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"The 13th round of La Liga has just concluded. Atlético Madrid, with 10 consecutive wins in all competitions recently, were in high spirits. Playing at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, they defeated Real Sociedad of Catalonia 1-0."
This was from the studio of "Post-Match Day," the most popular football programme on Spain's national free football channel.
Gold medal commentator and host José Ángel sat on the stage, alongside Hierro, the former Spain captain and Real Madrid legend.
Also present was the retired legend of Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan, the World Player of the Year, two-time Ballon d'Or winner, "Alien" Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima.
"Welcome, welcome Hierro and Ronaldo to the studio. Today we're going to talk about the 13th round of La Liga. The first match we'll review is this clash between Atlético Madrid and Real Sociedad. First, a question for both of you: Do you like Atlético Madrid?"
"I don't like them, because I'm a Real Madrid fan."
The veteran Hierro chuckled honestly.
Everyone could tell he was just joking and had no real ill will towards Atlético Madrid.
"I quite like them."
Ronaldo also gave an honest smile.
His plump face and physique seemed to be drifting further and further from the invincible striker he once was.
"Hey, Ronaldo, are you betraying Real Madrid?"
"No choice, Atlético Madrid plays very beautifully. Especially their Asian player, he plays very well."
Ronaldo said sincerely.
Every time Lance pulled off a famous 1v4 or 1v5 moment, some media outlets would also dub him "Asian Ronaldo."
Some YouTube vloggers even edited Lance and Ronaldo together.
Ronaldo had indeed been following him for a long time.
Sometimes, Ronaldo would ponder whether Lance, if he had been born in his era, could have beaten him in a match.
Uncertain!
Now, it was a case of two kings not meeting.
As for Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, whilst strong, Ronaldo always believed that Lance's ceiling was not something Messi and Ronaldo could compare to.
After a brief opening pleasantry, they got to the main topic.
"Real Sociedad is currently ranked 14th, only 2 points away from the relegation zone. Therefore, they played very conservatively away from home. Their 5-4-1 formation was clearly intended for a bus parking defence. The striker wasn't even a proper striker, and the setup of 5 defenders and 3 defensive midfielders was even crazier. From the content of the match, Real Sociedad did quite well."
"The first half started with a stalemate, Atlético Madrid was still probing. Starting from the 9th minute, Atlético Madrid launched their first fierce attack. The left-sided combination of Lance and Griezmann is Atlético Madrid's sharpest attacking routine at the moment."
"Sometimes Saúl and Torres would also come over, creating an absolute numerical advantage in that area. All of them are players with strong dribbling skills, making it easy to create openings. For example, this play: Griezmann dribbled past one player, decisively passed horizontally, Lance cleverly stopped the ball with his back to goal, turned and dribbled past another, then cut inside. His few touches to escape were simply brilliant!"
"That's right, I wouldn't have been so bold myself."
Ronaldo chuckled…
...
Lance dribbled past 3 players outside the box, then passed horizontally to Torres.
Unfortunately, Torres didn't anticipate Lance's tricky pass and didn't react immediately, wasting a golden opportunity.
After that, there were continuous breakthroughs from the left side.
This tactic of abandoning the right side and focusing entirely on the left is relatively unconventional in football.
However, some years later, Ancelotti's Real Madrid also did this.
Vinicius, Rodrygo, Benzema, almost everyone attacked strongly from the left, eventually winning the Champions League that year.
Back to the match, Atlético Madrid's offence did have some effect.
Lance, Griezmann, and Torres all had chances in the box.
Unfortunately, their luck was really bad today.
Their shots were all just inches wide.
Lance's long-range shots also temporarily lost their power.
It's not that he couldn't win by using his 'cheat'.
Against Real Sociedad today, Lance wanted to test how far he could go without using his 'cheat'.
For this match, Lance intentionally disabled his 'cheat'.
He didn't equip any templates before the game.
By the 45th minute, Lance suddenly regretted it.
Unfortunately, he couldn't deploy them after the match started, so Lance could only endure with an empty template state, going head-to-head against Real Sociedad's bus parking defence…
...
In the studio, several people enthusiastically discussed and reviewed the first half.
"To be honest, Atlético Madrid's attacking chemistry upfront is really good. Lance's arrival has given Griezmann and Torres more tactical space. It's just that Lance today feels... like he's not giving his all."
Ronaldo commented.
"Look at this ball, in the past, he would have definitely forced a breakthrough or taken a powerful shot. But Lance didn't shoot, and his dribbling moves were all basic."
"Maybe Atlético Madrid wants to practise new tactics. The coaching staff specifically told Lance not to exert himself too much. Otherwise, the tactical practice would be useless."
José Ángel joked.
This was not impossible.
Otherwise, how could one explain Lance playing a bit too relaxed today, as if he wasn't taking the opponent seriously?
The second half was also an intense battle of offence and defence.
Real Sociedad's bus parking defence made Atlético Madrid increasingly impatient, and their passing, running, and ball-handling errors constantly increased.
They wasted many good opportunities.
As time approached the 85th minute, if Lance didn't make a move, they were very likely to drop points today.
"Currently, Barcelona still maintains a perfect record. If Atlético Madrid draws and drops 2 points, they will be 4 points behind Barcelona! At the same time, they will also be overtaken by Real Madrid."
"Fortunately, at critical moments, superstars can play a decisive role."
Ronaldo smiled.
"You guessed right!"
The review video continued, as Atlético Madrid organised an attack in the final third.
Lance pulled into the middle, dribbled horizontally a few steps, and suddenly shot!
The unexpected long-range shot deceived the goalkeeper, but unfortunately, it hit an opponent's leg and bounced out for a goal kick.
Koke took the corner kick.
The spinning ball came into the box.
Godín's header missed, and the goalkeeper jumped up to punch it away with one hand.
"Now is the time!!"
Host José Ángel shouted excitedly.
Then he saw Lance sprinting towards the edge of the box.
At the top of the arc, he jumped up and took a spectacular volley.
The goalkeeper had no time to react as it flew into the top corner!
"Lance scored the only goal of the match. Real Sociedad had even replaced their last forward; all their players on the pitch were defenders, and they were powerless to stop Atlético Madrid. Atlético Madrid is currently only 2 points behind Barcelona, temporarily ranking second in the standings. In other matches, Barcelona defeated Real Sociedad 4-0, and Real Madrid defeated Eibar 2-0..."
...
In the hotel, Kießling turned off the noisy TV.
The entire Bayer Leverkusen team had arrived in Madrid and was about to have their final confrontation with Atlético Madrid.
The TV channel was broadcasting videos of Lance's match.
He couldn't understand the Spanish commentary of the review, but Kießling could tell from the footage that Lance was no longer on the same level as him.
To think Lance used to be his substitute.
"Time passes too quickly."
"Don't be so emotional. He's talented, so it's only natural for him to achieve success."
Captain Lars Bender also gave a wry smile.
Since the double-winning season ended, the team's main lineup had fallen apart.
Old captain Rolfes had hung up his boots and retired.
Only a few, like Lars Bender, remained with the team.
They truly envied Lance, De Bruyne, and Son Heung-min.
But they had mediocre talent, and almost no team wanted them.
In their thirties, their professional careers seemed destined for mediocrity, at least they had once had their moments of glory.
"By the way, call Lance out, let's get together, brothers."
"I just called Lance; he invited us to his villa to hang out..."
"That's great, then let's all go, brothers. I'll try to get the club to charter a car..."
Captain Lars Bender was quite responsible and was about to find a car to take his teammates over.
Unexpectedly, Kießling continued:
"The car is already here; Lance arranged everything for us."
"That fast?"
As the stretched Lincoln slowly drove into the lobby, Kießling, Lars Bender, goalkeeper Leno, and Julian Brandt saw the luxurious interior of the car, the expensive champagne worth over a thousand euros, and as the vehicle drove to its destination, the vast gardens outside the window, and the avant-garde, modern villa architecture...
The few people from Bayer Leverkusen were collectively dumbfounded.
"Is the gap between players really that big?"