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This is Anfield!
Over the decades, countless opposing players have trembled upon seeing this sign.
Especially English teams, who are reminded every time they come here.
Liverpool are the overlords of England, a heavyweight powerhouse!
In the past 10 years, Liverpool fell from the peak of the Istanbul night to rock bottom, experiencing its lowest period.
"If you're feeling bitter, think of the Red Army, Liverpool!"
After Benítez's departure, they endured the dark ages of Hodgson and Dalglish.
It wasn't until Brendan Rodgers took over that Liverpool seemed to see hope for revival.
At Anfield, red flags fluttered. Even before the whistle blew, the stadium was already filled with Liverpool's famous team anthem.
"You Never Walk Alone"
The chorus of tens of thousands of people made the Bayer Leverkusen players look up and around.
"Bloody hell, this atmosphere!"
Son Heung-min couldn't help but curse under his breath, envying Anfield's home atmosphere, and also feeling a bit tricky.
"Relax, brother, you'll encounter scenes like this often in the future anyway."
"What do you mean?"
Son Heung-min looked bewildered.
Lance just smiled and didn't explain.
His "butterfly" had already flapped its wings and rewritten the timeline.
De Bruyne was even playing for Bayer Leverkusen, Belgium had made it to the 2014 World Cup semi-finals, Bayer Leverkusen had won the championship 10 years early…
Whether Son Heung-min would go to Tottenham was still uncertain.
Anyway, his market value had increased by at least 20 million Euros compared to the same period in the original timeline.
Originally, his transfer to Tottenham was only 30 million.
Transfermarkt estimated Son Heung-min was now worth 35 million Euros; it was unknown if Tottenham could afford him now.
In short, today's match against Liverpool not only depended on Lance's and De Bruyne's performance.
Brother Son's threat on the left wing was equally crucial.
At this time, Liverpool's right-back was Glen Johnson in his prime, with incredibly fast recovery speed and excellent offence and defence.
Son Heung-min needed to perform exceptionally to create a breakthrough.
"Lance?"
"No problem!"
On the other side, De Bruyne gave Lance a wink before the kick-off.
Brothers didn't need explanations; they understood instantly.
Lance and De Bruyne planned to use the kick-off to give Liverpool a "surprise"!
"10, 9, 8… 3, 2, 1 —"
Beep —
All the fans counted down in unison, and the Hungarian referee Kassai blew the horn of battle.
"Everyone, viewers of LeTV Sports, what you are seeing now is…"
After Zhan Jun changed platforms, he almost blurted out Sina Sports in his excitement.
Today's opposing teams were his most cherished, both sides equally dear to him.
On one side was his long-supported home team, Liverpool, whose commentary Zhan Jun's fans often jokingly called "Merseyside accent."
On the other side was his recently supported home team, Bayer Leverkusen, simply because of the presence of Chinese rising star Lance.
Commentating on this fierce battle, Zhan Jun's voice trembled.
"Liverpool are wearing their traditional red jerseys, while Bayer Leverkusen are wearing their away black kit…"
Just as Zhan Jun was about to introduce the starting lineups,
After Bayer Leverkusen's kick-off, Firmino passed to Lance, Lance passed back to De Bruyne.
Then several players simultaneously made full runs forward!
De Bruyne feigned a back pass, deceiving Sterling's press, then suddenly turned forward!
Liverpool's overall formation happened to be pushing forward.
De Bruyne didn't even observe carefully, sending a long diagonal pass down the right wing directly into the frontfield!
"...Eh?! This ball! Not offside!"
Zhan Jun was stunned!
When the camera caught Lance, he had already perfectly controlled the ball in the air, creating a 2-metre gap between himself and defender Lovren!
It looked like an obvious offside, and the Liverpool defenders hadn't reacted, all raising their hands to signal to the linesman.
The fans initially didn't care; an offside goal was nothing to worry about.
However, the next second,
The linesman continued to run forward, and the referee stretched out both hands, signalling to continue the attack!
This ball wasn't offside?!
While Liverpool's defence were complaining,
Lance, Son Heung-min, and Firmino had already charged into the penalty area!
Goalkeeper Mignolet just wanted to curse!
Facing three players alone, how was he supposed to defend!
Lance, with the Bachira Meguru template, had perfect ball control and didn't give Mignolet any chance.
"Lance… wants to pass to Son Heung-min…"
"Feint!!! Deceiving Mignolet, another touch!"
"Lance — a push shot into an empty net! It's in!"
"Only 11 seconds into the game! Bayer Leverkusen launched a lightning attack and took the lead! Away 1-0 against Liverpool!"
"It's just a pity that this goal couldn't break the record for the fastest goal in Champions League history…"
"Because the fastest goal was also created by Lance, in last season's Champions League group stage against Real Sociedad, scoring in just 9 seconds!"
Zhan Jun knew Lance's statistics like the back of his hand!
The two fastest goals in Champions League history were both scored by Lance!
It was also the first Champions League match, the same lightning attack, the same way of scoring.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers angrily threw his water bottle to the ground and cursed incessantly!
He had warned them to guard against this move!
What were the defenders doing?!
Liverpool defenders Lovren and Skrtel were also helpless.
They had indeed realised this problem.
They intended to use an offside trap at the start to defuse it.
However, De Bruyne's pass was too insidious, aiming to shift to the left but suddenly sending a long through pass, impossible to defend against!
De Bruyne — Lance
This connection between the Belgian duo caught Liverpool off guard at the start!
…
After celebrating, Bayer Leverkusen held a 1-0 advantage at the start, allowing them to play a defensive counter-attacking game with peace of mind.
"Bayer Leverkusen counter-attack!! Son Heung-min tries to break through Glen Johnson on the left… It's difficult to get past him; Johnson is defending very actively."
"Son Heung-min shields the ball, a good horizontal pass, Lars Bender to De Bruyne, De Bruyne through ball to the ribs!"
"Firmino makes a run, cross!"
"Lance —"
Bang —
Near the penalty spot, Lance held off Skrtel's defence and unleashed a powerful shot towards the goal.
He had been very careful with the shooting angle.
Mignolet was in excellent form today, making a diving save to deny Lance's shot.
Applause thundered from the away stands; fans and teammates were all very satisfied with Lance's shot, which was dangerous enough to create a corner kick opportunity.
Lance himself was still not entirely satisfied.
"Not enough!"
Lance carried the Bachira Meguru template precisely to excel in counter-attacks.
— — — —
Equipped Template: Bachira Meguru (Fusion Value 82%)
— Skills: Beast Dribbling
— Skills: Monster Passing
— Skills: Monster Devouring
Rage Value: 15%
Assisting Character: Nagi Seishiro - S (Fusion Value 100%)
Assisting Status: On
— — — —
Seeing that the Fusion Value was about to reach 100%, if they could defeat Liverpool in this match, there was a chance to get a Fusion Value bonus, accelerating the growth rate.
Lance was already eagerly anticipating the next new template.
Relying solely on his current abilities, he could indeed display sufficient combat power.
But if the opposing goalkeeper was in an overpowered state, Lance's shots might still not result in goals.
If even a Mignolet could stop Lance,
Facing the god-like Barcelona of the MSN era might be very difficult.
Lance needed to quickly improve his shot conversion ability!
Sorry, Liverpool.
To become stronger, I can only use you as a stepping stone.