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After a 3-0 away victory against Liverpool,
Julian Brandt was still egging on a few teammates, hoping they would take him to a Liverpool nightclub to have some fun.
"Harry, do you know anywhere fun?"
"How would I know?"
Harry Maguire was completely bewildered.
He was a Sheffield youth academy product, and after his debut, he played in the Championship for Sheffield United for a few years.
He was initially scouted by Premier League team Hull City and was happy to be joining Hull City to play in the Premier League.
Unexpectedly, Bundesliga champion Bayer Leverkusen suddenly appeared, tempting him with the Champions League.
Harry Maguire didn't want to play in Germany, but who could refuse the Champions League?
He gritted his teeth and came to Bayer Leverkusen, following the team to defeat the formidable Liverpool!
Who would have thought that I, Harry Maguire, would also have a day when I defeated Liverpool?
Harry Maguire was feeling proud; he had no time to pay attention to the "depressingly showy" Julian Brandt.
Furthermore, Sheffield is in central England, a good distance from the western port city of Liverpool, so Harry Maguire wouldn't know either.
Julian Brandt's eyes lit up, and he smirked, looking at the youngest loanee, Trent Alexander-Arnold.
"Alex, you must know, you're from Liverpool's youth academy."
Trent Alexander-Arnold gave an awkward smile.
"Sorry, I don't know either. I'm only 16."
With Liverpool losing so badly, Trent Alexander-Arnold didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
He was only on loan and would return to Liverpool afterward. What if the team were so devastated that they continued to decline next season?
Trent Alexander-Arnold had no interest in going to any nightclubs.
"Stop it, Julian. Hurry back to sleep; we have to catch the earliest flight back to Germany tomorrow."
Lance couldn't stand it anymore and kicked Julian Brandt from behind.
"Bloody hell."
Julian Brandt was powerless to retort and could only return to his room in frustration.
De Bruyne watched from behind, stunned.
In the past, Lance was just a younger brother who followed him, but he had suddenly become the soul of the entire team, even possessing the authority of a captain.
Aside from Captain Rolfes, Lance's influence was even greater than that of Vice-Captain Lars Bender.
After a few years, this kid had changed so much!
The confidence brought by his skills and on-field performance had reshaped Lance into a team leader like Cristiano Ronaldo.
It was likely that in a short while, Lance would also become the leader of the Belgium National Team.
De Bruyne, due to his personality, could only play a supporting role, assisting Lance.
"That's good too."
De Bruyne simply smiled faintly, genuinely happy for Lance's growth.
…
Returning as kings from England, German football was also discussing this clean and decisive victory.
During the draw, German media and fans were abuzz, with Bayer Leverkusen seemingly not guaranteed to escape the group of death.
Unexpectedly, in less than a fortnight, the media's sentiment had done a 180-degree turn.
"3-Goal Rout! Bayer Leverkusen Technically Knock Out Liverpool, Lead Champions League Group of Death!"
"Belgian Prodigy Shocks Anfield, Bayer Leverkusen Destroy Premier League Giant with 3 Goals"
"Bayer Leverkusen Return as Kings, Next Match Against Real Madrid Will Determine Group Qualification"
"Efficiency! This is championship-level counter-attacking efficiency! German football's steel nerves performed a precise operation in the heart of England."
"The significance of this victory far exceeds 3 points; it silenced the doubters. Do you remember this team's slump at the beginning of the season? The struggle after two consecutive draws? And now? Two consecutive Bundesliga victories, and such an exciting away win in the first match of the Champions League group of death!"
"Bayer Leverkusen have rediscovered the cohesion that brought them the championship last season; that formidable Bayer Leverkusen are back! Look at De Bruyne's long passes tearing through defences, look at van Dijk and Harry Maguire's increasingly solid defence, and then look at our Magician Lance's perfect performance—these recent victories are by no means a fluke!"
"Here, I boldly predict that Bayer Leverkusen will not only advance from the group of death, but they even have a chance to surpass last year's performance!"
"Bayer Leverkusen's Champions League journey is far more worth looking forward to than the outside world imagines. What Bayer Leverkusen unleashed at Anfield was not just a salute of victory, but a charge to all of Europe!"
Former Dortmund legend, former Germany National Team legend,
Matthäus had already "betrayed" his home team Dortmund and become a Bayer Leverkusen booster.
His highly personal column in Bild sparked controversy in German football.
Everyone knew that Bayer Leverkusen's form had recovered and their combat strength was very strong,
But what did "surpass last year's performance" mean?
Last year they reached the Champions League semi-finals; did he mean they would reach the Final this year? Or even more boldly…
Win the championship?
How could that be…?
People's ingrained perceptions are hard to change quickly within a year,
In the eyes of Germans, Bayer Leverkusen were still that quasi-strong team fighting for a top-four spot in the Bundesliga and just making up the numbers in the Champions League.
Things like the Champions League Final and Champions League champion were completely unrelated to Bayer Leverkusen,
Therefore, many fans criticised Matthäus's remarks as "exaggerated," "attention-grabbing gimmicks," "groundless," "high on drugs"…
But if you think about it carefully,
Lance, De Bruyne, Son Heung-min, paired with functional striker Firmino, plus two reliable defensive midfielders,
And several trustworthy young defenders in the backline.
Why not?
This team's combat strength was definitely underestimated.
Last season, many people claimed that Bayer Leverkusen would struggle to shake Bayern's dominance,
As a result, Bayer Leverkusen overturned Bayern to win the Bundesliga, a new king was crowned, and they entered the Champions League semi-finals as a dark horse.
After strengthening across all three fronts in the new season, they might have the strength to go even further!
Perhaps there really is a chance!
In recent days, discussions about whether Bayer Leverkusen can continue to dominate the Bundesliga and reach the Champions League Final have intensified.
However, the Bayer Leverkusen players had no time to pay attention to these discussions; they quietly won another match.
In Bundesliga Round 5, Bayer Leverkusen defeated Augsburg 1-0 at home, securing their third consecutive Bundesliga victory of the new season and reversing their early-season slump.
Lance scored the only goal of the match, and the goal was very much in the Bayer Leverkusen style.
A textbook counter-attack,
De Bruyne's long pass found Firmino, Son Heung-min threatened from the wing,
Firmino laid the ball off to Lance, who burst into the penalty area and drilled a low shot into the net.
Although Lance stated in a post-match interview that his shooting still needed practice, he missed several opportunities in this match, scoring 1 goal from 4 shots.
Against Augsburg, Lance's shooting was clearly sufficient, earning unanimous praise from the media.
But Lance's demands on himself were very high,
His imaginary opponents were not Bundesliga teams,
But world-class behemoths like Bayern, Real Madrid, and Barcelona!
Next, Lance was about to face the challenge of Real Madrid,
In Bundesliga Round 14, he would also travel to Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich!
In his second Bundesliga year, with all teams having thoroughly analysed Lance's shooting style,
And his shots becoming increasingly easy to defend against,
The tests from Real Madrid and Bayern might be the true tests for Lance!
Because Real Madrid's goalkeeper was the former world's number one goalkeeper, Casillas!
Bayern's goalkeeper was the "Spider-Man state" Neuer, who had conceded 0 goals from the 2014-2015 season to the present!