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How could Lance know that, far away in China, a fan was so engrossed in watching the match that he neglected his own happiness?
This seemingly ordinary Bundesliga match held immense significance for him, his team, and the fans.
Starting the game, he felt a slight regret, glancing at the Wolfsburg starting lineup next to him and not seeing Zhang Xizhe.
His compatriot could only watch from the substitutes' bench.
The good news was that he at least made the squad, not like in his prophetic dreams where he almost spent the entire game wearing a hat in the stands.
"Come on, brothers."
As the whistle blew, Lance no longer worried about his compatriot.
He was starting today, and the coaching staff's intention was clear: to pursue both league and Champions League titles with full force.
Bayern Munich had thrashed Hamburg 8-0 in their current match, playing one more game and opening up a six-point lead.
Lance and Bayer Leverkusen could only accept one outcome: three points!
"It's a pity. The 'Chinese Derby' that fans have been anticipating for so long, with German media speculating before the match that Zhang Xizhe might start."
"But we see that Zhang Xizhe is currently on the bench. Hecking has fielded his full main lineup for this tough battle."
Duan Xuan frowned. Bayer Leverkusen was indeed not an easy opponent.
In their first encounter, Bayer Leverkusen won 2-0 away, and the match was back and forth, full of twists and turns.
Moreover, Wolfsburg was on a three-game winning streak, riding high.
Veteran Olić scored eight goals in three games, experiencing a second spring.
Defensive midfielder Luiz Gustavo was selected for the Bundesliga Team of the Week for three consecutive rounds, averaging over 4.3 tackles and interceptions per game.
Goalkeeper Benaglio was recently the Bundesliga's save king, keeping five consecutive clean sheets.
They lost De Bruyne, but Wolfsburg's strength should not be underestimated.
Sure enough, from the very beginning, Wolfsburg threatened the goal repeatedly with sharp counterattacks.
"Dost!! He's got past Maguire, a low shot!!"
"Just wide!"
"Another Wolfsburg counterattack! A long pass finds Olić!"
"Oh my!! He can shoot from there?"
Olić, with his back to Van Dijk in the box, suddenly fired a volley, giving Van Dijk a cold sweat.
Two counterattacks made Bayer Leverkusen hesitant to push forward, forcing them to slow down and look for opportunities.
Both central defensive midfielders were resting, with Captain Rolfes and Vice-Captain Lars Bender on the bench.
Starting in their place were defensive midfielder Jens Hegeler, and right-back Joshua Kimmich, playing as a makeshift defensive midfielder.
On the left was Guardado, on the right Julian Brandt.
Single striker Kießling served as the target man.
Perhaps sitting on the bench for a long time made it difficult for Kießling to find his rhythm.
Several times, Lance tried to link up with Kießling, but Kießling always failed to control the ball, miscontrolling it two metres away and losing possession.
"Kießling!!! The ball was stolen!"
"Lance!! A fierce sliding tackle brings down Luiz Gustavo, finally clearing the ball. No foul, Wolfsburg's throw-in."
At BayArena, the home fans stood up to applaud Lance's fierce tackling.
They also breathed a sigh of relief.
The youngster was truly a treasure—a big threat in attack and very diligent in defence.
"Stefan, what are you doing? Focus!!"
"Sorry, Lance… It won't happen again."
Kießling stuck out his tongue, inwardly startled.
With both the captain and vice-captain off the pitch, the mere 17-year-old Lance, not yet 18, wore the captain's armband for the first time!
The team's universally recognised third captain for the new season was none other than the spiritual leader, Lance!
His aura on the pitch was equally powerful.
Bayer Leverkusen's long-time veteran Kießling didn't even dare to breathe heavily in front of Lance.
"Wearing the captain's armband, Lance, at 17 years and 112 days old, has become the youngest captain in Bundesliga history… no, in the history of Europe's top five leagues!"
Duan Xuan and the fans couldn't help but gasp.
When Fàbregas became Arsenal captain at 21, European media had already hailed him as the youngest captain.
Now, Lance had reduced the captain's age to 17!
Only two words: terrifying!
Although it was only a temporary armband, Lance still shouldered the responsibility, loudly directing his teammates to settle down.
Today, he was using the [Nagi Seishiro] template, not as wild as when he equipped [Bachira Meguru].
His calm and composed demeanour allowed Bayer Leverkusen to temporarily stabilise their rhythm after a brief period of disarray.
"Alright, Bayer Leverkusen has been playing very organised lately."
"It's quite surprising that Kimmich, playing as a makeshift defensive midfielder from right-back, can also participate in the build-up."
Commentator Gong Lei noticed this.
He felt the young player had great potential.
"Indeed, Kimmich and Lance have formed a chemical reaction."
"Bayer Leverkusen's last two attacks have found their rhythm… Look at this one!!"
Just as he spoke, Van Dijk made a divine 1v1 prediction in the backfield, stealing the ball from Olić, then turned and swept it to Kimmich.
Kimmich, with his back to goal, skilfully evaded a defender, then looked up to locate Lance, and without hesitation, launched a long pass directly forward!
"Beautiful ball… Oh my… Lance!!"
After a pass exceeding 50 metres, Lance, with a light touch of his toe, effortlessly controlled the ball and dribbled past Luiz Gustavo and Naldo's double-team in one second!
That was too cool!
Duan Xuan almost blurted out an expletive on air.
Centre-back Naldo was tricked by Lance, leaving a gap behind him.
Lance seized the opportunity to burst into the box from the flank, raising his right leg!
"Lance!!! He's going for a shot himself—"
All of Wolfsburg panicked.
Goalkeeper Benaglio felt a chill down his spine!
"Stop him!!"
Benaglio rushed out to narrow the angle, whilst simultaneously directing defenders Timo Klose and right-back Träsch to double-team Lance.
For a moment, everyone's attention was on Lance.
The cameraman was even fooled by Lance, the lens instantly panning to the goal, only to find that Lance hadn't shot at all.
A feint, a pull-back to evade the tackle in front of him, and a calm horizontal pass!
"Oh no… it's over!"
Wolfsburg fans' hearts sank halfway.
Kießling arrived just in time, easily tapping the ball into an open net.
"Oh ho ho ho!! Goal—Lance attracted all the attention, assisting Kießling for a tap-in!"
"Bayer Leverkusen leads 1-0!"
Duan Xuan was very excited. Lance as captain was truly different, a pure performance! He single-handedly toyed with the opponent's entire defence.
BayArena erupted in thunderous cheers.
Kießling scored the goal, but everyone was chanting Lance's name.
"Lance—"
"Lance—"
"Lance—"
Kießling was overjoyed. He hadn't expected to score after being quiet for so long.
"Lance! Thank you!! Thank you!"
The tall striker was so moved he was almost in tears.
"You played beautifully… Easy there!!"
Lance was almost squeezed to death.
From the distant substitutes' bench, Zhang Xizhe watched with envy as the young man, with the same skin and black eyes, was surrounded by his teammates.
Looking at him, then at himself, Zhang Xizhe wished he could dig a tunnel and disappear.
The "Chinese Derby" that domestic media had hyped for half a month felt like a slap in his face.
The chasm between them was wider than their physical distance at that moment.
Even more critically, Zhang Xizhe himself was currently the only Chinese player playing abroad… Where was the future of Chinese football?
He didn't know.
He only knew that the hope of Chinese fans could currently only be placed on Lance.
"I guess I'm out of luck… Keep fighting, brother."
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