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It wasn't until Cristiano Ronaldo saw the video replay that his expression changed from confusion to gloom.
As for now, the Bernabéu Stadium was silent, with only the away fans' stand erupting in a thunderous roar, drowning out the voices of the home fans!
Far in the East, it was almost 1:30 AM.
Most people had already fallen asleep, but tens of millions were still glued to their screens, cheering along with the Atlético Madrid fans!
"Lance! A surgical pass!"
"When Atlético Madrid was at a disadvantage, it was still he who stepped up!"
"This is Lance! This is the role of a hero!"
The commentator shouted excitedly.
It wasn't until the replay that fans truly saw Lance's brilliant moment!
Initially, Lance and Cristiano Ronaldo were neck and neck, battling each other through midfield.
Cristiano Ronaldo, tall and strong, looked like he was about to push past Lance, threatening to disrupt his balance.
At the same time, Toni Kroos was closing in, with Modrić also pressing from the other side!
Lance was trapped, all passing lanes blocked, with only the option to shield the ball and pass back.
But Lance was highly skilled and daring!
In slow motion, he nudged the ball with the outside of his foot, seemingly intending to change direction and break through.
Cristiano Ronaldo lunged forward a big step to block his path.
In an instant, Lance, halfway through the outside-of-foot nudge, miraculously pulled the ball back, turning horizontally with a Marseille Roulette!
He perfectly bypassed Cristiano Ronaldo!
Cristiano Ronaldo's vision was immediately blocked!
Seeing Lance accelerate sharply after the Marseille Roulette, dribbling diagonally, he also evaded Toni Kroos's tackle range and created distance from Cristiano Ronaldo.
Most people thought Lance was going to dribble diagonally along the sideline to break through.
Lance suddenly passed!
A sudden outside-of-the-right-foot pass!
The ball curved, bypassing Casemiro's range, and penetrating the gap between centre-back Varane and full-back Marcelo!
The most magical thing was that Correa, seeing Lance about to break through along the sideline, dutifully dropped back, making a run from the half-space.
The moment he started his forward run, Lance's pass had already left his foot.
By the time Correa was past the defensive line, the ball was already in front of him!
Correa could sprint without any deceleration, accelerating into the box to receive the ball and gain an early advantage!
A clean finish!
Even Ángel Correa himself couldn't believe it.
He hadn't expected to receive the ball just then, only making a subconscious forward run. Could this really work?
"Lance, you're too strong! How did you know where I was going to run?"
"Luck, luck."
"No, no, you definitely anticipated it!"
In Ángel Correa's heart, Lance was already revered as a god.
Other teammates also congratulated him with pleasant surprises. Torres quickly retrieved the ball to save time, and a group of them celebrated as they ran back, praising Lance.
Lance himself was too lazy to explain.
"It really was luck! Who knew the Monster Pass could be so good?"
Without a template, relying solely on muscle memory for the pass, Lance could only ensure perfect power and touch.
The timing of the pass could not be guaranteed to be perfect.
Yet, he happened to deliver a brilliant through ball! A deadly strike!
Everyone at Atlético Madrid, including Simeone, was full of praise.
As expected of Lance!
"Forget it, I'll just say I passed it!"
Lance shamelessly took 100% of the credit for this goal.
Atlético Madrid's morale soared!
As the match entered the 80th minute, taking advantage of Real Madrid's declining stamina, they launched a siege on Real Madrid!
"Lance's long-range shot! This shot—"
"Navas! Wow, that was quite dangerous!"
"Another Atlético Madrid attack, Lance! A through ball to Griezmann! This pass is beautiful!"
"Oh, what a pity, Griezmann's cross was offside, Torres's run showed half an arm too early."
"Lance's ball distribution was a stroke of genius!"
"It's Lance again, a through ball to the left half-space!"
"Torres! He takes a shot himself—ouch, it hit the post! Really unlucky!"
The commentator was numb.
In consecutive matches against Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid always seemed to have bad luck, hitting the post multiple times.
In contrast, Real Madrid often scored incredible goals.
Since Zidane took over, Real Madrid has been incredibly uncanny, hasn't it?
As time dragged on to the 85th minute, Real Madrid began to defensively park the bus.
Benzema was substituted off for Pepe.
With Pepe, Varane, and Ramos as three centre-backs, Real Madrid intended to play with five defenders.
Cristiano Ronaldo moved up to play as a centre forward.
Then Gareth Bale was substituted off for Isco.
Toni Kroos's position was slightly more advanced, supplying ammunition with Isco.
Marcelo and Carvajal were responsible for 45-degree angled crosses to allow Cristiano Ronaldo to contest headers.
Even if Cristiano Ronaldo was the only one in the box, he still posed a huge threat, using the smallest force to tie down Atlético Madrid's formation.
At the same time, the defensive line could form an iron wall, difficult to breach.
These were Zidane's substitutions, seemingly illogical, and indeed illogical, but it's undeniable that he always managed to win.
"Damn it, a bit difficult to deal with."
"There aren't many open spaces now."
Pepe's inclusion, with Real Madrid playing five defenders, made it very difficult for Griezmann, with fewer opportunities to dribble and break through.
As the match was about to enter the 90th minute, Real Madrid aimed to run down the clock.
Lance's eyes remained calm.
Having experienced two Champions League semi-finals, a World Cup semi-final, and two Bundesliga title races, Lance's mentality had been forged into an unshakeable calm.
Small stakes!
No change in tactics, play as usual!
Adding one centre-back, the half-space was still there!
And he could still exploit the gaps between the three centre-backs!
"Antoine, run forward, run forward!"
"What? Never mind."
Too far apart, Griezmann couldn't hear Lance's shout clearly, he could only infer, trusting their unspoken understanding.
"Time has reached 90 minutes, with only three minutes of injury time."
"Compared to previous fiery Madrid Derbies, today there haven't been too many malicious tackles, and interruptions have been few."
"Today was more of a counter-attacking duel, with both sides relying on quick counter-attacks to score."
"Real Madrid still leads 2-1, it remains to be seen if Atlético Madrid can equalise."
The team most hoping for a draw was, of course, Barcelona.
If both teams drew, it would be like losing two points each, and Barcelona would once again widen the gap!
Time passed minute by minute, just as Real Madrid's entire stadium sang "Hala Madrid," preparing to celebrate a rare victory.
An inconspicuous Atlético Madrid attack once again fell to Lance's feet.
"This time, I definitely will! What?"
Lance took the ball in the centre circle, and Toni Kroos thought Lance was going to carry the ball forward.
But he suddenly passed!
A bold central through ball!
A pass that shouldn't have been possible, the ball incredibly quickly skimmed across the grass, penetrating Modrić's and Casemiro's defensive areas, and squeezing through the gap between Varane and Pepe!
Griezmann sprinted forward desperately, but his speed was still a bit slow, he probably wouldn't make it!
"Damn it, a pass this tricky, who can get to it..."
Griezmann was about to complain.
But from the other side, a figure in a black away jersey flashed out from the crowd!
He received the ball, and with a clean, crisp push shot!
Absolute silence!
The entire stadium was petrified!
What on earth happened?!
After half a second of silence, the away Atlético Madrid stand erupted in ecstatic cheers, soaring to the sky!
"Goooooal!"
"Fernando Torres—"
"Successfully equalised the score! 2-2 in injury time!"
"Another magical through ball from Lance! My God!"
In the commentator's disbelieving tone, Torres, after scoring, calmly turned and gave a thumbs-up to Lance in the distance.
The former Golden Boy of Atlético Madrid and today's Golden Boy of Atlético Madrid exchanged smiles.
"Well done, Fernando Torres."
"Well done, Lance."