Check out advanced chapters on P@treon: [email protected]/CosmicKaminari
----------
Time rewound thirty minutes.
The moment Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg blew the whistle, the atmosphere inside the Meazza Stadium instantly exploded.
At the same time, Cristiano Ronaldo tapped the ball forward, and Benzema immediately laid it back to Modrić.
"CCTV! CCTV!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, you are watching the 2015-2016 UEFA Champions League Final!"
"We are live at the Meazza Stadium, witnessing another Madrid Derby in Champions League Final history!"
"In the red-and-white striped jerseys are Atlético Madrid, led by Lance!"
"In the blue away kit are the nine-time Champions League winners, Real Madrid!"
"Hey!! Look at this attack. Cristiano Ronaldo!!!"
Before Duan Xuan could even finish his introduction, Cristiano Ronaldo unleashed a thunderous long-range shot, instantly igniting the tension of the final.
Oblak reacted hurriedly, barely tipping the ball out over the baseline.
Only thirteen seconds into the match, Real Madrid had already completed an attack and earned the first corner kick of the game.
Hiss—
Duan Xuan and Xu Yang exchanged glances.
Real Madrid looked terrifying today.
Wasn't this intensity a little too outrageous?
Even Jian Jun felt nervous.
"Thomas Partey was half a step slow on the closeout just now, allowing Cristiano Ronaldo space for the shot. The quality of that strike was extremely high!"
Against players like Modrić, Toni Kroos, and Cristiano Ronaldo, Thomas Partey still looked inexperienced.
"As expected, the absence of Koke and Gabi has had a massive impact on Atlético Madrid's defense."
"That's right. Koke and Gabi have years of chemistry with the squad. With these emergency lineup adjustments, Atlético Madrid's defensive rotations are struggling badly."
Zhang Lu saw the problem even more clearly.
Modrić's diagonal pass had sliced directly into the gap in Atlético Madrid's formation.
The lack of chemistry in midfield and defense was already exposed.
At the same time, Cristiano Ronaldo's condition today was clearly maxed out. That first shot alone showed just how badly he wanted this title.
After being suppressed by Lance for so long, how could Cristiano Ronaldo possibly endure it quietly?
Not even for a second.
Toni Kroos stepped up to take the corner.
Cristiano Ronaldo was already lurking near the penalty spot.
A sudden diagonal run.
Then an abrupt change of direction.
In an instant, he shook off Stefan Savić before leaping into the air.
The header looked almost like a basketball dunk.
"Cristiano Ronaldo!!!"
At that moment, the hearts of Atlético Madrid fans nearly stopped.
Even Lance inhaled sharply.
Clang!
The ball smashed against the crossbar and flew out of bounds.
Before Atlético Madrid's supporters could relax, the referee's whistle sounded again.
Another corner kick.
Oblak had gotten fingertips to the ball.
A world-class save.
"No way... we're not even one minute in yet and it's already this intense?"
Within a single minute, Atlético Madrid had conceded two corners and survived two massive scoring threats.
Lance felt his scalp go numb.
It was like someone who had been beaten down all season suddenly exploded with fury. One moment of carelessness and you could get knocked flat.
Bang!
The second corner came in.
This time it was the "Monk," Pepe, attacking the ball.
"Pepe's header!!! Just wide—"
"Real Madrid's opening three attacks have all been incredibly dangerous!"
Only when Oblak finally placed the ball down for a goal kick did Atlético Madrid's fans manage to breathe again.
Real Madrid's opening storm was almost suffocating.
It was terrifying.
"Is this really Real Madrid?"
"They're way too strong."
"Real Madrid in the Champions League feels like an entirely different team from their league form."
"They seriously have Champions League DNA."
"I almost pissed myself just now."
Many Atlético Madrid fans touched their backs and realized they were already drenched in cold sweat.
They had expected Atlético Madrid to pressure Real Madrid early.
Instead, it was complete domination from Real Madrid.
"Cristiano Ronaldo!!! Good attempt!"
"Now it's Gareth Bale charging down the right wing! Pure speed!! He's through, so fast!!"
"Cuts inside. Left-footed cross!"
"Benzema!!!"
Ten minutes into the game, Real Madrid had already fired seven shots.
Three on target.
Oblak had already made three saves, yet he felt no relief at all.
"What are you doing?! Defend them!"
But the moment he shouted, he regretted it.
Standing in front of him were not the reliable Godín, Gabi, and Koke.
Instead, they were a group of young players barely in their twenties.
Wouldn't shouting only make them more nervous?
In the commentary booth, Zhang Lu sounded helpless.
"You can clearly see that Atlético Madrid's weakened midfield and defense are now affecting their attack as well."
"They're struggling to complete interceptions against Real Madrid, and they can't move the ball forward. Right now they can only rely on long balls toward Lance and Griezmann."
And Real Madrid had obviously prepared for exactly that.
Carvajal and Ramos closely marked Griezmann.
Pepe and Casemiro focused on restricting Lance.
All four were world-class defenders, constantly using physical confrontations to pressure them.
Facing these powerful defenders, Lance and Griezmann felt extremely uncomfortable and could barely secure possession.
Combined with the Premier League officiating style, Real Madrid's physical play remained just within acceptable limits and rarely crossed into foul territory.
As a result, their challenges became even more aggressive.
At this level, every tiny weakness would be infinitely magnified.
And today, Real Madrid had clearly targeted Lance's physical limitations.
"If Lance hadn't improved his strength so much over the last six months, the version of him from the previous two seasons probably wouldn't even be able to survive in a match of this level."
In the past, Real Madrid's defense had never been this ruthless, nor had their lineup been this complete.
Today, Lance was finally witnessing true Champions League-winning intensity.
This was the legendary Real Madrid lineup that would go on to dominate Europe.
A genuine demon king.
Fortunately, Lance had already prepared for this before kickoff.
——— ——— ———
Equipped Template: Isagi Yoichi - S (Fusion Value 49%)
Equipped Template: Bachira Meguru - S (Fusion Value 100%)
Equipped Template: Mareto Shouei (Blue Lock) - B
Rage Value: 32%
Support Role: Hyuga Kojiro - S (Fusion Value 100%)
Support Status: ON
——— ——— ———
Among all his abilities, [Isagi Yoichi]'s Spatial Perception remained the most valuable.
In a constantly changing high-level match, that ability could influence the field more than anything else.
Compared to that, [Bachira Meguru]'s dribbling was merely the icing on the cake.
As for the third template slot, Lance had thought carefully before choosing the optimal answer.
[Mareto Shouei] was a character he didn't even know.
He had never read the manga or watched the anime, so he had no idea what kind of person the character was.
But that didn't stop him from understanding the template's abilities.
After extensive testing in training and matches, Lance roughly concluded that this was a classic power forward archetype.
Strong body.
Excellent at battling for positioning.
Good aerial ability.
Capable of shielding the ball and finishing chances.
Combined with the muscle memory fused from [Cannavaro], Lance could now temporarily compete physically with elite defenders like Pepe and Casemiro.
Out of ten battles, he might win one or two.
Without it, he would have no chance at all.
Unfortunately, the thing Lance feared most still happened.
Before Atlético Madrid's attack could create anything meaningful, the defense collapsed first.
In the 22nd minute of the first half, Real Madrid launched an attack that looked completely harmless.
Modrić floated a cross into the penalty area.
Benzema headed it back toward the top of the box.
Cristiano Ronaldo met it instantly with a thunderous strike.
"GOAL!!! Cristiano Ronaldo scores from long range!!!"
"In the 22nd minute, Real Madrid takes the lead!"
"1-0!"
Jian Jun froze for a moment before roaring passionately into the microphone.
There was no denying it.
Benzema's layoff was perfect.
Cristiano Ronaldo's finish was even more perfect.
The violent strike flew directly into the top corner.
Oblak had already done everything he could.
After scoring, Cristiano Ronaldo finally stood proudly in front of Lance.
He sprinted toward the sideline, leaped into the air, and shouted:
"Siuuuuuuuu——!"
Real Madrid fans instantly exploded with joy.
No one realized they were celebrating too early.
Because something even worse was still coming.
Thirty minutes into the first half.
Less than ten minutes later.
Cristiano Ronaldo was dribbling on the left side, repeatedly stepping over the ball and nearly losing possession before desperately recovering it and passing to Modrić on the right.
Everyone thought Cristiano Ronaldo had made a fool of himself.
But nobody expected Modrić's ability to seize opportunities to be so terrifying.
"Modrić!!! Direct through ball to the right wing!!"
"What a pass!" Zhang Lu exclaimed.
The football moved like the result of a perfect calculation.
A scalpel-like pass instantly tore apart Atlético Madrid's defense.
Their young defensive line finally paid the price for its lack of experience.
Gareth Bale, the Welsh superstar who had risen from Tottenham, exploded forward with overwhelming speed, shook off his marker, and fired a left-footed shot directly at goal.
A beautiful curve bypassed the goalkeeper's fingertips.
"GOOOOOOOAL!!! Gareth Bale!!!"
Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler completely lost control of his voice.
The Welsh superstar had scored.
And he was British.
Rounding it up, British football had won.
2-0.
"The ball is in again!! Two goals conceded in less than ten minutes!!"
"Real Madrid now leads 2-0!"
Jian Jun had not even finished sighing bitterly when the replay ended and Real Madrid stole possession high up the field again.
"Benzema!!"
Real Madrid's pressing was suffocating.
Atlético Madrid could not advance the ball and were forced all the way back to the goalkeeper.
The instant Oblak received it, Benzema sprinted forward aggressively.
Under pressure, Oblak hurriedly played a short pass.
Stefan Savić moved to receive the ball.
But suddenly, a figure darted in front of him.
"Modrić!!!"
Modrić stepped in brilliantly and intercepted the pass nearly thirty meters from goal.
Then he calmly dribbled into the box, maintaining possession despite four defenders collapsing around him before finally sliding the ball rightward at the last second.
Chaos.
Complete chaos.
Cristiano Ronaldo was completely unmarked.
Real Madrid's most dangerous player had nobody near him.
It looked exactly like finishing practice.
Cristiano Ronaldo casually pushed the ball into the net.
"3-0!!!"
"Two goals in two minutes!!"
"Atlético Madrid trails by three goals after only thirty minutes in the first half!!"
At that moment, Jian Jun and countless fans shared the exact same thought.
It's over.
...Right?
The camera zoomed in on Lance.
Wearing the captain's armband, the young man still looked unbelievably youthful, like a college freshman or an idol fresh out of a boy band.
But his eyes still burned with determination.
Duan Xuan could not help sighing emotionally.
"If Atlético Madrid can still rise from the dead and carve out a miracle from this desperate situation..."
"Then the one leading the charge can only be him."
Could the miraculous Lance continue being miraculous this time?
Even the fans who believed in him the most no longer knew the answer.