章 96: Big Win against Schalke 04!
"The ball is in! In the 84th minute of the game, substitute Peterson scored a crucial goal!"
"This goal has pushed Schalke 04 to the edge of the cliff, one might even say that they are hanging by a thread!"
"If they can't equalize the score in the final few minutes, they will lose this crucial match, creating a 4-point gap behind Werder Bremen in the points table!"
"For the Bundesliga leaders, Bayern Munich, they probably don't want to see the game end with this score."
"If Werder Bremen defeats Schalke 04, they will continue to maintain a 4-point gap with Bayern, not allowing Bayern to widen the gap, keeping 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 up this responsibility!"
From the perspective of the commentators and the majority of the regular fans, they don't wish to see Bayern dominating from start to finish and winning the championship several rounds before the end of the season.
This would diminish the biggest attraction of the league— the suspense of the championship trophy.
A predictable game doesn't seem very exciting.
Moreover, Bayern's dominance in the Bundesliga has led to a long-term monopoly, which is not beneficial for the overall development of the league.
In the last two seasons, Borussia Dortmund played an excellent role in disrupting the status quo.
Snatching the championship from Bayern for two consecutive seasons almost shook the foundation of Bayern's dominance in the Bundesliga.
But this season, Borussia Dortmund's performance has declined, they need a disruptor.
Even if the disruptor can't win the championship, they should at least cause some trouble for Bayern Munich, making it difficult for them to win.
And now, Werder Bremen is playing this role.
On the TV commentary panel, the commentators were rapidly introducing the significance of the player who scored this goal, the importance of this goal for the team in this match, and even for the entire Bundesliga league.
Except for the fans of the two teams, the rest of the audience is not concerned about the outcome of this match.
They care more about whether the match is entertaining. As for who wins or loses, as long as there's no draw, it doesn't matter.
On the other hand, Lin's recent assist made them sit up and take notice.
"Lin's pass is just amazing! How did he do it?"
"I'm stunned, can you believe a pass like that?"
"If I were a Schalke defender, seeing this pass, I would have been cursing my luck. The ball was right in front of me, yet I couldn't intercept it and had to watch helplessly as it rolled to the feet of the attacking player, being booted into our own goal. That despair, tsk, tsk...."
"I've seen direct passes, but I confess, I've never seen a ground-hugging curve pass like this!"
"Hehe, you don't seem like a seasoned football fan. When Beckham was playing for the club, he delivered such assists."
"Beckham's bending passes are truly remarkable!"
"It's a pity, Becks went to the MLS. Otherwise, we could still have seen his brilliant performances on the European stage!"
Although the fans thought Lin's pass was reminiscent of Beckham, it was actually a technique he learned from Debruyne.
Of course, he learned it from De Bruyne, the world-class midfielder master of the future, not the current one, who is still quite inexperienced and hasn't mastered this trick.
After the goal, Peterson excitedly ran over to celebrate with Lin:
"Thank you, that was a beautiful pass!"
"You ran well too!"
The two chuckled, burying the hatchet and forgetting the grudges.
Excited, Werder Bremen's players rushed over and embraced the two of them in the middle. This goal greatly boosted the team's morale, and at a critical moment when the opponents were running low on energy, this goal almost sealed the victory.
After the game resumed, Schalke 04, unwilling to fall behind, made the last substitution, replacing the number 13 midfielder Jones with the number 20 forward Pukki.
This substitution indicated that they hadn't given up and would not surrender so easily.
The boos at the Veltins-Arena disappeared. Seeing the team in distress, the Miner fans didn't have the time to keep booing the opponents.
They stood up collectively, singing the team song to cheer for the home team.
At this late stage, everyone could see that Schalke's players were out of energy.
So they had to rely on their strong willpower, grit their teeth, and get through the last few minutes.
Just scoring one goal, one goal would be enough.
The win in the match was beyond their hopes, now they just wanted a draw, getting one point would satisfy them.
However, after the substitution, Schalke's passive situation did not change.
Instead, losing a midfielder caused their defensive strength to weaken, allowing Werder Bremen to penetrate through the middle multiple times.
In the second half, Werder Bremen's attack didn't flow smoothly. The opponent's intense pressing greatly affected them.
Now, with the opponent's energy declining, they gradually took control, forming a siege on Schalke's goal.
During this attack, Lin's talent was perfectly showcased.
He organized and connected upfront very efficiently, immediately passing the ball whenever there was a gap in the opponent's defense.
However, Werder Bremen's players missed several chances due to slightly poor awareness.
If they had seized these opportunities, the score might have expanded to 3:1 or even 4:1.
In the 90th minute, the fourth official indicated 3 minutes of injury time.
Lin decided not to pass to his teammate and took the shot himself.
Seeing Lin receive the ball, Peterson, deeply impressed by Lin's passing ability, immediately started running.
Scoring a goal boosted his confidence.
Also, since he was subbed in the second half, his physical fitness was better than other players.
This meant that as the match approached the end, he still had plenty of energy like a slippery eel in the opponent's penalty area.
Schalke's defenders dared not ignore this erratic runner anymore. His previous goal, whether luck or outstanding awareness, reminded them that ignoring him would come at a cost.
As a result, they specifically assigned a defender to mark him, and another to provide constant support.
Whenever the ball reached his feet, Schalke's players would rush to double-team him and dispossess him.
Peterson didn't expect to attract so many defensive players.
This made him a bit proud: "See, this is my intimidation!"
Although Lin couldn't understand Peterson's running, he gave him some credit in his mind: "Nice run!"
Seeing Lin with the ball at the edge of the penalty area, Uchida cautiously moved forward but didn't dare to rush in.
As Lin looked up behind him and made a passing gesture, Uchida hurriedly raised his foot to interfere. Even if he could intercept the ball, his interference would lower the success rate of Lin's pass.
Unfortunately, Lin had no intention of passing. In the split second when Uchida raised his foot, he immediately flicked the ball forward, leaving Uchida stranded and confused.
Lin's dribble, so sudden, so deceptive!
As Unnerstall saw Lin charging into the penalty area, he felt his scalp tingle.
He had conceded two goals in this match, both involving this guy.
This guy was practically his nemesis!
He had once suffered the humiliation of being nutmegged and didn't dare to advance actively.
He adjusted his position, maximizing his defensive area, determined to block the opponent's shot in front of the goal.
As Lin charged into the penalty area and saw the opponent's position, he instinctively glanced at Unnerstall's crotch.
The latter felt a chill and had a bad feeling:
Are you coming again?
He hastily closed his legs, not giving the opponent any chance to nutmeg him.
However, he didn't anticipate a nutmeg; Lin chose to aim for the top left corner.
Damn it, he was deceived!
Unnerstall immediately moved to the right, extending his right arm, trying to block the ball.
But his action was slightly too slow, and the ball grazed his fingertips, hitting the crossbar and post junction before bouncing into the net.
The score became 3:1!
The Veltins-Arena fell silent, as the opponents scored this goal in the second minute of injury time.
What this meant was evident to everyone.
Once again, it was that damned number ten who single-handedly scored all three goals, almost killing Schalke by himself!
The fans were very unhappy as their team, which had been unbeatable in the Champions League, inexplicably lost to the opponent who had beaten them twice in the previous season!
They couldn't accept this fact!
The jeers at the Veltins-Arena sounded again, but this time, it wasn't clear who the fans were jeering at.
Two minutes later, the referee blew the final whistle.
Playing away, Werder Bremen triumphed over Schalke 04 with a 3:1 score at the opponent's home ground, further solidifying their lead in the points table.
After the match, the Miner fans were extremely angry.
They tried to climb over the stands and rush onto the field.
This startled the Werder Bremen players on the away supporters' stand, who quickly ended their celebration and returned to the locker rooms.
Finally, with a police escort, they had a hard time leaving Schalke's home ground in the team bus.
It wasn't much of a struggle on the field, but off the field, the opposing fans left an extremely deep impression on them.
Of course, all that was left were some bad impressions.
This unpleasant road trip has caused a bond to be formed between these two teams.
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