Chapter 99: Victory over Schalke 04!
"The ball's in! In the 84th minute of the game, substitute Petersen scored a crucial goal!"
"This goal has pushed Schalke 04 to the edge of the cliff, and it can even be said that one of their feet is already hanging in the air!"
"If they can't equalize the score in the last few minutes, then they will lose this crucial game, and there will be a four-point gap between them and Werder Bremen on the standings!"
"For the Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich, they probably don't want to see this game end with this score."
"If Werder Bremen defeats Schalke 04, they will continue to maintain a four-point gap with Bayern, not letting Bayern widen the gap, which keeps the suspense in the Bundesliga alive!"
"At a time when Borussia Dortmund's performance is poor, we need a team to step up and challenge the Bundesliga giants.
And now, Werder Bremen will take on this responsibility!"
From the perspective of commentators and the majority of ordinary fans, they don't want to see Bayern Munich dominate from start to finish, then win the title several rounds early.
This would lead to the lack of suspense in the biggest attraction of the league - the fight for the championship trophy.
A game without suspense seems dull.
And Bayern's dominance in the Bundesliga has led to the league being monopolized for a long time, which is detrimental to the development of the entire league.
In the previous two seasons, Borussia Dortmund played the role of disruptors very well.
Snatching the championship from Bayern's hands for two consecutive seasons, almost destabilizing Bayern's monopoly in the Bundesliga.
But this season, Borussia Dortmund's performance has plummeted, and they need a disruptor.
Even if the disruptor can't win the title in the end, they should at least make it difficult for Bayern Munich, increasing their difficulty in winning the title.
And now, Werder Bremen is playing that role.
In the TV commentator's box, the commentators are introducing the player who scored the goal and the significance of this goal for the team, the game, and even the entire Bundesliga league, at a breakneck speed.
For the audience watching the game, except for the fans of both teams, the outcome of the game doesn't really matter.
What matters to them is whether the game is exciting or not. As for who wins or loses, as long as it's not a draw, it doesn't matter.
On the contrary, Lin Quan's assist just now made them sit up and take notice.
"Lin's pass was so amazing, how did he do it?"
"I'm amazed, can a pass be made like that?"
"If I were a Schalke defender, seeing this pass, I'd be cursing my luck. The ball was right in front of me, yet I couldn't intercept it, only able to watch it roll to the feet of the attacking player, and then being kicked into our own goal by the opponent, that feeling of despair, tsk tsk..."
"I've seen through balls before, but this low-curving pass is beyond my knowledge, I've never seen it before!"
"Hehe, you don't seem like a seasoned fan. Beckham used to make such assists when he was at his club."
"Beck's curve is well-deserved!"
"Unfortunately, Becks went to Major League Soccer in North America, otherwise, we might still see his brilliant performances on the European stage!"
Although the fans felt that Lin Quan's goal resembled Beckham's, in fact, this goal was learned from De Bruyne.
Of course, the one he learned from was the De Bruyne, the world-class midfield master ten years later, not the current Ding Ding who hasn't mastered this skill.
After scoring, Petersen ran over excitedly and hugged Lin Quan in celebration:
"Thank you, that pass was amazing!"
"You ran well too!"
The two laughed, burying the hatchet with this encounter.
The Werder Bremen players ran over excitedly and surrounded the two of them.
This goal greatly boosted the morale of the entire team. At a crucial moment when the opponent's stamina was declining, this goal almost sealed the victory.
After the game resumed, Schalke 04, unwilling to fall behind, made their final substitution.
They replaced midfielder Jones with forward Puki.
This substitution meant they hadn't given up yet and wouldn't surrender so easily.
The boos at the Werder Weser Stadium disappeared. Seeing their team in trouble, the fans of the Miners didn't have the energy to boo the opponents anymore.
They stood up collectively, singing the team song, cheering for the home team.
At this point, everyone could see that the Schalke players couldn't run anymore.
So they could only hope that with their strong willpower, they could grit their teeth and hold on for these last few minutes.
Just one goal, that's all they needed.
They didn't dare to hope for a victory anymore. At this point, they just wanted a draw, getting one point would satisfy them.
But after the substitution, Schalke's passive situation didn't change.
Instead, because they lost a midfielder, their defensive intensity decreased, allowing Werder Bremen to penetrate their defense several times through the middle.
In the second half, Werder Bremen's offense wasn't very smooth either, and the opponent's aggressive pressing had a big impact on them.
But now, with the opponent's stamina declining, they gradually gained the initiative and slowly formed a siege on Schalke's goal.
In such attacks, Lin Quan's talent was perfectly showcased.
He organized and connected the play in the frontcourt well, and whenever there was a gap in the opponent's defense, his pass would immediately fly over.
Unfortunately, Werder Bremen's players' awareness was slightly lacking, and they missed several opportunities.
If they could seize these chances, the score might have already been 3-1 or even 4-1.
In the 90th minute of the game, seeing the fourth official on the sidelines signaling three minutes of stoppage time.
Lin Quan didn't pass to his teammates again. He decided to take the shot himself.
Seeing Lin Quan receiving the ball, Petersen, who was deeply impressed by Lin Quan's passing ability, immediately started his run.
After scoring a goal, his confidence had increased significantly.
And because he came on as a substitute in the second half, his fitness was much better than the other players.
This meant that as the game approached its end, he still had plenty of energy to run around the opponent's penalty area like a slippery loach.
Schalke's defenders couldn't afford to ignore this running guy anymore. The goal he scored earlier, whether it was luck or outstanding awareness, reminded them that if they ignored this guy, they would pay the price.
So they specially arranged for one defender to mark him, and another to be ready to help defend at any time.
As long as the ball came to his feet, Schalke's players would immediately rush up to double-team him and try to dispossess him.
Petersen didn't expect his intimidation to be so effective, attracting so many defensive players.
This made him feel somewhat proud: See, this is my intimidation!
Although Lin Quan couldn't understand Petersen's positioning, he still gave him a thumbs up in his heart:
"Well run!"
Seeing Lin Quan dribbling into the penalty area, Uchida Daisuke cautiously rushed up, but didn't dare to make a rash tackle.
Lin Quan looked up and saw his position, leaned back, and made a motion as if to pass the ball.
Uchida Daisuke didn't know what was behind him and didn't dare to look back. He thought the opponent was going to pass like before.
So he hurriedly raised his leg to interfere, hoping to intercept the ball. If he couldn't intercept it, at least he could disrupt the opponent's pass and reduce his success rate.
But unfortunately, Lin Quan didn't intend to pass the ball.
At the moment when Uchida Daisuke raised his leg, Lin Quan immediately flicked the ball forward and rushed past him, leaving Uchida Daisuke standing still, at the mercy of the wind.
Lin Quan's dribble was still so sudden, so deceptive!
Anastasios, seeing Lin Quan rushing into the penalty area, felt his scalp tingling.
He conceded two goals in this game, both related to this guy.
This guy is simply his nemesis!
He had experienced the painful experience of being dribbled past once, so he didn't dare to actively come out.
He adjusted his position, trying to expand his defensive area as much as possible, determined to block the opponent's shot in front of the goal.
Lin Quan dribbled into the penalty area, seeing the opponent's position, subconsciously glanced at Anastasios's crotch.
The latter only felt a chill below his waist, feeling a sense of unease:
Coming again?
He quickly closed his legs, not giving the opponent any chance to pass through his small goal.
But unfortunately, he didn't see a pass-through-the-legs ball this time. Lin Quan chose to shoot into the top left corner.
Damn it, I was fooled!
Anastasios immediately moved to the right, stretched out his right arm, trying to block the ball.
But his movement was slightly slow, and the football grazed his fingertips, hitting the intersection of the crossbar and the post, bouncing into the net.
The score became 3-1!
The Weser Stadium fell silent, as the opponent scored this goal in the second minute of stoppage time.
What this meant, no one didn't understand.
It was that damn number ten again, he single-handedly scored all three goals, almost killing Schalke!
The fans were very dissatisfied, their home team could dominate in the Champions League, remaining undefeated.
But why did they lose to the opponent who they had defeated twice last season on their home ground!
They couldn't accept this fact!
The boos at the Weser Stadium sounded again, but this time, it was unclear who the Miners' fans were booing.
Two minutes later, the referee blew the final whistle.
Werder Bremen, playing away, defeated Schalke 04 with a score of 3-1 at the opponent's home ground, further consolidating their lead on the standings.
After the game, the Miners' fans were very angry.
They tried to climb over the stands and rush onto the field.
This startled the Werder Bremen players who were thanking the traveling fans on the away fan stand.
To avoid being surrounded by the Miners' fans, they quickly ended their celebration and returned to the dressing room to wait.
Finally, under the protection of the police, they left Schalke's home ground on the team bus.
The game itself wasn't too difficult on the field, but off the field, the impression left by the opponent's fans was extremely deep.
Of course, all the impressions left were negative.
This unpleasant away trip created enmity between the two teams.
I can't write anymore, I'm exhausted...
(End of this chapter)