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Thump, thump! Thump! Whew—
The roar from the Santiago Bernabéu stands almost vanished; Lance could only hear his own breathing and the sound of his heart beating. With 90 minutes played and entering stoppage time, Real Madrid was leading 4-1 by a large margin. Lance seized one of the few opportunities and stepped forward!
He had observed Sami Khedira for a long time and finally, just as he was about to pass, Lance rushed in to intercept the pass, nutmegging Khedira in the process, and then dribbled forward with large strides! The clash with Khedira also boosted his rage value a bit.
Rage Value: 98%!
It wasn't enough, but he had to bite the bullet! Lance's sudden interception caught Real Madrid's players off guard, and as they momentarily lost focus, Luka Modrić, who had been constantly monitoring Lance's status, accelerated without any hesitation, running diagonally to try and intercept Lance.
"This Oriental, he's very dangerous!"
Even after 90 minutes, Modrić's stamina was still monstrous; his acceleration allowed him to catch up to Lance! Lance was already close to exhaustion. A 16-year-old body playing 90 minutes, coupled with the recent dense schedule, was simply not something he should have to endure at his age.
Helplessly, Bayer Leverkusen's desperate situation truly depended on Lance. The two coaches, Sami Hyypiä and Sascha Lewandowski, watched as Lance was caught by Modrić, feeling both heartache and helplessness.
"Ah!"
"It's over."
Bayer Leverkusen fans in front of their televisions were also a bit despairing; Lance had fought so hard to create an opportunity, but could he still not do it?
Son Heung-min on the left side was just about to make a move when Dani Carvajal, with a flash of inspiration, tangled him up, pulling his jersey and using his body to interfere, preventing him from starting at the first moment. The same was true on the other side; Fábio Coentrão deliberately positioned himself in front of Julian Brandt to block, preventing them from supporting Lance.
With the already limited attacking members, only Lance had crossed midfield. He, alone, faced the entire Real Madrid defense! Real Madrid, having been led by José Mourinho, also placed great importance on defense. In an instant, seven or eight players collectively sprinted back to defend.
If Lance were to be entangled by Modrić and slow down to wait for teammates, this counter-attack opportunity would be fleeting, and they would completely lose their last chance to attack. With all eyes on him, Lance steeled his heart!
Enduring the feeling of his lungs about to burst, he gritted his teeth and pushed the ball outwards to change direction. Modrić, through his stamina advantage, had gradually gained a positional advantage, trying his best to force Lance towards the sideline, reducing his threat.
Anyone who watched football regularly would have lost all hope upon seeing this scene. Modrić's calm defending was very successful! Bayer Leverkusen was most likely completely finished.
Just as Real Madrid fans in the Santiago Bernabéu stands applauded and praised Modrić, and Bayer Leverkusen fans in the away section held their heads in disappointment, Lance hadn't given up yet!
The flow of time seemed to slow down, everything became slow motion. Under the effect of [Beast Dribbling], Lance's wild instincts were unleashed to their maximum! In a fleeting moment, he noticed the gap in Modrić's stride!
Now! The instant his outside foot pushed the ball out, he executed a perfect Rabona, pulling the ball back to nutmeg Modrić! Ronaldinho's signature dribbling move was easier than breathing for Lance!
Modrić hadn't even reacted when a figure suddenly flashed past him. He was startled to realize the opponent had circled around him from behind!
"Not good!"
He looked down and saw the ball had disappeared; by the time Modrić turned to intercept, Lance had already accelerated, dribbling past him by a body length!
[Rage Value: 99%]
But it was fine, Raphaël Varane had already pushed forward to support, and could cooperate with him to block the Oriental's dribbling path. Having just nutmegged Modrić, now came Raphaël Varane. Lance performed a step-over to try and feint.
Raphaël Varane, the 19-year-old talented new defender, had his reasons for quickly securing a starting central defender spot at Real Madrid. The young man didn't fall for the feint, constantly retreating sideways, giving Lance no space to break through, and keeping a close eye on Lance's movements, trying to stall for time until his teammates could double-team!
"Calm play!! Raphaël Varane!"
Having just gotten past Modrić, before he could even celebrate, seeing Raphaël Varane's airtight defense, Zhan Jun felt a bit despairing again.
Lance seemed to be getting anxious; during his dribble, he actually proactively used a "Marseille Roulette," seemingly intending to use a trick to shake off Raphaël Varane. A Marseille Roulette is usually used when the opponent is close, to unexpectedly turn and get past them. From a distance, a Marseille Roulette posed no threat at all.
Raphaël Varane even felt a little like laughing; he took advantage of Lance's unstable control during the turn, closed in to challenge Lance, and simultaneously went for the tackle. Lance lost his footing; this ball was definitely lost!
"Oh no!! Lance, that was naive!"
Zhang Lu couldn't bear to watch. Lance's young and bold breakthrough certainly had its highlights, but he was still paying the price for his youth; he was getting anxious.
Seeing Raphaël Varane about to dispossess him, the entire Real Madrid team breathed a sigh of relief. The seemingly reckless Lance, however, secretly curled his lips into a slight smile!
[Rage Value: 100%]
Bankai! Lance roared with a chuunibyou-like fury internally. His previously exhausted body was suddenly filled with a warm current, restoring infinite energy!
He was challenged by Raphaël Varane but didn't lose his balance; instead, without even looking, he backheeled the ball through his legs! The Marseille Roulette motion, turning to the left, stopped abruptly without warning, he tapped the ball through his legs, dropped his shoulder, and changed direction to the right, breaking past Raphaël Varane!
"Holy Shit!!!"
"OHHHHH—Laaaaaance—"
"WTF?!!"
The entire stadium was stunned! Lance's extreme breakthrough at the last possible second instantly petrified everyone! He could do that?
Lance didn't seem to be playing football; he was completely using basketball moves, Spin Move + Crossover. A fake turn, then a crossover dribble to get past the opponent from the other side! Even NBA players like Allen Iverson and Russell Westbrook weren't this agile!
Raphaël Varane was completely dazed by Lance; he had just thought the naive one was the opponent, but it turned out the naive one was himself! Like Modrić, Raphaël Varane turned to chase, but Lance had already created distance and burst into the penalty area!
Only Sergio Ramos, was coming from the side to try and stop Lance from shooting.
"Lance!! Try a shot in the box!!"
Seeing Lance swing his leg as soon as he entered the box, Zhan Jun was already too nervous to breathe. Ramos, in a panic, couldn't worry about anything else; he almost rushed up and jumped to block the shot with his back!
But! Lance faked a shot and then pulled the ball back, changing direction the instant Ramos jumped! Only Iker Casillas was left to desperately abandon his goal, trying to block Lance's shooting angle.
As both sets of fans held their breath, Lance then shot with his left foot again, faking out Saint Iker, who dove to save, but it was still a feint! He instantly accelerated with a burst dribble, moving horizontally to clear Iker Casillas's defensive zone!
In stoppage time, inside Real Madrid's penalty area, facing multiple defenders and interceptions, Lance was so calm it was terrifying!
"Lance—he's dribbled past Iker Casillas!"
With the attention of fans worldwide, Lance stepped forward, turned his back to the goal, and backheeled the ball with force! He was purely putting on a show!
Everyone on Real Madrid could only watch in despair as Lance made his magnificent exit, delivering the fatal blow! The ball mercilessly flew into the net!
"The ball is in!! Lance—"
"A backheel goal from a tight angle!! This last goal was entirely his individual show!"
"In the last match against FC Barcelona, Lance repeatedly performed solo goals. Today, facing a large deficit, Lance single-handedly intercepted the ball and dribbled 70 meters from his own half! He dribbled past 5 players and scored with a backheel! A stunning goal!"
"At the critical moment, Lance had to step up; Bayer Leverkusen tied the score at 4-2 in stoppage time! A priceless away goal! In the second leg at the BayArena, Bayer Leverkusen still retains the possibility of reaching the Champions League final!"
Although 90 minutes had ended, Real Madrid defeated Bayer Leverkusen 4-2. But Lance's final brilliant performance cast a shadow over Real Madrid's path to advancement and gave Bayer Leverkusen renewed hope!
Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, and other world-class superstars were overshadowed today! Lance's final individual show turned the Santiago Bernabéu into his exclusive stage!