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After a winter break, the Bundesliga battle resumed!
Bayer Leverkusen fans, who had been quiet for over half a month, were growing impatient!
Perhaps in the past, fans wouldn't have been so anxious, as Bayer Leverkusen's performance was inconsistent.
Every weekend match day, they would go to BayArena like it was a festival.
If they won, they'd have a perfect weekend.
If they lost, there was nothing they could do but wait for the next week's match to win back.
Anyway, they didn't expect a Bundesliga title, so fans didn't have high expectations for results.
They were already satisfied with getting into the Champions League every year and playing a few matches.
There wasn't much enthusiasm for the second half of the season after the winter break.
But this year, Bayer Leverkusen suddenly became strong!
They overturned Bayern Munich, defeated Manchester United in a tough Champions League group stage match, and overpowered Borussia Dortmund in a tough Bundesliga match!
At the beginning of the season, fans couldn't even imagine that this season they would have a chance to contend for the title with five-time Champions League winners Bayern Munich?
As a result, during the winter break, fans felt like every day was a year.
They wished they could scour Twitter and forums daily for Bayer Leverkusen news, checking every player's update.
Chloe was like that.
She had heard that Lance hadn't spent the Christmas holiday with his family; he had returned to Leverkusen to train by himself.
Chloe had wanted to pluck up the courage to invite Lance to spend the holiday together, to go out and have fun.
But... Lance went to Belgium National Team for training camp.
After the training camp, it was the club's preparation training.
Chloe's plans fell through, and the girl was heartbroken.
However, like many Bayer Leverkusen fans, she still followed the Belgium National Team's friendly matches.
When Lance scored on his National Team debut, Bayer Leverkusen fans celebrated with Belgium fans on Twitter.
Finally, the winter break was over.
The intense and exciting second half of the Bundesliga restarted!
January 25, 2014,
Bundesliga Round 18!
SC Freiburg vs Bayer Leverkusen
SC Freiburg's Schwarzwald-Stadion can only hold over 24,000 people, with the away stand accommodating a maximum of about 1,500.
Chloe didn't join the Bayer Leverkusen fan club to become a die-hard supporter.
She also didn't get tickets for SC Freiburg's home match.
On this day, she could only cheer for Lance in front of the TV.
At the same time, in Munich's "Dim Sum Haus" Cantonese restaurant, the TV in the lobby was also broadcasting Bayer Leverkusen's match.
New customers didn't quite understand why, being in Munich, they weren't showing Bayern Munich's match.
Bayern Munich vs Borussia Mönchengladbach also started at the same time.
What was the meaning of showing Bayer Leverkusen?
Soon, old customers explained it to them.
"See the photos on the wall? See the MVP trophies on the counter?"
"These are all Lance's honors, understand?"
The diners present looked on with respect.
Even if some of them were Bayern Munich fans, they all had a good impression of Lance.
Because of Bayern Munich's tradition, excellent players in the Bundesliga almost always end up joining Bayern Munich.
For example, Miroslav Klose, Manuel Neuer, Mario Götze, and the upcoming Robert Lewandowski.
So Bayern Munich fans don't dislike any player in advance, to avoid a boomerang effect.
They had already categorized Lance as a future potential star for Bayern Munich in their hearts.
Therefore, they watched Bayer Leverkusen's match attentively.
In the TV close-up, Lance's lips curved into a confident and unrestrained smile, combined with his handsome, oriental-style features.
Many female fans couldn't help but want to scream.
The commentator Berenberg's passionate voice came from the TV:
"Lance!! A volley right at the start tells all the fans that he is in excellent form today!"
"The 16-year-old prodigy made his debut for the Belgium National Team during the recent winter break, scoring after coming on as a substitute for 1 minute, delivering a perfect debut!"
"After the winter break, he continued his brilliant performance from the latter half of the first half!"
"He has already become Bayer Leverkusen's undisputed main forward! Even the offensive core!"
"Today, facing SC Freiburg's compact defense, Bayer Leverkusen made many attempts centered around Lance, all with good results, but unfortunately, luck was slightly against them!"
"The earlier shot attempt from a tight angle hit the post…"
…
On the field, SC Freiburg players were sweating profusely.
The pressure Lance put on them was comparable to Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben + Franck Ribéry + Thomas Müller!
Before the match, SC Freiburg's coaching staff had already made detailed plans to counter Lance.
But it was completely useless!
Every time a Bayer Leverkusen player passed the ball to Lance, he could resolve it among the crowd in the first instant.
He would control the ball and handle it in various elegant ways, and after shaking off the defense, he would either deliver a deadly pass or shoot directly himself!
Within 5 minutes of the start, Lance had already hit the target once and hit the post once, scaring all the SC Freiburg fans in the stadium into a cold sweat!
On the coaching bench, Sascha and Sami Hyypiä also held the back of their heads, sighing in regret.
"Oh no!"
Sami Hyypiä suddenly sighed.
"What's wrong?"
"Bayern Munich scored two goals in a row!"
He wore headphones, constantly monitoring the other match.
Bayern Munich, who started 30 minutes earlier, was temporarily leading Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0.
This meant that Bayern Munich was 80% likely to win today.
The pressure was on Bayer Leverkusen!
If they wanted to contend for the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich, the points gap absolutely could not be widened.
Every match where points could be gained must be seized as much as possible.
Otherwise, losing even 1 point could lead to failure in the final title race.
As long as it's not the Bundesliga champion, there isn't much difference between second place and fourth place.
Bayer Leverkusen players were already subtly getting anxious.
They tried several times to find Son Heung-min.
Unfortunately, Lars Bender's two through balls were too strong and were intercepted and cleared by SC Freiburg's defenders.
In the first half, SC Freiburg's defensive shell temporarily kept the score at 0-0.
Lance looked at his [Rage Value: 72%]; in this state, it was temporarily difficult to get a perfect shot off.
At the same time, SC Freiburg learned from other teams' lessons.
They temporarily maintained a certain distance from Lance.
This way, they didn't have to worry about Lance's Perfect Ball Control leading to a successful dribble.
"I must find a way to break this deadlock."
Lance looked at the situation on the field and quickly had an idea.
SC Freiburg's coaching staff suddenly noticed that Lance seemed to be increasing his physical confrontations.
Previously, Lance would try to avoid physical confrontations to prevent wasting unnecessary energy.
Now, Lance deliberately dribbled the ball to invite opponents to collide and commit minor fouls.
This left Sascha and Sami Hyypiä bewildered.
"What's going on? Why is Lance so muddle-headed in this first match?"
Sascha couldn't help but worry a little.
"Don't worry, he definitely has his own strategy."
Sami Hyypiä trusted Lance greatly; this kid was definitely not a brainless technical player.
Lance was best at reading and observing the match, and trying to find opportunities on his own.
Just like this goal!
Lance's continuous active pursuit of confrontations made his Rage Value soar!
[Rage Value: 72%]
[Rage Value: 85%]
[Rage Value: 92%]
[Rage Value: 96%]
[Rage Value: 100%]
In the 62nd minute of the second half, a SC Freiburg tackle foul directly raised Lance's Rage Value to 100%!
Lars Bender took the free kick in the center circle.
He looked around; SC Freiburg's defensive shell was very tight, with people everywhere in the penalty area!
Only Lance was still waiting for an opportunity outside the box!
Lars Bender didn't have time to think; he instinctively decided to trust Lance, taking the free kick and sending a long pass to Lance outside the penalty area!
"Lance, facing this ball… Lance!!!!!"
Under Berenberg's rich tenor, Lance avoided the opponent's interference outside the penalty area, leaned on the SC Freiburg defensive midfielder, and gently flicked the ball up with his knee!
Then, from outside the penalty area, he unexpectedly attempted an overhead kick directly!
With [Rage Value: 100%], Lance wasn't playing around!
"Lance!! An overhead kick directly from outside the box—"
"That's a goal!!! Overhead kick from outside the box!"
"Bayer Leverkusen takes a 1-0 lead away from home! Getting a winning start after the winter break!"
"If nothing unexpected happens, this spectacular overhead kick from outside the box will once again be nominated for this year's Puskás Award!"
"No disrespect to the seniors, but I want to say, if Lance continues like this, the Puskás Award might as well be renamed the Lance Award…"
"This goal!"
Before commentator Berenberg could finish speaking, Bayer Leverkusen had just scored and finished celebrating.
The screen cut back, and Bayer Leverkusen scored again within 1 minute!
The scorer was still Lance!