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Welcome to Sina Sports! The first leg of the 14/15 Champions League semi-final, a highly anticipated match, is about to begin!
Lance's Bayer Leverkusen will host Barcelona, with its MSN trio!
Jian Jun's voice was already loud enough, yet it was still affected by the ambient noise.
To counter Barcelona, the BayArena was packed today, with every fan who could make it coming to cheer for the home team.
"Bayer Leverkusen Allez!"
"Bayer Leverkusen Allez!!!"
"Lance—"
"Lance—"
The thunderous cheers, like a mountain and a tsunami, almost drowned out Jian Jun.
As a result, Jian Jun had to raise his voice from the very beginning of the match, commentating on this major battle with all his might.
Beep—
"With the whistle from Hungarian referee Kassai, the match officially begins!"
Barcelona won the kickoff and took control from the start of the game.
"Xavi to Iniesta, back to Busquets, Mascherano, Marc-André ter Stegen... then back to Xavi..."
Bayer Leverkusen initially tried to press high, attempting to disrupt Barcelona's rhythm.
However, Barcelona's passing was simply too fluid.
Firmino was being run ragged in the front, and Lance, for today's offence, hadn't equipped the Cannavaro template, so his defensive ability was also insufficient.
Unable to high-press, the group simply retreated to defend within 30 metres of the box.
Barcelona formed an encirclement in the front, just like in all of Barcelona's matches these past few years.
"Xavi, to Messi on the right..."
"He pulls it back! Gets past Nathan Aké! Cuts inside and fakes out Lars Bender! Takes a direct shot!!!"
"Goalkeeper Leno was very focused and held the ball. Barcelona completes its first shot of the game."
Bayer Leverkusen fans had a scare.
The successful defence was met with enthusiastic applause from the entire stadium, dedicated to goalkeeper Leno.
Bayer Leverkusen's defenders were also very excited, high-fiving each other, their morale high.
"Barcelona is nothing special."
"Easy! Let's aim for a steal next time!"
"We're definitely winning today!"
But Lance couldn't smile.
He carefully observed the expressions of Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Suárez, and others.
After this missed shot, there was no sense of frustration on their faces.
Their expressions were very relaxed, as if they were on the training ground with no pressure at all.
"This isn't good. Captain, I think we still can't let our guard down."
"Don't worry, Lance, you try to find opportunities upfront as much as possible! Leave the defence to us!"
Captain Rolfes was full of confidence.
Barcelona immediately tried a few more attacks, but they were all easily stopped by Bayer Leverkusen's tight defence.
Bayer Leverkusen still had chances for counterattacks.
"Rolfes, a long pass to Son Heung-min on the left side!!"
"Son Heung-min tries to break through on the wing! The ball is tackled out of bounds by Alves."
"Nathan Aké comes up, good, Lance receives the ball and turns, Nathan Aké continues to overlap..."
Damn it, go back!
Lance was stunned to find that left-back Nathan Aké was no longer content with just defending Messi; he impulsively overlapped and pushed forward.
Son Heung-min's defensive pull allowed Nathan Aké to bypass Alves and go straight into the ribs.
This was very risky!
Lance didn't want his teammates to take risks, but since he was already there and in a good position, it was best to pass to him according to the tactics.
"Beautiful!! Lance's through ball connects with Nathan Aké!! He assists into the box!"
"Firmino takes an early shot!! Marc-André ter Stegen!!"
"Barcelona pushes the ball out of bounds, Bayer Leverkusen gets a corner kick!"
For a corner kick, the two centre-backs, Harry Maguire and Van Dijk, would surely rush into the box to contend for the header.
Bayer Leverkusen, playing at home, was quite hyped, and everyone's attention was on offence.
The closer they got to scoring, the clearer Lance's sense of crisis became.
Equipped Template: Bachira Meguru - S (Fusion Value 100%)
Equipped Template: Hyuga Kojiro - S (Fusion Value 45%)
Equipped Template: Meteor - B
Rage Value: 0%
Assisting Character: Nagi Seishiro - S (Fusion Value 100%)
Assisting Status: On
Considering they were facing Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen focused on defensive counterattacks.
They needed to launch attacks more swiftly and incisively from the back in limited opportunities.
Firmino was a tactical fulcrum, not the sharpest blade of the counterattack.
De Bruyne's role was more about passing.
So, relying solely on Son Heung-min as an explosive point wasn't enough; Lance himself also needed some explosiveness.
"Lance, your tactical responsibility is very heavy today. You not only need to be the ball-holder to attract attention and create opportunities for Son. At the same time, you also have enough decision-making power to handle opportunities yourself when you find them. Whether it's a breakthrough or a long shot, try to impact Barcelona's defence as much as possible. Can you do it?"
Lance remembered Sascha's instructions before the match very clearly.
Therefore, in addition to equipping Bachira Meguru, Lance also equipped another template, Meteor.
Lance had watched the 'Super Smart Football' animation. (T/N: Even I don't know the plot of this but it doesn't effect the story)
This was one of the few domestic football animations.
The worldview and match content were full of fantasy, and it was considered one of the more popular domestic animations back then.
Besides the protagonist, Qianlong, and the captain, Hexin, Meteor was an important character in the protagonist's team, skilled at fast breakthroughs and fancy footwork on the pitch.
Considering that the Rage Value for the Bachira Meguru template accumulated relatively slowly, an extra skill might play a decisive role at crucial moments when an explosion was needed.
However, most of the time, Lance relied more on the monster intuition of the Bachira Meguru template, generating a premonition of crisis in advance.
With all of Bayer Leverkusen pushing forward, Lance silently retreated to the outside of the box for protective support.
"De Bruyne takes the corner kick!! Near post! Maguire!!"
Big-headed Harry Maguire put in a great effort, leaping high over Piqué's defence, and headed the ball towards the goal with a lion's roar.
"That ball is in!! I'm a hero!!"
Maguire watched as the ball was about to go in, but unexpectedly, left-back Alba was alertly positioned at the back post and cleared the ball off the line with his foot!
"Damn it!!"
Busquets received the ball outside the box, calmly backheeled it past Firmino, and passed it to Xavi.
The MSN trio simultaneously sprinted forward, and Xavi saw nothing but gaps ahead!
"Barcelona's counterattack opportunity!! Xavi!! Through ball to Messi!"
Oh no!!
In the instant Bayer Leverkusen's entire team panicked, Messi was about to receive the ball and break through.
A figure darted like a meteor, a streak of light across the grass, and a flying tackle poked the ball out of bounds.
"Lance!!! A crucial interception, disrupting Barcelona's attack!"
Lance, who had completed the tackle and was lying on the ground, gasped for air with difficulty.
He had not hesitated to use the Meteor skill just now.
[Meteor Trajectory: Greatly accelerates for 3 seconds, greatly enhances ball control]
The skill had no cooldown and could be used infinitely.
But the cost was also obvious: it consumed quite a bit of stamina.
To defend that ball, Lance had truly given his all.
"Lance's disruption of that ball was crucial! It seems Bayer Leverkusen's entire team is in excellent form today. Before the match, the media all favoured Barcelona. Barcelona's overall strength is also stronger, but as long as Bayer Leverkusen has enough fighting spirit, they can still contend with Barcelona."
Jian Jun also breathed a sigh of relief.
Judging from the performance in the first few minutes, Bayer Leverkusen could actually go toe-to-toe with peak Barcelona!
Perhaps they could truly shake Barcelona...
The replay was still showing Lance's brilliant defence, but unbeknownst to them, Barcelona had already quickly taken the throw-in!
Alves's throw-in went directly to Messi, who then diagonally passed to Iniesta.
Neymar and Suárez were already in position upfront, whilst the two centre-backs, Harry Maguire and Van Dijk, hadn't had time to get back on defence!
"Oh no!!"
Seeing this, Lance quickly scrambled to his feet, but his legs felt weak, and he couldn't chase back immediately.
He watched as the two full-backs, Kimmich and Nathan Aké, had to defend Barcelona's MSN trident!
Bayer Leverkusen fans hadn't had much time to celebrate either, and their hearts immediately sank.
"Iniesta!! A one-touch pass to the left wing!"
"Neymar!!"
Neymar, hailed as Brazil's last samba dancer, faced the young Kimmich.
In front of the box, his footwork was dazzling, and after a step-over, he surprisingly pulled off something unexpected!
"A rainbow flick!! He's past him!!"
Jian Jun's heart skipped a beat as he watched Neymar break past Kimmich and deliver a cross in front of the box.
Suárez effortlessly nudged the ball past Nathan Aké and easily slotted it into the net.
"Less than 9 minutes into the game, Barcelona scores first!"
"Utilising Bayer Leverkusen's eagerness to attack, which left their defence exposed, Barcelona's incisive counterattack was quite deadly!!"
Only then did Messi, who had been tackled by Lance earlier, faintly smile, casting a distant glance at Lance.
"Kid, this is Barcelona's true strength."
They were played!
Damn it!
Lance clenched his fists, instantly realising that Barcelona's performance at the start of the game was a feint, deliberately luring them in.
This match might be the toughest battle he had encountered in the past two years!