Dominating Football with Perfect Ball Control

Chapter 229: 229. Defending his own people

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How long is 45 minutes?

If it’s playing a game, it might just feel like a blink of an eye.

If it’s a class, especially one you dislike, every second is probably torture.

If it’s a match against Atlético Madrid, this first half was a superposition for Lance.

On one hand, the first half passed quickly, with the 0-0 score holding until half-time.

On the other hand, Atlético Madrid’s defence made Lance feel tormented every second.

Heavens knows how many passes he made, how many breakthroughs and shots he attempted, each time thwarted by Atlético Madrid.

”In the first half, Bayer Leverkusen had 9 shots, with 4 on target, all saved.”

”Atlético Madrid had 3 shots, all 3 on target, and were also saved by Bayer Leverkusen’s goalkeeper, Leno.”

”Bayer Leverkusen is better at defensive counter-attacks; they seem to have no good solutions against a low block defence.”

”Meanwhile, reigning Champions League winner Atlético Madrid appeared more composed, and their counter-attacking efficiency was higher.”

”Griezmann and Torres have formed a good chemical reaction, and are likely to continue posing a threat in the second half.”

”That’s right, Griezmann, he likes to play with his brain, and several of his passes in the front were full of threat.”

”That shot in the first half almost went in; Maguire was too slow to turn, and Griezmann passed into the rib-area void, with a high success rate for balls played behind the defence.”

The half-time highlight reel was just replaying Griezmann’s pass in slow motion: he received the ball under pressure and calmly played a short diagonal pass.

Harry Maguire’s turn to defend Torres was too late, and the ageless Torres broke into the penalty area, a low shot almost piercing the goal.

Watching Maguire’s turn, Zhan Jun couldn’t help but blurt out:

”Maguire really turns like an aircraft carrier...”

The tall centre-back looked too cumbersome.

He was fine dealing with Premier League teams in aerial duels and physical contests, but against this kind of small, quick, and agile combination, he was a bit out of his depth.

If Bayer Leverkusen continued like this in the second half, they would likely suffer.

As for the front, Son Heung-min and De Bruyne were both tightly marked, with only Lance being the biggest variable in the attack.

”Lance is in good form today; the bigger the match, the better he performs.”

”That’s right, he’s a big-game player.”

”This young man is truly amazing.”

Zhang Lu found Lance more and more pleasing to the eye...

At this moment, the ’big-hearted’ Mr. Lance was still panting in the changing room, his heart pounding out of his chest.

The high-intensity match had taken a toll on his stamina.

He was almost constantly in fierce physical confrontations, making it difficult to fully utilise the technical advantages of his [Nagi Seishiro] template.

”Remember! We must not rush; the opponent is very good at capitalising on our mistakes to punish us. We need to be patient!”

Sascha was still instructing the Bayer Leverkusen players.

His expression was quite serious, clearly indicating that the first half’s performance was not good.

Bayer Leverkusen seemed to be on the offensive, but Atlético Madrid’s attacks were actually more threatening.

The intensity of a Champions League winner is no joke; even peak Real Madrid and Barcelona would find them difficult to deal with.

”We are strong; we don’t need to panic against any team! We just need 1 goal, 1 away goal will do!”

You can’t expect to score too many goals against Atlético Madrid; 1 away goal is enough to change the dynamic of a knockout tie.

Although there was much to convey, Sascha ran out of time to say it, as the second half was about to begin.

”Come on!! Lads!”

”Come on! Bayer Leverkusen!! Allezzzz!!”

Before coming out, the entire team might have been so tired that their shouts were weak.

Walking out of the player tunnel, De Bruyne hadn’t fully recovered, his face pale, without even the strength to speak.

Son Heung-min was also silent, trying to recover some stamina whilst walking.

”Hey, lads. Cheer up!! We can do this!”

Harry Maguire, seeing the somewhat sombre atmosphere, tried to encourage them.

He only received eye rolls from his teammates.

”You just focus on defending seriously!”

”Hahaha, I definitely will in the second half.”

Maguire’s mentality was still good, his smile still honest, and with his big nose, he was purely a comedian.

Lance didn’t think much at this time, initially believing that as long as he could find an opportunity, he could still break through Atlético Madrid’s goal.

He didn’t expect Maguire to solidify his comedian persona today...

The second half remained a stalemate, with neither side breaking the 0-0 deadlock.

Until the 69th minute, when Son Heung-min’s breakthrough was intercepted, and Atlético Madrid launched a quick counter-attack.

”This is bad, Atlético Madrid’s counter-attack is very fast!!”

Juanfran stole the ball and sprinted forward, carrying it halfway across the pitch before passing it horizontally.

Koke received the ball calmly, facing Lars Bender’s defence, he calmly used his body to resist the impact, shielded the ball with his back, quickly turned, and passed the ball to Griezmann on the left wing.

Griezmann immediately played a through ball into the centre!

Torres arrived just in time, dribbling into the penalty area!

”Torres!!! It’s in!!”

Zhan Jun’s heart clenched, luckily Kimmich was focused, constantly aware of Torres’s position, and immediately moved to tie up Torres.

And Harry Maguire was guarding the goal, forming a double safeguard.

The Bayer Leverkusen players saw this scene and were not worried, as it would be difficult for Torres to break through between the two of them.

Lance, however, suddenly had a bad premonition, this scene seemed familiar from somewhere!

There was a similar famous scene in his prophetic dreams!!

”It can’t be...”

Just as he was about to run back, his worst fear came true!

Kimmich had clearly tied up Torres, and Maguire just needed to guard the small penalty area to block the position.

But Maguire, overflowing with a sense of responsibility, also went up to double-team Torres to win the ball.

The result was, Maguire and Kimmich, one on the left and one on the right, were both faked out by Torres’s feint and ended up on the same side.

Maguire couldn’t exert force immediately, subconsciously using Kimmich’s strength to steady himself, but he was too strong, and actually pulled Kimmich down in the penalty area!

Not just Lance, this scene stunned everyone!

Maguire single-handedly defended his own right-back Kimmich!

Torres almost couldn’t keep a straight face, but luckily he was experienced and reacted quickly enough, seizing the opportunity to poke the ball past Maguire and drill a low shot into the net!

”The goal is in!! Torres!”

Zhan Jun covered his face, unsure whether to cry or laugh.

The phrase he had said many times, he had to say again!

”Single-handedly defending Kimmich? Clumsy Maguire!!”

”Playing at home, Atlético Madrid finally broke the deadlock, leading by 1 goal in the 69th minute!”

”El Ni?o” Torres, after scoring, sprinted towards the stands, making a heart gesture to the fans, and the Atlético Madrid players rushed over to celebrate, only Kimmich sat on the grass, questioning life.

What just happened?

Maguire was also stunned, his mind blank, unable to believe what he had done.

It was already a difficult match, and he had made things worse.

At that moment, he even wanted to retire.

Lance had intended to say a few words, but seeing Maguire’s expression, he couldn’t bear to scold him, merely retrieved the football from the goal and patted Maguire.

”Don’t think about it for now, lads. Now we have to score quickly!”

Don’t let the 1-0 score fool you; against Atlético Madrid, it meant Bayer Leverkusen was on the edge of a cliff!

Was this season going to end with them being ”Round of 16” losers?

No!

Lance ran to the centre circle with the ball.

What he wanted wasn’t difficult; just a slightly better Champions League performance than last year!

No matter what methods he had to use, he would crawl his way into the final!