lance's performance, and a bizarre scene appeared at Camp Nou.
FC Barcelona fans also stood up, and almost 90,000 people in the entire stadium simultaneously applauded Lance!
Lance was originally raising his hand to clap, thanking his own fans, but the overwhelming applause came rushing towards him, completely engulfing Lance!
The shocking scene at Camp Nou made Lance inevitably emotional.
This moment also became another classic famous scene in Champions League history.
"You worked hard, Lance! Well done!"
Emre Can, who came on as a substitute, was incredibly envious.
In his first season, Lance received treatment that many players would never experience in their lifetime.
The two coaches even greeted him like they were welcoming a sage, one on his left and one on his right.
Sascha Lewandowski put a jacket over Lance's shoulders, and Sami Hyypiä handed Lance a bottle of water.
Anyone who didn't know might have thought Lance was the head coach, and the two beside him were his subordinates...
It was truly a reversal of roles.
Lance also did not sit on the bench to rest; he continued to pay attention to the situation on the field, standing on the sidelines anxiously watching his teammates' performance.
With a 6-3 lead, FC Barcelona was essentially powerless to turn the tide.
The referee team, to favor the home team FC Barcelona, added 5 minutes of injury time, and the head referee even delayed blowing the whistle until 6 minutes.
However, the morale of FC Barcelona's many superstars had been crushed by Lance's two goals.
When even Lionel Messi started to get anxious and rushed forward with the ball haphazardly, the mighty FC Barcelona had no possibility of a comeback!
Finally, Lance's last bit of anxiety vanished with three crisp whistles!
Beep!
Beep!
Beep—
"Ah ah ah ah ah—"
All members of the Bayer Leverkusen bench went crazy at this moment!
Everyone let out incomprehensible shouts, a group of wild people screaming and rushing onto the field.
Lance was infected by the atmosphere and also rushed in with his teammates, embracing the Bayer Leverkusen players on the field!
"The match is over!! Today is a moment worth commemorating!"
"A Chinese player will stand on the Champions League semi-final stage as a key player!"
"And Bayer Leverkusen, this dark horse team, has been a dark horse from the group stage to the end!"
"At first, no one believed they could qualify, no one believed they could eliminate Arsenal, and no one believed they could defeat the mighty FC Barcelona!"
"However, with Lance's consistently miraculous performance, Bayer Leverkusen! Broke all doubts! They have re-entered the Champions League semi-finals after 12 years! It can be called the biggest upset of this Champions League!"
"Lance, who scored a brace at Camp Nou, also became the only Chinese player to conquer Camp Nou!"
"And remember, this is only his first season!"
"We are witnessing a future superstar, rising rapidly!"