As the top center back in modern football, Sergio Ramos, alongside Varane, forms what fans consider the most solid defensive pairing in the world.
He could sense it.
He could read it.
The moment Leo Lin drifted toward Varane's side, Ramos felt danger closing in.
Like a blade cutting upward through a waterfall, pushing against the torrent, yet sharp enough to pierce through it and emerge with a cold, gleaming edge.
That was how Leo Lin surged toward Ramos's blind side.
Firmino's backheel pass deceived Modrić, deceived Ramos, and fooled Real Madrid's entire back line.
The ball skimmed past Ramos's left ankle. He instinctively stretched out his leg. Just two centimeters more and he would have intercepted it.
But he didn't.
Leo Lin burst forward, breaking the offside trap and racing onto the ball, clean through on goal.
Ramos and Varane spun and gave chase at the same time, but Leo Lin's first three steps were explosive.
The Wind Chaser Kaka skill flared into life.
"Leo Lin accelerates!"
"He's beaten the offside trap!"
"Navas is off his line!"
"It's one-on-one!"
Jon Champion was already on his feet.
The entire stadium fell silent.
Real Madrid fans froze, mouths half open, unable to watch.
Liverpool fans covered their faces.
Navas charged out of the box. Firmino's pass had a bit too much weight on it. By normal judgment, Navas believed he would reach it first and clear.
But Leo Lin's acceleration over those first steps was too quick.
In that moment, there was nothing but the wind, thick with tension.
Leo Lin's mind went blank. The world around him fell silent. All he could see was the ball.
Navas rushed in and threw himself sideways to block.
A classic goalkeeper charge.
But once again, his height limited his reach.
Leo Lin got there first.
With his left foot, he nudged the ball past Navas in one touch, then pushed off again to accelerate.
But the sudden change of direction at full speed threw him off balance.
He stumbled past Navas and as he landed, his body gave way.
He fell.
Liverpool fans felt despair wash over them.
An open goal lay just ahead.
They were one step away.
"Leo Lin is down!"
"That was practically an open net!"
Jon Champion's voice cracked with disbelief.
Everyone understood what this meant.
After ninety minutes of high intensity, to fall at full sprint and then try to get back up again, it was a brutal test of the body.
Ramos and Varane had already recovered position, level with Leo Lin on the ground.
Both sprinted toward the loose ball.
One clearance, and it was over.
But in the next instant, a figure forced himself up from the ground.
Leo Lin.
He gritted his teeth, pushed himself up with one hand, and drove forward again.
A sprint that burned everything he had left.
Ramos watched in shock as Leo Lin surged past him, leaving both him and Varane behind in just two strides.
He wanted to foul him.
But they were not close enough.
Eighty thousand fans surrounded the Stade de France like a colosseum.
And eighty thousand pairs of eyes cut through the lights, through the drifting smoke, through the tension in the air, all fixed on one streak of red.
That figure rose from the ground, shook off Varane, and charged onto the ball once more.
Ahead of him was an empty goal.
No goalkeeper.
Leo Lin looked up, set himself, and struck with his right foot.
Ramos and Varane threw themselves in desperation, sliding in to block.
Real Madrid fans gasped, hands over their mouths.
Liverpool fans raised their arms.
The ball rolled past the left post and into the net.
Across the line.
And in that instant, hope ignited.
Leo Lin in red.
A last-second equalizer.
"Oh my God!!!"
Derek Rae and Jon Champion both leapt to their feet.
"Oh my God!!!"
"Equalizer!"
"Leo Lin!"
"A last-second equalizer!"
"He's done it! Liverpool are level against Real Madrid!"
"3-3!"
"It's 3-3!!!"
"No matter how adversity tries to wear you down, your dreams still shine!"
"Do you remember?"
"All of you watching right now, do you remember?"
"Do you remember the 18-year-old version of yourself who wanted everything?"
"Do you remember the version of yourself who believed you would one day rise above it all?"
"But Leo Lin did not break!"
"He's equalized! The match goes to extra time!"
"The Champions League final is not over!"
"The battle between the Premier League and La Liga is not over!"
"The race for the Ballon d'Or is not over!"
"This war on the pitch is not over!!!"
Jon Champion roared until his voice gave out.
Derek Rae was completely overcome.
Liverpool fans erupted.
Only Real Madrid fans stood in stunned silence.
On the touchline, Klopp and Krawietz embraced, celebrating wildly.
Every Liverpool player sprinted toward Leo Lin, who lay on the ground, gasping for air.
It was the 94th minute.
After such intensity, to go from a full sprint to a fall, then back into another full sprint, it pushed the limits of the human body.
Anyone who has played the game knows just how difficult that is.
After scoring, Leo Lin could barely breathe.
He lay flat on the ground, completely still, letting the cool night air brush across his face.
The sound of footsteps grew louder.
He knew his teammates were coming.
He took it all in.
The deafening roar of Liverpool fans.
The voices of Klopp and Krawietz shouting again and again.
Leo Lin smiled.
He had never smiled like this before.
As he felt everything around him, he murmured softly.
To the fans.
To his teammates.
Or perhaps to himself, the version that never gave up.
"Me…"
"I never wanted to prove anything."
"I just wanted to run to the finish line."
His teammates piled on top of him in celebration. He fought back tears.
"Run to the finish line."
"Run to the finish line."
...
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