Dominating Football with Perfect Ball Control

Chapter 196: 196. The next opponent is Liverpool!

Check out advanced Chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari

----------

The 90 minutes ended with Lance scoring twice, and Bayer Leverkusen defeated Wolfsburg 2-0 away!

”Let’s look at the standings after Bundesliga Round 4...”

”Bayern Munich are at the top, winning all 4 matches at the start of the season, with 12 points.”

”Borussia Dortmund are ranked 2nd, also with 4 wins and 12 points, but with a lower goal difference than Bayern.”

”Schalke 04 are ranked 3rd, with 3 wins and 1 draw, accumulating 10 points...”

”Wolfsburg are ranked 4th, with 3 wins and 1 loss, accumulating 9 points...”

”Borussia M?nchengladbach, with 2 wins and 2 draws, have 8 points, ranking 5th...”

”As for Bayer Leverkusen, they currently have 2 wins and 2 draws, accumulating 8 points, temporarily ranking 6th in the Bundesliga...”

At the beginning of the season, nothing was clear yet, with many teams having the same points.

However, compared to Bayer Leverkusen’s glory as Bundesliga champions last season, a 6th place ranking at the start of the new season was indeed a bit unsightly, especially with no wins in the first two rounds.

Bayer Leverkusen’s ranking once dropped to the relegation zone.

This victory meant the start of the ”Northern Expedition”!

In post-match interviews, Lance and De Bruyne were both rated with the highest score of ”1 point” and spoke to the media.

”It’s brilliant to be back at the Volkswagen Arena. I had a wonderful time here last season.”

”But I am a Bayer Leverkusen player now, and against Wolfsburg, I had to go all out for the win.”

”It’s a pity, Wolfsburg fans might be feeling down today, but I hope they have a better season and we can play in the Champions League together next season.”

The more De Bruyne said this, the more Wolfsburg fans felt their hearts bleed, and they also gave a shout-out to Wolfsburg’s management.

Four days later, as De Bruyne was about to participate in the Champions League, Wolfsburg could only play in the Europa League.

It was like the goddess of a campus crush getting into Tsinghua or Peking University, while one could only attend an ordinary second-tier university, gradually drifting apart.

...

There was no time to celebrate the recent Bundesliga victory.

Lance only rested for half a day after the match.

Then he had to set off with the team, embarking on a journey to the other side of the strait!

The first match of the 2014-2015 Champions League group stage:

Liverpool vs. Bayer Leverkusen!

He still remembered last season, Lance travelled with the entire team to England to face Manchester United.

Before the match, even on the plane, the entire Bayer Leverkusen team were very nervous.

Manchester United had dominated the Premier League for the past 20 years and had a strong influence in Europe. Even after Ferguson’s retirement, his afterglow had not faded.

They were still considered a European giant.

Bayer Leverkusen players’ legs were trembling during the match, filled with trepidation.

The match was indeed intense, but thanks to Lance’s excellent performance, Bayer Leverkusen surprisingly drew Manchester United 2-2 away and secured a 2-1 last-minute win at home.

The seemingly powerful giant Manchester United was pierced through by Bayer Leverkusen, revealing its true face as an ”inflated giant.”

It was also after that match that Manchester United went into a slump.

David Moyes was sacked before the season ended, and renowned manager Van Gaal took over for the new season.

Even now, many English media outlets still blame Bayer Leverkusen.

”...The Champions League fire reignites for the new season, and we will soon bring you the match between Liverpool at home and Bayer Leverkusen.”

”In last season’s Champions League group stage, Bayer Leverkusen maintained a record of 1 win and 1 draw against Manchester United, topping the group ahead of them.”

”The two-legged encounter exposed Moyes’ weakness of having a single tactic and lacking flexibility.”

”Bayer Leverkusen personally removed the last brick before the collapse of the Manchester United dynasty...”

”Now, Liverpool face this new Bundesliga king, whose performance has been inconsistent at the start of the season.”

”Can they secure their first win and strive to break out of the group of death?”

”Next, let’s discuss the detailed preview of this match...”

On the plane, Son Heung-min idly flipped through The Sun, his expression resembling the famous internet meme of an old man on the subway looking at his phone.

”Bloody hell, what does Manchester United’s decline have to do with us?”

”In a way, we did give them a hard kick.”

Lance looked at the scenery outside the window and smiled faintly.

Manchester United still had some hope at the start of the Premier League season, and playing Bayer Leverkusen more or less dampened their confidence.

”Let’s not talk about Manchester United for now, what about Liverpool?”

”Easy pickings!”

Julian Brandt, sitting in the front row, was also restless. He was the most active social butterfly in school, the typical student who would turn around from the front row to chat with classmates behind him and get criticised by the teacher.

”It won’t be easy to play,” Virgil van Dijk frowned.

The Dutchman played for Celtic in Scotland for two years.

Due to Liverpool Football Club’s historical ties with Scottish football and its dominance in the football world in the 20th century, Liverpool had always been a giant in the hearts of the Scots.

Virgil van Dijk was influenced by this and paid quite a bit of attention to Liverpool.

After renowned Premier League manager Brendan Rodgers took charge, he brought a new look to Liverpool.

Last season, he teamed up with ”God Suárez” to dominate, nearly snatching the Premier League title from Manchester City.

Although the thickest leg, Suárez, had left, Liverpool still had the spiritual leader Gerrard in its squad, as well as famous players like Lallana, Sterling, Rickie Lambert, and Sinclair.

Especially Sterling, his speed and dribbling ability would be a huge test for the Bayer Leverkusen defence.

”I heard that kid Emre is doing pretty well at Liverpool?”

”Yes, that traitor!” Julian Brandt gritted his teeth.

Lance shook his head and chuckled.

”Julian, Emre was originally a loan player. We didn’t make an offer, but Liverpool were willing to pay for him. There’s no need to criticise others.”

The midfielder who fought alongside them last season, one of the heroes of the Bundesliga championship, Emre Can’s loan period expired.

Bayern had no immediate plans to keep him, and Liverpool happened to make an offer, so he joined Liverpool for a transfer fee of ￡13 million.

Bayer Leverkusen had signed a bunch of players in the summer, and their finances were stretched, making it difficult to come up with the money to sign a backup defensive midfielder.

Last season’s comrades would become enemies in the new season.

Based on Emre Can’s understanding of Bayer Leverkusen players, Liverpool’s coaching staff might make some detailed tactical adjustments.

”Who cares, whether Emre is there or not, we have to win this match,” De Bruyne finally said, unable to hold back after listening to everyone discuss for a long time.

”Yes,” the Bayer Leverkusen players also realised this problem.

Group C was the group of death: Real Madrid, Liverpool, Roma—all three matches would be tough!

They needed to win against at least two teams to successfully advance!

Although Bayer Leverkusen’s overall strength was subtly on par with Liverpool, everything depended on their performance on the field.

...

The flight arrived in Liverpool, and the group checked into a 5-star hotel about 5 kilometres outside Anfield.

The next afternoon, the Bayer Leverkusen players excitedly arrived at Anfield for their usual away ground adaptation training.

Just as the group had changed into their training kits and were about to head to the field, Julian Brandt, who was at the front, froze.

Lance looked up and saw a line of striking large characters on the tunnel leading to the field!

It seemed to warn all invading away team players of the club’s past glory and splendour!

”This is Anfield!”

This is Anfield!