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According to the latest news, Bayern Munich has taken the lead at the Allianz Arena!
Robben, returning from injury, is in excellent form, and his cut-in shot from the right wing broke the deadlock!
Bayern Munich leads Mainz 1-0 for now.
Bayer Leverkusen is currently in a stalemate with Frankfurt.
On the real-time standings, Bayern Munich temporarily overtakes them with a 1-point advantage...
Theoretically, in the final round of the Bundesliga season, Bayer Leverkusen vs. Frankfurt, Bayern Munich vs. Mainz.
As long as Bayer Leverkusen wins, a 100-0 victory for Bayern against Mainz would be useless.
They need to rely on Bayer Leverkusen's performance to win the championship.
However, Frankfurt is also a strong team ranked 8th, and their strength should not be underestimated.
From today's match, it appears Frankfurt belongs to the "old guard"; they seem to prefer the old order of the Bundesliga.
They fought with all their might for the entire match, hoping to successfully thwart Bayer Leverkusen and help Bayern Munich reclaim their title as the Bundesliga king.
Due to Van Dijk's injury in the match against Barcelona, the defence was a bit unstable.
Both starting defensive midfielders, Lars Bender and Rolfes, also sustained muscle injuries in that match.
Therefore, Bayer Leverkusen had no one to use in midfield today!
Kevin De Bruyne was forced to drop back into midfield as a central midfielder, partnering with defensive midfielder Jens Hegeler.
Julian Brandt started as a right winger, Son Heung-min played as a left winger as usual, Firmino was on the bench, and Kießling started.
Bayer Leverkusen was not at full strength today, and the match was quite difficult.
To stabilise the defence, Lance's position shifted further back, from forward to attacking midfielder, and then to central midfielder.
Today, Bayer Leverkusen's formation looked more like a 4-3-3, and the players seemed a bit unaccustomed to it.
"Kevin!! How are you running? You're running right into me."
"Sorry, I haven't adjusted yet."
Kevin De Bruyne was also playing as a central midfielder for the first time, and he was a bit out of form today.
Even his best passing was problematic, almost assisting Frankfurt with an own goal in the first half.
Fortunately, Harry Maguire had a big enough head to dive and block the shot, thwarting the opponent's crucial attempt.
This caused exclamations of surprise from the BayArena stands.
"That was close!! Bayer Leverkusen made a passing error. Frankfurt's counterattack was very decisive and efficient. Their only shots in the first half were quite threatening!"
"Bayer Leverkusen didn't dare to push forward, and the situation on the pitch was temporarily a stalemate."
"Oh?"
"On the other side, Bayern Munich scored again, 2-0!!"
"Lewandowski scored a goal!"
Duan Xuan wasn't nervous initially; Bayer Leverkusen should have been a sure bet.
Now, it seems the situation is a bit uncertain.
What if Bayer Leverkusen concedes a goal?
It would be even harder to win.
"Could Bayern really make a comeback?"
To have a championship slip away after it was within grasp, Bayer Leverkusen would be too unlucky.
On screen, Lance on the pitch also looked very worried.
"I must find a way."
Bayer Leverkusen's characteristic is that when their morale is high, they can dominate opponents.
Even Barcelona would find it hard to resist.
But they are all young players, and their form is very unstable.
When the situation on the pitch is difficult, they become less confident, make conservative decisions, and their movements become distorted.
This causes them to lose the edge that should have been theirs.
"Just one goal!"
Watching the first half at 40 minutes, with the score 0-0, Lance was already brewing something.
Frankfurt had heavily reinforced the centre, making every shot by Lance very difficult.
Charging for 2.5 seconds was simply impossible; anytime he got the ball with a chance to shoot, the opponent would immediately disrupt him.
Frankfurt would rather commit a foul than let Lance shoot easily.
His "Tiger Shot" has recently been dubbed the "Big Cannon" by German media.
"Frankfurt is defending very resolutely, preferring to allow crosses from the wings rather than letting the Big Cannon fire. Lance just tried again, but was pulled down by the opponent. The distance is a bit far, 30 metres. Bayer Leverkusen gets a free kick in the attacking third..."
Kevin De Bruyne walked to the penalty spot with the ball.
He is usually the undisputed primary free-kick taker.
De Bruyne's curved shots are still top-tier in the Bundesliga, and his accuracy is quite high.
"Kevin, any thoughts?"
"Let's cross to the far post; this distance is a bit too central, not ideal for a direct shot."
De Bruyne felt it was a bit tricky.
He prefers curved shots, and long-range powerful shots are not his comfort zone.
"How about I give it a try?"
"Do you have another trick up your sleeve? Have you mastered free kicks?"
Lance often practises free kicks after training.
Although his long-range shots are powerful, there's a slight difference between free-kick shots and long-range shots during open play.
With a wall in front, without some technical finesse, it's easy to just blast it into the wall.
"I want to try a shot."
"Alright."
De Bruyne understood Lance best.
This guy never fights a battle he's not confident in.
The last free-kick routine was his idea, and Lance succeeded that time.
De Bruyne naturally trusted his brother unconditionally.
"Should I feign a shot for you?"
"No need. Go into the box and look for an opportunity. If I don't score, you can help with a rebound."
"Alright, it's all yours then."
De Bruyne patted his shoulder and walked directly into the penalty area.
"Wait? We see!! The primary set-piece taker, De Bruyne, is giving up the kick. Is Lance taking it alone?"
Lance had never taken a free kick in an official match until now, and the commentators were all very surprised.
"What's this guy thinking now?"
"Don't rush, let's wait and see."
Lance was good in every aspect, but the one thing that gave the coaching staff a headache was his tendency to have sudden ideas on the pitch, deviating from the original tactics.
However, Lance was strong enough, so this "minor flaw" was, of course, irrelevant.
He was already a king, and whatever a king did on the pitch was right!
"Lance, standing in front of the free kick, steps back a distance... Oh? His run-up distance is a bit long."
Lance's free-kick stance reminded German commentator Scholl of the Brazilian legend, Roberto Carlos.
Roberto Carlos often retreated far back, and his powerful free-kick shots struck fear into the hearts of the world.
German veteran goalkeeper Kahn felt this deeply.
"It seems we're about to test the Frankfurt goalkeeper."
Kahn had a premonition, that this shot would be extraordinary!
There was a killing intent!
Frankfurt's goalkeeper, Kevin Trapp, was rated as a "national team-level goalkeeper" by the authoritative German magazine Kicker.
His many crucial saves helped Frankfurt climb to 8th in the standings and made them one of the teams with the fewest goals conceded in the Bundesliga.
He would later transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, where he solidified his position as a starting goalkeeper.
Today, facing Lance's free kick, Kevin Trapp suddenly felt a sense of panic, as if he was locked on.
The heavy cannon barrel of a German Tiger tank was almost shoved into his mouth.
"Hiss—this guy!!"
Before Kevin Trapp could mentally prepare himself, Lance had already started his run-up!
"Why didn't I think of this before? The condition for charging for 2.5 seconds is very strict, but when taking a free kick, with no one interfering, isn't it free to charge?"
Tiger Shot!
Run-up charge!
Endless energy was transmitted from his right leg to the football, and a thunderous roar echoed through the BayArena!
The cannonball was fired!
The moment it grazed past the wall, the Frankfurt players tensed up, almost seeing their lives flash before their eyes!
"If that ball hit someone, they'd probably die, wouldn't they?"
By the time Kevin Trapp heard the loud bang, it was too late to make a save!
Whoosh—
The ball drilled into the top corner of the net!
Commentator Scholl was dumbfounded, his pupils suddenly contracting!
Data showed that the ball's speed exceeded 255 km/h!
"Goooooooooal!!!"
"Laaaaaance!!!"
"Just like this unstoppable powerful free kick! Bayer Leverkusen's momentum to defend their championship is equally unstoppable!"