After the fourth round of league matches, the German Cup matches arrived as scheduled.
Werder Bremen welcomed their first opponent in the German Cup, a team from the German third division - Musida.
Because two days later, they would have to play the fifth round of the Bundesliga away against Freiburg.
To conserve energy and avoid injuries, during the match against Musida, Coach Shaf deployed a large number of substitutes and young players.
Mainstays like De Bruyne, Lin Quan, and Fritz all sat on the bench, and some key players didn't even make it into the squad.
They thought the opponent was just a third-tier team and wouldn't pose much of a threat.
After the match began, Elya's goal in the 45th minute of the first half, returning from injury, seemed to confirm this.
However, in the second half, the situation on the field changed dramatically.
Musida's forward, Taylor, scored two goals in the 54th and 81st minutes.
Not only did they overturn the game, but they also pushed Werder Bremen to the edge.
Fortunately, Werder Bremen's young center forward, Filckrugg, stepped up and scored a goal in the 85th minute, helping the team equalize.
At this point, Shaf hesitated a bit. With little time left in the game, should he bring in Lin Quan and De Bruyne, among others, to aggressively attack in the final moments and see if they could score a decisive goal?
After some thought, he ultimately chose to wait and see. The performance of these young players in the final stages of the game was still satisfactory to him.
Moreover, according to the rules, if the game was tied, it would go into extra time.
Extra time had 30 minutes, enough for him to make substitutions and adjustments.
In the end, the 90 minutes of regular time ended without either side changing the score, and the game went into extra time.
After extra time began, Musida's players suddenly launched a fast break and once again changed the score in the 96th minute, putting Werder Bremen behind again!
Shaf couldn't bear to watch anymore. He called on Lin Quan and De Bruyne, among others, to warm up and prepare to enter the field.
But at this moment, an accident occurred on the field.
Werder Bremen's players, anxious to equalize, were caught off guard by another counterattack from the opponent during their offensive.
Seeing Musida's forward, Taylor, receiving the ball and quickly rushing into their own half, Papastasopoulos, who was trailing behind, had no choice but to foul the opponent, disrupting their attack. However, he also paid a heavy price - the main referee directly showed him a red card and sent him off.
Now, Werder Bremen not only trailed by one goal but also had one player less on the field.
Shaf was somewhat speechless; he vaguely felt that the team seemed to be on the verge of losing.
So, he quickly substituted Lin Quan and De Bruyne, among others.
Seeing the opponent suddenly substitute three key players, Musida knew they were going all out against them.
So, they immediately started to tighten their defense and continue their extreme defensive counterattack tactics.
After all, that's how they played in the first half, and they even scored two goals using this method.
Now that they were leading, the opponent's attack would only become more desperate, and their defensive counterattacks would work even better.
Seeing the opponent parking the bus, Lin Quan had a strange feeling:
In the past, they were the ones parking the bus when facing strong Bundesliga teams. Unexpectedly, someone would use this tactic against them one day.
Breaking through such a dense defense was indeed not easy. After Werder Bremen made substitutions, the players were very active in passing and moving in the middle and front thirds.
However, there were too many opponents inside and outside the penalty area, and their passes were easily intercepted.
Even if the ball was passed out, it was difficult to receive it under the opponent's tight marking. Even if they received it, there was no space for dribbling and shooting.
So, Lin Quan changed his strategy and began to forcefully penetrate to draw fouls and win free-kick opportunities for the team.
However, this tactic seemed not very effective; De Bruyne and his own few free-kicks were either blocked by the wall or saved by the goalkeeper.
Watching as the seconds ticked away, Werder Bremen's players became increasingly impatient as they remained behind in the score.
The home fans of Musida were already preparing to celebrate, waiting only for the referee's whistle.
In the 118th minute of the match, Lin Quan received the ball outside the penalty area, dribbled horizontally to draw defenders, and then passed the ball to De Bruyne.
De Bruyne, without stopping the ball, passed it into the space on the left side, where a Werder Bremen player crossed it into the penalty area.
Immediately, chaos ensued in the penalty area, with players from both sides jostling to get a header.
But after two hours of play, both sets of players were exhausted, and despite their efforts to jump, none could reach the ball.
As a result, neither side managed to get to the first ball, and the second ball was controlled by a Musida player, who fiercely cleared it out to relieve pressure.
However, the ball didn't fly too far, and Lin Quan, seeing its trajectory, acted quickly. After chesting the ball down, he evaded the defender's challenge and struck a powerful shot.
The goalkeeper reacted swiftly, attempting to save Lin Quan's shot.
But the shot was too powerful, and although the goalkeeper got a hand to it, he couldn't hold onto it, and the ball rebounded back into the small penalty area.
With the ball so close to the goal and surrounded by players from both sides, the Musida players hesitated to clear it with a big kick.
Amidst the chaos, someone's foot inadvertently kicked the ball into the net!
Seeing the net ripple, De Bruyne spread his arms and performed a low-flying motion, sprinting along the edge of the field in celebration.
He had seen Lin Quan take the shot and had moved forward in anticipation of a rebound opportunity.
Unexpectedly, the ball did bounce right to him, and he took advantage of it without hesitation.
This goal boosted Werder Bremen's morale, while the players of Musida were left regretful:
They had almost held on for just one more minute to secure victory, but the cooked duck had flown away...
After De Bruyne's equalizer, the extra time ended with the score tied at 3-3, and the match proceeded to the final stage of a penalty shootout.
This was Lin Quan's first time participating in a penalty shootout, and he felt a mixture of novelty and nervousness.
After determining the order of appearance, the penalty shootout officially began.
The first to step up was the captain, Fritz, who was the team's designated penalty taker with excellent ability and composure.
Having him go first and score a goal could effectively boost morale and alleviate tension for the following players.
Fritz didn't disappoint his teammates and coach. He deceived the goalkeeper and calmly slotted the ball into the net.
However, the player from Musida who stepped up next also successfully scored their penalty.
In the second round, it was De Bruyne's turn.
He blasted the ball into the bottom left corner, and although the goalkeeper guessed the direction correctly, the speed of the shot rendered him powerless.
Next up was a Musida player, who, upon seeing Milicevic's determined expression, subconsciously felt a bit apprehensive, especially after being equalized by the opponent in the last minute of extra time. This created a sense of uncertainty and anxiety.
Milicevic noticed the opponent's expression and immediately sensed their hesitation and fear.
So, he adopted a posture that exuded confidence, waving his arms and staring them down.
The referee reminded the Musida player to take the penalty quickly, further exacerbating his nerves.
He hastily took the penalty, aiming for the bottom right corner, but his shot was saved by Milicevic, who had anticipated the direction!
This save boosted Werder Bremen's morale, and the third and fourth players to take penalties also succeeded in scoring.
The Musida players thereafter managed to withstand the pressure and didn't concede any more goals. The scoreline of the penalty shootout was 4-3.
The fifth player to step up was Lin Quan. If he scored this penalty, Werder Bremen would directly win the penalty shootout.
"Come on!"
"Don't be nervous!"
Teammates came over one by one to give him hugs and words of comfort to ease his nerves.
Lin Quan wasn't nervous at first, but their hugs made him a bit anxious.
He nodded heavily, placed the ball on the penalty spot, took a few steps back, and looked at the goalkeeper.
When the referee signaled for the penalty to be taken, he began his run-up quickly.
The goalkeeper nervously watched his footsteps, trying to judge the direction of his shot based on his movements.
But to his surprise, Lin Quan suddenly slowed down as he approached the ball.
The goalkeeper had initially anticipated him shooting with his right foot to the left side of the goal. However, just as he moved, Lin Quan completely changed the rhythm. He extended his left foot and gently pushed the ball towards the right side of the goal at a moderate speed.
Although the goalkeeper immediately adjusted, when he dived to save, the ball had already rolled into the net.
This move was inspired by Messi's penalty against French goalkeeper Lloris during the 2022 World Cup final shootout and was unexpectedly effective when Lin Quan decided to use it!
In the end, Werder Bremen, through a penalty shootout, managed to clinch a hard-fought victory away against a team from the German third division.
They had come dangerously close to crashing out!
(End of this chapter)