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Trailing 1-2, after a halftime adjustment, Bayer Leverkusen regrouped, intending to score another goal to equalize. However, Real Madrid didn't give them many opportunities.
In the original timeline's Champions League final, Real Madrid vs. Atlético Madrid. Atlético Madrid was also leading 1-0 at the start, and it looked like they were about to win the Champions League, but Sergio Ramos's header equalized, revitalizing Real Madrid's morale, and then they scored three goals in extra time to end the match.
Even Atlético Madrid, with one of the world's top defenses, found it hard to resist Real Madrid's attack, let alone Bayer Leverkusen's second-rate defense?
"Luka Modrić, beautiful!! A clever touch to get past, dribbling forward, a chance for Real Madrid!"
"To Ángel Di María..."
"Good play! Di María's continuous touch and go brought him to the edge of the box."
"Oh! That ball!"
Di María's imaginative chip failed to connect with Gareth Bale, otherwise, this ball would have certainly been lost. But Real Madrid came back, still in control. Bayer Leverkusen's defense was stretched thin, Lance couldn't even touch the ball, let alone launch an attack.
"Sami Khedira, directly to Cristiano Ronaldo who dropped back..."
"Cristiano Ronaldo, a horizontal pass to Di María's forward run!!"
"Di María couldn't turn past him; Simon Rolfes and Lars Bender were both marking him!"
"But who's marking Modrić?"
Seeing Real Madrid's attack stalled, with several key attacking players being restricted by Bayer Leverkusen's immense effort. Modrić's forward run instantly broke the balance in the attacking third! He directly took a touch and dribbled into the penalty area!
"Modrić!! Is he going for a shot himself?"
"A powerful shot!!"
"It's in again!"
Zhan Jun was almost numb. Looking at the 4-1 on the scoreboard, people could only then realize how strong Real Madrid's overall squad was.
Before, it was Cristiano Ronaldo watching Lance slide and celebrate from afar, now it was Lance standing still, watching Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid players hug and celebrate from afar. The entire stadium echoed with the synchronized chorus of Real Madrid's team anthem, its immense momentum giving people a sense of powerlessness, an inability to resist.
"My Madrid is charging"
"I am battle and glory"
"The shout of heritage..."
"Madrid, Madrid, Madrid..."
"Hala Madrid! Y nada más, Y nada más!!"
Lance hadn't even managed to seize an attacking opportunity. The defense had been hammered with 4 goals! Who could he complain to?
"What do you say, Lance, this is just too difficult to play."
Due to the vast disparity in strength between the two squads, Julian Brandt even gave a resigned bitter smile.
"Sigh, I've already tried my best to assist in defense."
Son Heung-min was equally frustrated. No matter how hard they tried, it was useless if the defense was being torn apart by Real Madrid! Son Heung-min subtly implied that the defense was too weak.
"No choice, actually, they've all tried their best. Look at the names on the other side, they are all players with strong opportunistic abilities. Especially two of them are worth over a hundred million, so it's understandable for the game to be like this."
Lance let out a long breath. Sometimes, simply being stubborn is useless, professional players must face the gap between the two sides and acknowledge the opponent's strength.
"So, what do you say, is this the end of our Champions League season?"
"Not necessarily, let's try to stabilize the situation and see if we can find a chance to score one..."
Lance hadn't given up; he was still thinking of a way. At the same time, Bayer Leverkusen's two coaches were also frowning and discussing countermeasures.
"We still need to strengthen our defense."
"Strengthen defense even when we're behind?"
"Yes, at least we can't let Real Madrid score again."
Sami Hyypiä looked at the time; the scoreboard showed 79:42, leaving about 10 minutes. It would be very difficult to score 3 goals to equalize. Bayer Leverkusen's most important task now was to score as many away goals as possible while stabilizing their defense.
As long as they scored enough away goals, Bayer Leverkusen would still have hope for the second leg. If Real Madrid won by a massive margin like 5-1 or 6-1, it would be incredibly difficult to turn the tide in the second leg.
"Alright, that makes sense."
Sascha Lewandowski also understood Hyypiä's idea and quickly went to arrange things on the bench. Substitutions wasted a lot of time, and it wasn't until the 82nd minute that Bayer Leverkusen made personnel adjustments, making two consecutive substitutions.
The right-back Giulio Donati, who was on a yellow card and playing cautiously in defense, was replaced by the more stable German defender Tin Jedvaj. The invisible striker Stefan Kiessling was replaced by the workhorse defensive midfielder Jens Hegeler, further strengthening the midfield's combativeness and defensive depth.
Lance was pushed up to the front line, forming the only remaining 3-man attacking group with Son Heung-min and Julian Brandt. Everyone else had to focus on defense and could not provide any support.
"Lance, the attack is on you. If you find a chance in the front, go for it boldly. We'll try to hold steady at the back."
The substitute Jens Hegeler briefly relayed the coaching staff's thoughts.
"Understood."
Lance nodded. Seeing the substitutions, he already understood the tactical content.
...
"Zhang Lu, with these substitutions by Bayer Leverkusen, have they already given up?"
"Not necessarily."
Zhang Lu pondered for a moment, somewhat guessing Bayer Leverkusen's intentions.
"The coaching staff still trusts Lance a lot and wants him to play the full match. In previous games, Lance has always been able to create miracles at crucial moments... He's a young man, full of drive."
Zhang Lu felt a faint sense of anticipation. If Lance could still create opportunities in such a desperate situation, and perform well against a strong team like Real Madrid, then it would prove that Lance definitely has a big talent, and his future prospects are limitless!
Even if they were eliminated by Real Madrid over two legs, Bayer Leverkusen reaching the Champions League semi-finals was already amazing enough! After this season's experience, Lance might be even more terrifying next season!
Template Equipped: Bachira Meguru (Fusion Value 17%)
Skill: Beast Dribbling
Skill: Unlocked (Unlocked at 25% Fusion Value)
Rage Value: 91%
Assisting Character: Nagi Seishiro - S (Fusion Value 100%)
Assisting Status: On
Looking at the system's rage value, Lance then looked at the scoreboard; time was still quite tight. The team had strengthened its defenders, which indeed held off Real Madrid's attack, but Lance didn't have much time left to score.
The Bachira Meguru template was good in every way, except that the rage value was too difficult to accumulate! Throughout the entire match, it had only just barely reached 91, and it was already the 86th minute!
He wished he could actively seek out confrontations with Modrić, Raphaël Varane, Sergio Ramos, and others. To others, Lance's actions seemed like an active performance.
"Lance, he's in great form, very active in defense. Even with a large deficit, Lance hasn't given up and is still looking for opportunities!"
Zhan Jun was moved. How could such a resilient young player, such a young man with a strong desire to win, not succeed?
Unexpectedly, Lance's desperate scramble to accumulate rage actually paid off! As the match entered injury time, Khedira, facing a 4-1 lead, relaxed a little. Lance, lurking behind, suddenly darted out diagonally, and his upper body actually squeezed past the stronger Khedira!
He successfully dispossessed the ball in the center circle!
Zhan Jun, who had been quiet for a long time, suddenly perked up!
"Oh!! Lance! He stole it! Bayer Leverkusen's counter-attack opportunity!"
Go, Lance! Go!