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Playing FC Barcelona, playing FC Barcelona, playing Bayern Munich—
My Arsenal is collapsing!
When watching football before, hearing such a melody, especially during my favorite team's knockout matches, would always make me incredibly nervous.
Especially when the opponent was strong and I felt the odds of winning were low, I would feel even more afraid.
Now, as a professional player, standing center stage, under the spotlight and in front of over 50,000 live fans, he personally faced Arsenal!
Lance was also a little scared after the opening.
What he was afraid of wasn't how strong Arsenal was, but rather his teammates making a mistake in the backfield, gifting Arsenal a big present!
"Pay attention to marking! Mark them!"
"Pass!"
"WTF?! Don't just stand there, hurry back to defend!!"
"Run fast!!"
The whistle had just blown, and two minutes into the match, everything was proceeding as planned.
It was the first time both teams had faced each other recently, and it was difficult to identify any issues just from watching replays; only by being on the field could one observe the details of the opposing players.
Therefore, Arsenal started cautiously, with possession, Arsenal meticulously passed the ball in their backfield, then slowly advanced through midfield.
Mikel Arteta controlled the tempo and was not in a hurry to make through passes.
Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla, Mesut Özil, all of them were players skilled at passing and possession, and all had a certain level of technical ability.
Lance, Lars Bender, and Simon Rolfes tried to limit them, but with Mikel Arteta directing, Bayer Leverkusen's pressing effect was average; they could only try their best to stabilize their defense.
It seemed the opening should have been a quiet, uneventful attempt at a blitz by the 'little mustache' (Arsène Wenger).
Facing Bayer Leverkusen's cautious defense, Arsenal only attempted one attack.
Theo Walcott pulled wide and crossed, and Olivier Giroud's header, under the interference of center-back Ömer Toprak, was slightly too central and was collected by goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
Logically, with Arsenal's attacking phase over, it should have been Bayer Leverkusen's turn to try an attack.
Bernd Leno passed short to Emir Spahić, who gave it to defensive midfielder Lars Bender.
Lars Bender is a versatile player with some ability to organize play and distribute the ball from the back; he is usually Bayer Leverkusen's engine.
Originally, Lars Bender wanted to find Lance's position, but Lance was tightly marked by Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey, and Per Mertesacker, making it difficult to pass to him, while Mesut Özil and Theo Walcott closed in to block passing lanes.
For safety, Lars Bender still passed back to a teammate, moving the ball from the center-back to the wing; an attack from Son Heung-min's side was also an option.
Son Heung-min's ball carrying and progression were relatively stable.
The imagined scenario was good, but Lars Bender's back pass to Emir Spahić, whether due to nervousness or something else, was poorly controlled, and the ball bounced too far!
Olivier Giroud reacted very quickly, sticking out a foot to steal the ball and carrying it directly into the penalty area!
"Olivier Giroud!! This is dangerous!!"
Zhan Jun's shout instantly woke up many drowsy fans, their hearts lodged in their throats!
"Olivier Giroud — shoot directly!"
With Olivier Giroud's powerful shot, it looked like a goal was imminent, and Arsenal could have a dream start with an away goal in just two minutes…
Clang—
With a crisp sound, the ball hit the post and rebounded, and Ömer Toprak quickly cleared it out for a corner!
"Corner kick!! Just two minutes into the match, Arsenal gets a corner. Bayer Leverkusen's defender made a fatal mistake! It almost allowed Olivier Giroud to score!"
Lance's heart almost skipped a beat then.
Thankfully, the post saved them.
A group of people, still shaken, returned to the penalty area to defend.
Emir Spahić also looked ashen, and captain Simon Rolfes had to comfort him.
"Don't worry about it. Stay focused now! Push hard, we can do this!"
As Bayer Leverkusen made strong progress in the Bundesliga, many German media outlets had started to praise Bayer Leverkusen, praising Lance, praising Son Heung-min, praising Stefan Kiessling for regaining his form, and praising the steady double pivot of Simon Rolfes and Lars Bender.
However, there was little praise for the defensive line; instead, Bayer Leverkusen's defense was often criticized for holding the team back.
Bosnian center-back Emir Spahić is a ticking time bomb; he performs well for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, but his defending at the club level is erratic, and he often gets into conflicts with teammates.
The other center-back, Ömer Toprak, is tall and strong, excelling at frontal interceptions and aerial defense.
He was the main force in limiting the French striker Olivier Giroud today, and he successfully defended Olivier Giroud's header earlier.
However, Ömer Toprak is slow to move and turn, often exposing his positional sense issues when facing quick and agile players.
This center-back pairing, including two full-backs who push forward and struggle to track back, has always been the Achilles' heel of Bayer Leverkusen's defense, often criticized by the media.
Today, facing Arsenal, the defense almost caused problems.
"Mikel Arteta takes this corner, to the far post! Olivier Giroud!!! Header on goal!"
"Bernd Leno reacts quickly and palms the ball away!"
"Aaron Ramsey follows up for the rebound shot—"
"Cleared off the line by Lance!!!"
"It's not over yet!! Mesut Özil controls the ball outside the box, dribbles past Ömer Toprak, another shot? No!! He passed!!"
"To the half-space! Theo Walcott!!!"
"Oh no!! That shot went wide!"
Zhan Jun's passionate and rapid commentary, combined with the multiple dangerous moments just now, made Lance's fans hold their breath, not daring to exhale.
It wasn't until Theo Walcott's shot went wide that Arsenal's storm-like attack was temporarily defused.
"Wow, that was really close! Arsenal's corner kick just now was very threatening! If Lance hadn't been standing exactly on the goal line, that ball would have been a goal!"
"That's right, Lance was staying near the goalpost to defend the corner, and he just happened to block that shot… Aaron Ramsey's shot angle was already very good, but luckily it wasn't high enough, and Lance headed it out."
"Arsenal, the Gunners, are really fired up today! It seems they want to change their previous Champions League slump and achieve something this season."
In previous seasons, Arsenal was often eliminated in the Round of 16, at most reaching the quarterfinals, where they would inevitably encounter either FC Barcelona or Bayern Munich.
The so-called "three years FC Barcelona, five years Bayern Munich," facing these nemesis teams, Arsenal's Champions League record was not good.
This year, they finally drew Bayer Leverkusen, a "soft target," so shouldn't Arsenal be able to crush them?
"Come on!! Arsenal!!"
"Hell Yeah!!"
Outside the BayArena, in the fan plaza under the big screen.
Many English fans, tipsy from beer, were raising their arms and cheering for Arsenal.
English football hooligans are well-known, and the surrounding Germans could only temporarily avoid confrontation.
At the same time, pubs and bars across North London were already packed, a group of Englishmen screaming excitedly at the TV screens.
Arsenal looks to be in great form today!
"The match is 15 minutes in, and the away team, Arsenal, has temporarily taken control, dictating the pace of the game with their strong midfield advantage. Bayer Leverkusen can only temporarily retreat into a compact defensive block in front of their penalty area, resisting Arsenal's relentless attacks…"
Lance played for 15 minutes, with few attacking opportunities, mostly assisting in defense.
He felt the entire team seemed to be intimidated by Arsenal, and coupled with the nervous mistakes at the start, Bayer Leverkusen's teammates were on edge, unable to display the composure they showed in the Bundesliga.
If they continued to be so passive, Arsenal would break through eventually.
Falling behind was a minor issue, but conceding an away goal would be problematic.
However, what Lance feared came true.
In the 22nd minute of the first half, Arsenal seized an opportunity and executed a beautiful combination play.
"Aaron Ramsey, Mikel Arteta, Mesut Özil…"
"Hey, that ball!! It's in!"
Zhang Zhidao chuckled, as Mesut Özil suddenly made a brilliant back-heel pass in front of the penalty area!
Olivier Giroud made a perfectly timed diagonal run, just getting past Ömer Toprak!
Did everyone think Olivier Giroud was just an aerial threat?
In his prime, his movement, passing, and shooting in front of goal were equally adept!
A powerful shot from close range found the net!
"Olivier Giroud!!"
"Heavenly King covers the Earth Tiger, only my Great Olivier Giroud reigns supreme!"
"In a crucial Champions League knockout match, Olivier Giroud stepped up! He sealed the deal with a brilliant pass from Mesut Özil!"
"0-1! Bayer Leverkusen is temporarily behind!"
"The director also gave a close-up shot to Lance. Perhaps he truly is Bayer Leverkusen's hope for a comeback!"