Dominating Football with Perfect Ball Control

Chapter 325: 325. Barcelona’s ”Second Stage”

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What was going on just now?

The deafening stadium environment caused Lance’s brain to momentarily shut down.

Trailing 0-1, with the entire team’s morale low.

He led the team to a strong equaliser before half-time, giving Atlético Madrid’s home crowd a huge boost in morale!

Just look at the atmosphere in the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium. The four stands were like a boiling red and white ocean, pulsating wildly.

Everyone waved their red and white scarves, releasing their emotions freely. Suppressed for nearly 40 minutes, it finally exploded!

”Why did I... just now...”

Before Lance could figure it out, he was already being hugged by his overly excited teammates.

A group of Atlético Madrid players in red and white jerseys, celebrating right in Barcelona’s penalty area.

This left goalkeeper Ter Stegen, and defenders Piqué and Mascherano speechless, as they pouted and mumbled complaints.

”Brother!! Amigo!!”

”Rey Lance—”

”Rey Lance—”

”Rey Lance—”

With Saúl leading the cheers, everyone else called Lance by his nickname.

”Rey” means King in Spanish. The ”King Lance” title from the Bundesliga continued into La Liga.

”How did you do that just now? That was amazing!”

”I don’t know!”

Lance spread his hands.

He was still wondering himself!

This shot was also firmly locked by the director. The image of Lance shrugging with a calm smile was simultaneously projected onto the big screen.

In the eyes of outsiders, Lance’s ”celebration move” completely changed its meaning, as if he was saying:

”Is that all Barcelona has?”

Messi, Rakiti?, Piqué, and Suárez’s expressions instantly darkened. An agitated Suárez even wanted to go confront him.

”Forget it, Luis, don’t be impulsive.”

With veterans like Xavi and Puyol having retired or been marginalised, Iniesta became the on-pitch captain, and quickly pulled Suárez back.

He turned to look at Messi, who was equally enraged, but Messi’s reserved personality meant he wouldn’t easily erupt, his deep gaze fixed intently on Lance.

”Step it up! We still have the advantage!”

...

The first half ended 1-1, with both sides shaking hands.

Coming into the second half, indeed, as Iniesta said, Barcelona still controlled the initiative on the pitch.

With their 4-3-3 high press + tiki-taka system, Barcelona’s familiar style still had that taste, full of the oppressive feeling of ”dark clouds pressing down, threatening to overwhelm the city.”

As the game progressed, Lance also roughly figured out what happened in the first half.

Due to a ”system bug” preventing him from using any template abilities, Lance mostly had to rely on his solid fundamentals and two and a half years of playing experience to cope.

He could barely integrate into the Atlético Madrid lineup, performing at the level of Saúl.

In FIFA or Pro Evolution Soccer games, he would be at most an 80-rated player, lower than Griezmann’s 88 and Torres’s 82.

His passing, ball control, vision, off-ball movement, and physical abilities were all at normal levels, whilst his shooting, dribbling, and speed had significantly decreased.

Without Lance’s sharp breakthroughs and inspired first touches to get away from defenders, Atlético Madrid’s counterattacks could hardly truly threaten Barcelona, relying more on Griezmann creating opportunities with his dribbling on the left flank.

But!

When Lance encountered multiple defenders, or faced critical ball handling situations, two and a half years of muscle memory suddenly triggered.

Even without template enhancements, Lance still instinctively performed incredible fancy moves. His mind hadn’t even reacted, but his body had already completed the dribble and breakthrough.

Of course, triggering ”template muscle memory” was not easy. It required high concentration and entering a ”flow state.”

If there was any distraction, or a lack of firm will, that mysterious state would become ethereal and elusive.

From the perspective of commentators and spectators, Lance was mostly invisible for much of today’s game, occasionally bursting out with dazzling performances.

”It’s clear that Barcelona has made very tight arrangements for Lance.”

”Every time Lance gets the ball, there are at least 2 or more players double-teaming him.”

”As Atlético Madrid’s core, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has truly gone to great lengths, hoping to completely neutralise this most threatening player.”

”After scoring in the first half, Lance has now accumulated 17 league goals. 17 goals in 15 rounds, still maintaining his efficient scoring record of over 1 goal per game. Today’s opponent might be one of the biggest tests of the season.”

The commentator could see that Lance was playing very tough.

For now, it could only be explained that Barcelona’s defensive tactics were too successful, limiting Lance’s performance.

Zonal defence + high press + man-marking. No matter where Lance was, he would be outnumbered, with all his passing lanes and breakthrough directions cut off.

And they would try to force Lance to the sideline.

If he received the ball in the middle, they would increase physical confrontation. If all else failed, they would foul immediately.

In just 15 minutes, Lance was fouled at least 6 times.

He was constantly pushed to the ground by Rakiti?, Piqué, Busquets, and others. His red and white jersey was stained with yellow-green mud and grass clippings.

Even in the 63rd minute, Lance’s jersey was torn by Rakiti?. He had to come off the pitch to change into a new one.

”Wow!!!!”

”Lance!! I love you!!!”

Lance, changing his jersey on the sidelines, his beautifully sculpted muscles caused female fans to scream wildly.

If not for the fences and security guards, the female fans would have turned into a zombie horde rushing towards Lance to devour him.

”My God! Lance is too handsome!! If he were my boyfriend, I really can’t imagine!”

...

In a University of Munich room, the infatuated girl, Laila, was already drooling.

What good were those so-called handsome guys at parties?

They couldn’t compare to even one of Lance’s fingers!

Laila realised for the first time that Asian men could also be very handsome, full of dazzling appeal.

”Chloe, you think he’s handsome too, right? No wonder you love watching his games so much.”

”Yes.”

The young girl’s small face was already flushed, tinged with a beautiful blush like a fever or drunkenness.

Her slender fingers covered her face, shyly yet mesmerised, watching Lance change his clothes.

Director, well done! More, please, I love to watch!

”I really want to watch him play live if I get the chance, and touch his muscles. Looking at his physique, he must be very impactful...”

”Hey!! Ewwww, creepy!”

Chloe was both shy and annoyed.

This Frenchwoman was too infatuated!

I’m... jealous!

However, Laila’s explicit expression also made certain images suddenly pop into Chloe’s mind.

The young girl’s brain was almost on fire, and she shook her head repeatedly to dispel them.

”Amen, I repent, I really didn’t think about those things...”

...

The MSN Trio was indeed in great form.

As Barcelona’s midfield and defence were busy limiting Lance, their attacking front could only rely on the MSN Trio to perform.

Messi was full of resentment, and coupled with Lance’s ”celebration move,” he went all out!

”Messi, dribbling on the right! He’s past one, past another!! Cross!!”

”Oblak! He saved that shot!”

”...It’s still Messi!! A feint, he’s gone past him!! Oi, to Suárez!!”

”Right-footed shot!! It hit the post!!”

”Neymar, he’s already tried several times on the left... Here he comes again!! He takes it to the byline, fakes a move and gets past him!”

”Juanfran couldn’t stop him!! Is Neymar going to shoot himself?”

”Oblak!! Wait, this play isn’t over yet!!”

”Suárez!! No, Messi!!!”

Neymar’s shot was saved by the goalkeeping god Oblak, but he wasn’t really a god. Lying on the ground, powerless to change anything, he could only watch Suárez and Messi double-teaming the goal. The ball was grazed by Suárez’s heel, and Messi, hidden in the shadows, struck it home with his left foot!

”That’s a goal, Messi’s goal!”

”Suárez returns the favour, assisting Messi to take the lead again!”

”1 to 2!! Atlético Madrid is trailing at home once again.”

”The peerless MSN Trio, like three heroes fighting Lu Bu, truly is the strongest trident in the world.”

The commentator had lost his temper.

Barcelona’s heartbreaking elimination last season seemed to have activated a ”hidden form.”

People in the original timeline couldn’t realise how terrifying ”Stage Two” Barcelona was.

Messi, Suárez, Neymar, including Iniesta, Busquets, and others, almost all of them treated this season as a ”once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

A squad already maxed out in ability, coupled with immense willpower, even Lance didn’t know how Barcelona could lose.

14 consecutive wins in the first 14 rounds, and now they were about to step on the heads of their rivals Atlético Madrid to complete 15 consecutive wins.

Yet, in the most crucial match, the system was also banned. It was as if destiny was deliberately making things difficult for him, not wanting him to win so easily.

Watching the Barcelona players celebrate together, Messi pointed to the sky with both hands, running excitedly for 30 metres.

Lance first shook his head with a bitter smile. Then, the more he thought about it, the more defiant he became, his fists clenching tighter and tighter!

”What was that line from the dream? I forgot which film it was from... Oh right, ’Tai Chi Master’ had it too.”

”My destiny is mine, not heaven’s!”

”You think banning the system templates will make me surrender?”

”No way!”

On the scoreboard, the match had entered the 80th minute.

The last 10 minutes, trailing 1-2. A draw or a loss would only benefit Barcelona and Real Madrid. Only a win to secure 3 points was Atlético Madrid’s goal!

”It’s enough!”

Lance’s originally self-deprecating eyes gradually regained their clarity.

”10 minutes is enough!”