Chapter 102 Unexpected Encounter
In the 14th round of the Bundesliga, Werder Bremen faced the challenge of Bayer Leverkusen at home.
This was the toughest test for Werder Bremen since De Bruyne's absence.
Bayer Leverkusen currently ranks fourth in the league standings, trailing Werder Bremen by 5 points.
For the pharmaceutical factory, Werder Bremen is their direct competitor for entering the Champions League.
In the fiercely contested battle for Champions League qualification, they didn't want their opponents to widen the gap too much.
And for Werder Bremen, Bayer Leverkusen has been in hot form recently and is quite strong themselves. Plus, missing a key player in the squad, winning against them at home wouldn't be easy.
Since defeating Bayern Munich away in the 9th round of the league, ending their winning streak, Bayer Leverkusen seemed to have unlocked their potential overnight and transformed from a mid-table team to a strong contender.
Before visiting the Weser Stadium, they had already achieved five consecutive victories in the Bundesliga, ranking second in the league for consecutive wins.
The first-ranked team was their opponent in this match, Werder Bremen, who had achieved six consecutive wins.
This game was going to be tough, but when the match actually started, Werder Bremen's players realized that it was even tougher than they had imagined.
Bayer Leverkusen played with a very targeted approach in this game. Not only did they strengthen their defense against Lin Quan, the attacking and organizing core, but they also double-marked Werder Bremen's forwards to limit their receiving.
Coming from Real Madrid's youth academy, Carvajal performed well in this game. Not only did he disrupt Werder Bremen's attacks several times on the defensive end, but he also made several high-quality crosses into the opponent's penalty area on the offensive end.
And Bayer Leverkusen's attacking line was strong, with players like Skov, Volland, and Castro not being easy opponents.
Before the end of the first half, Werder Bremen was already two goals behind.
This was the first time this season that Werder Bremen had fallen behind by so many goals, even when Bayern Munich visited, they hadn't trailed by such a large margin.
At halftime, Werder Bremen's players seemed somewhat discouraged.
Bayer Leverkusen's strength wasn't significantly superior to theirs, but they just couldn't seem to beat them.
They were in trouble on both ends of the field, feeling targeted by the opponent.
Coach Schaaf also realized this. The opponent's formation today was 4-3-2-1, a typical Christmas tree formation.
This formation had strong control in midfield, and midfield happened to be Werder Bremen's weak point.
Although Lin Quan could play in midfield, he was an organizing midfielder, not a defensive one.
His defensive ability wasn't strong, which led to Werder Bremen's midfield lacking solidity and easily losing control.
What's worse, their formation today was the 4-1-4-1 they were accustomed to, how could one defensive midfielder cope with two opposing full-backs constantly pushing forward!
The formation and tactics had to be changed.
In the second half, Werder Bremen changed their formation first, shifting to a 4-2-3-1, substituting a central attacking midfielder for a defensive midfielder.
This adjustment had an effect on defense, but the problem on the offensive end still couldn't be solved.
With only one forward upfront, he was easily marked by the opponents, their counterattacks couldn't find targets, and once they reached the frontcourt, they couldn't create much threat.
Werder Bremen's disadvantage remained unchanged.
"Werder Bremen is in trouble!"
In the CCTV studio, Duan Xuan expressed some concern:
"After moving Lin Quan to a deeper position, the consequence is a significant decrease in the threat level of their frontline."
"Werder Bremen does have some attacking talents in their lineup, but these players can't replace Lin Quan's role in the frontline."
Xu Yang nodded beside him, agreeing:
"That's true, but we can't take him out of the midfield now. Werder Bremen's midfield also relies on him. If he goes to play as a forward, the midfield won't be able to deliver the ball. We can't expect him to dribble through the opponent's three lines every time from our own half, can we?"
Although the two had seen Lin Quan pass through multiple opponents and perform such miracles before.
But miracles are called miracles because they happen rarely.
In the case of the opponent's preparation, letting him break through the entire defense alone is not impossible, but it's very difficult and has a very low success rate.
The fans at the scene were very anxious, some of them started to miss De Bruyne.
If De Bruyne were on the field, they would surely have an easier time in this game.
Lin Quan shouldn't have to be both a playmaker in midfield and an attacker in the front, like being both a father and a mother, he had to organize in midfield and participate in attacks in the front, wishing he could be two people at once.
By the 65th minute of the game, Werder Bremen was still behind.
Lin Quan saw that it was time for him to step up.
If the team didn't score soon, this game would be lost.
In the 55th minute, substitute Junuzovic seized the ball in a challenge, ignoring the danger of injury, and snatched the ball from the opponent's feet.
"Lin!"
Before being dragged down by the opponent, he passed the ball to Lin Quan.
When Lin Quan received the ball, the Bayer Leverkusen defenders were already pressing on him from behind, not allowing him to turn easily.
And beside him, another Bayer Leverkusen player rushed over, wanting to steal the ball from his feet.
Lin Quan saw this, used the inside of his foot to stick to the ball, and turned 180 degrees in place.
In this turn, he not only successfully evaded the defender pressing from behind but also used that defender's body to block the other Bayer Leverkusen player who wanted to steal the ball.
The two Bayer Leverkusen players were dumbfounded, could he actually turn like this? They had seen Harvey's "Magic Dance of Love", but that kind of turn was completely different from this!
When Lin Quan evaded them, he immediately dribbled the ball and ran wildly towards Bayer Leverkusen's penalty area.
Werder Bremen's two wingers were sprinting quickly at this time, one on the left, one on the right, and Lin Quan in the middle, like a trident rushing towards Bayer Leverkusen's penalty area.
The Bayer Leverkusen players knew the huge threat posed by Lin Quan. This guy's passing ability was too strong, and no one had been able to intercept his strange curveballs yet.
They didn't dare to leave Werder Bremen's two wingers unmarked, so they had to assign players to mark them, not giving them a chance to receive the ball.
And with two full-backs taken away, Lin Quan only had two central defenders of the opponents in front of him.
Toplak and his teammate Worschaid made a tacit decision to double-team Lin Quan, hoping to intercept him outside the penalty area.
However, Lin Quan made a quick move, leaving Toplak behind with a clever feint.
Then came a lightning-fast fried meatball, leaving Worschaid trailing behind as well.
His explosiveness, agility, and excellent dribbling skills were fully demonstrated in this play.
The two defenders were left bewildered by his consecutive feints and changes of rhythm, not even knowing where the ball would go.
Leverkusen's goalkeeper Leno was dumbfounded, is this guy a monster?
In this space, at this speed, he actually managed to pull off two difficult dribbles in such a short amount of time!
How did he do it? Shaken to the core, Leno couldn't make the right choice in time. When Lin Quan approached the corner, he only realized he had to make a save.
By the time he completed his save, the ball had already flown into the net! Too fast, the opponent's shooting speed is too fast! "Lin!"
In the moment of the goal, the Weser Stadium erupted like a volcano!
The entire audience cheered Lin Quan's name, applauding his magnificent goal.
Even though they eventually lost the game, just based on Lin Quan's goal alone, it was worth the price of admission!
In the stands, Chelsea scout George Evans, after witnessing this goal, was stunned. He didn't even realize he had dropped his popcorn on the ground.
Since De Bruyne was sidelined due to injury, he had been on vacation. He came to Weser Stadium today not out of work obligation, but simply to relax.
Unexpectedly, he witnessed such an exciting game, which left him feeling a bit regretful.
He cursed himself for not bringing his notebook. Otherwise, he would have written thousands of words to properly document the opponent's brilliant performance, showing Chelsea's people how much this young man he favored was improving.
Stop waiting and come buy him already, or else he'll be snatched away! George Evans was not the only scout at the scene watching Lin Quan's game. Many scouts were equally shocked.
After seeing Lin Quan's goal, many scouts made up their minds. After the game, they must report to their clubs immediately:
Werder Bremen's number ten has unlimited potential. If the team is truly interested in him, they must be fully prepared. Otherwise, they may fail in the winter transfer window!
...
The game continued, and Lin Quan's goal greatly boosted morale. Inspired by his goal, Werder Bremen launched a series of attacks on Leverkusen in the following ten minutes, almost keeping them pinned in their own half.
However, Leverkusen's defense was very solid and managed to withstand Werder Bremen's wave of attacks.
The game quickly reached the 80th minute, nearing its end.
After a series of attacks, Werder Bremen's players were preparing to take a breather and catch their breath.
But at this moment, their opponents suddenly launched a counterattack.
Leverkusen's substitute forward, Hegler, received a pass from Zoller in the penalty area and scored with a volley, breaking Werder Bremen's goal.
The score became 3:1, and the hard-earned goal by Werder Bremen was quickly reversed.
And it wasn't over yet. Seizing the opportunity of Werder Bremen's counterattack after conceding the goal, in the 85th minute of the game, they launched a quick counterattack. Castro was tripped by Werder Bremen's defender after entering the penalty area.
The main referee showed no mercy and directly showed a red card to the offender Prunodil, and awarded Leverkusen a penalty.
Leverkusen's captain, Rolfeis, who had previously played for Werder Bremen, calmly scored the penalty.
The score became 4:1!
With less than five minutes left until the end of the game, Werder Bremen, trailing by three goals, seemed to have no chance of a comeback.
In the final stages of the game, Werder Bremen still didn't give up attacking.
Even with only ten players on the field, they continued to aggressively attack Leverkusen's penalty area.
In the injury time of the second half, after Lin Quan broke through, before being pulled down by the defending player, he passed the ball.
Having played the entire game without scoring a goal, Peterson volleyed the ball angrily. The ball, like a bullet fired from a gun, blasted into Leverkusen's goal.
Unfortunately, this goal came too late.
After the restart, the main referee blew the whistle for the end of the game.
Leverkusen's players celebrated wildly at the Weser Stadium, celebrating their victory over Werder Bremen and ending their opponent's six-game winning streak, while also securing their own six-game winning streak.
On the other hand, Werder Bremen's players were all disheartened, looking down at the grass under their feet, unable to speak.
They had put in their all in this game but still couldn't win.
The opponents' two goals in the second half came too suddenly, almost taking advantage of their defensive lapses to break through their goal.
And they were severely targeted in this game, with the team's attacking system not flowing smoothly, and the firepower in the frontcourt failing to deliver.
Although Lin Quan led them to score two goals single-handedly.
But two goals were not enough...
If De Bruyne were here!
The players once again missed De Bruyne, thinking that with him on the team, Lin Quan, who was completely liberated, would definitely score more goals up front.
After the end of this game, the media also began to doubt Werder Bremen, believing that their weakness in relying on a single player had been exposed.
If this problem couldn't be solved quickly, they might suffer defeats against other teams in the future.
"Lin is indeed very strong, but Werder Bremen can't let him fight alone in the frontcourt. His teammates need to step up and help him!"
During the post-match analysis, Geidermuller, once again acting as a guest commentator, said regretfully:
"I think it's time for Lin to consider switching teams. Werder Bremen's stage is too small, and the strength of his teammates limits his performance, burying his talent!"
The host and another guest commentator looked at each other, thinking that this guy's calculations have been heard across the Atlantic!
But for the sake of the show, he still pretended to be curious and asked:
"So, in your opinion, what kind of stage should Lin Quan go to in order to fully unleash his talent?"
Without hesitation, Geidermuller said directly:
"Of course, it's Bayern Munich!"
"In Bayern, he has a group of outstanding teammates like Ribéry, Robben, Müller, Kroos, Schweinsteiger, etc., who can help him share the pressure. If combined with his creativity and finishing ability in the midfield, Bayern can not only win in the league but also achieve honors in the Champions League. This is a win-win cooperation for both the team and him, isn't it?"
The host rarely didn't refute, apparently also agreeing with his statement.
If Lin Quan really goes to Bayern, it would indeed greatly strengthen Bayern's strength, and it would also be a good thing for him personally. At least winning games and honors would be easier.
Werder Bremen's strength is still too weak!
"I don't think so. Bayern's dominance in the Bundesliga is already difficult to shake. Now that a team that can threaten them has finally emerged, if Bayern starts a digging mode and takes away Werder Bremen's core, their dominance will probably be even more solid in the future. Who else can challenge them?"
The most criticized aspect of the Bundesliga is that Bayern is too dominant, and other challengers find it difficult to threaten them.
This is completely different from other leagues. The Premier League has a bunch of strong teams, and the championship race every year is full of suspense. Last season, there was even a miracle of Manchester City winning the championship in the last second!
Although La Liga is jokingly called the "Spanish Super Cup," the strength of Barcelona and Real Madrid is indeed far ahead, leading other La Liga teams by a large margin.
But even so, they only have two strong teams to compete, unlike the Bundesliga, where only Bayern reigns supreme.
Dortmund finally won two championships, but this season they collapsed at lightning speed, disappointing those who had high hopes for them!