Capítulo 102: Champagne Not Allowed in the Locker Room!
At halftime, Frankfurt's players returned to the locker room dejectedly.
Before the start of the match, they were confident they could secure a victory at the Weser Stadium.
However, reality shattered their dreams, making them realize that conquering Werder Bremen's home field was no easy task.
"In the second half, we need to run more actively. Meier, Schwegler, Aigner, you guys need to play smarter. Add more variety in your attacks, don't make your intentions too predictable!"
In the visitors' locker room, Frankfurt's head coach was quickly briefing the players on the second-half tactics.
However, his explanation didn't elicit much response. The players hung their heads, seemingly unresponsive.
On the other hand, inside Werder Bremen's locker room, the players were already celebrating.
"Haha, with the twin stars around, it's truly different. This game is so much fun!"
Arnautović, with bared arms showcasing his muscles, laughed heartily, holding Lin and De Bruyne close while making exaggerated jokes.
Although Arnautović hadn't scored, the feeling of winning even without scoring was exhilarating!
"Marco, let go, darn it, your armpits stink!"
Lin almost fainted from the smell on Arnautović's body, cursing him good-naturedly.
"Hahaha, a man should have a scent, right?"
Arnautović didn't mind at all, and his banter with Lin drew laughter from their teammates:
"Exactly, you know, every time he goes to a club and shows off his masculine scent to the ladies, their eyes immediately light up!"
"What kind of light?"
"Tears from the stink!"
Junuzović mimicked fleeing with his hands covering his face, causing everyone to burst into laughter.
Captain Fritz was laughing so hard his stomach hurt, tears welling up in his eyes!
"Hahaha!"
"So funny!"
"That's Marko for you!"
"Darn, no wonder every time I go out with you to clubs, the girls run away when they see us. I thought it was my problem, but it turns out it's you, you're smelly!"
The room was filled with a joyous atmosphere, even with Arnautović's embarrassing revelation by Junuzović.
Unfazed, Arnautović found a bottle of champagne from somewhere, ready to fire up the locker room atmosphere with some added flair!
Seeing his actions, their faces changed.
"Don't open it!"
"It's bad luck!"
"Put it down quickly!"
Several people collectively took the champagne from him.
"Marco, opening champagne at halftime is cursed. Don't joke like that!"
Captain Fritz also approached, seriously warning Arnautović.
The incident in AC Milan's Champions League final locker room had long been circulated in football circles.
This event was often brought up as a joke against AC Milan, blaming their relaxed attitude in the midfield for the second-half collapse.
Being goaded by their opponents opening champagne in the locker room was a significant reason why Liverpool went all out in the second half.
In summary, it's not auspicious to celebrate prematurely before securing victory.
The fifteen-minute halftime break quickly passed, and both teams returned to the field for the second half.
Leading comfortably, Werder Bremen played with ease, engaging in magnificent passing and exchanges in the opponent's half.
In the 55th minute, De Bruyne dribbled forward, glanced at Lin's position while on the move, and sent a precise through ball.
As the ball approached him, Lin ran towards it, seemingly to receive it. However, just as it reached his feet, he intentionally let it pass.
This action deceived the Frankfurt defenders, allowing Hunt to sneak in behind.
Hunt received the ball and swiftly delivered a brilliant pass into the penalty area. Dodging the defenders, Lin found himself in the right position to receive the ball perfectly.
The goalkeeper rushed out, but instead of shooting, Lin passed to an empty space on the right for a teammate.
Leading comfortably in the top scorers' list, Lin opted to increase his assists data.
De Bruyne was perfectly positioned for the pass, slotting the ball into the empty net.
The score was now 3-0!
After scoring, De Bruyne joyfully waved his arm and ran towards Lin for a celebratory high-five.
It seemed De Bruyne's flashy celebrations weren't just for Manchester City but a continuous habit.
"Why didn't you take a shot just now?"
After their high-five, De Bruyne curiously asked.
His positioning was merely following the coach's tactical arrangements, not expecting Lin to pass in that situation.
Since he had already scored twice, a goal then would have secured his hat-trick.
"Never mind, your position was better!"
Lin couldn't explain in detail; revealing that he wanted to steal the assist king title from De Bruyne wouldn't be appropriate.
De Bruyne didn't think much about it initially, but after Lin's remark, he couldn't help but ponder:
Could it be that because this was his first game back from injury, he deliberately presented himself with such an excellent opportunity to score at home? The more De Bruyne thought about it, the more likely this possibility seemed—he believed Lin was the kind of person who silently did good deeds without seeking recognition!
Filled with gratitude, he displayed a stellar attitude in the following matches, continually providing outstanding passes to Lin.
Lin was at a loss!
"Bro, it's kind of torturous when you keep assisting me like this!"
"Should I shoot? If it goes in, it'll count as your assist."
"What if I don't shoot? It feels like I'm not truly appreciating your brilliant passes!"
Reluctantly, he scored another goal, raising his single-game tally to three.
Witnessing the twin stars of the team complete hat-tricks in assists and goals, the fans at Weser Stadium were ecstatic!
What kind of magical game was this? After watching football for so many years, I have never seen such a strange match where all the goals and assists focused on two players!
Scoring a hat-trick in a game was already very rare, but three assists in a single match seemed even more uncommon!
And the rarest occurrence was both happening in the same game.
They were fortunate to witness history being made.
Lin, after completing his hat-trick, was soon substituted by Schaaf. Frankfurt's players looked at him as if he had committed a crime.
Schaaf couldn't risk his star player being kicked around after such a commanding lead. With a four-goal advantage, could they still be overturned?
With the outcome certain, keeping Lin on the field would only increase his risk of injury.
If he got hurt, Werder Bremen's attacking system would falter!
Lin didn't want to score more goals; seeing Schaaf about to substitute him, he hurried to the sidelines. After a high-five with substitute Petersen, he sat on the bench in his coat, feeling emotionally drained after scoring three goals. Thinking of continuing was overwhelming!
Even if De Bruyne didn't secure any more assists after Lin's substitution, his tally reached 14.
Meanwhile, Lin was behind with 11 assists, trailing by three.
These were 3 assists, not 3 goals.
While scoring three goals might not be too difficult, completing three assists posed a tougher challenge.
De Bruyne played as an attacking midfielder, with passing and assisting being his basic duties. He was also aided by a goal-scoring machine like Lin, but Lin lacked another player like himself to assist in scoring.
It was more challenging for him to achieve assists than De Bruyne. Moreover, De Bruyne wasn't going to stay still and wait for him.
With his current form, who knew how many more assists De Bruyne would rack up in the upcoming matches!
After Lin was substituted, De Bruyne continued energetically passing to his teammates; however, their shooting accuracy was significantly lower than Lin's.
Furthermore, after suffering a heavy defeat, Frankfurt's players seemed to awaken and no longer played cluelessly as before.
They not only intensified their defense but also improved their attacking effectiveness.
Shortly after Lin was substituted, Frankfurt scored a goal in the 71st minute through Meier.
Two minutes later, Schwegler's shot deflected off a defender's leg into the net, pulling back two quick goals.
These goals made Werder Bremen's fans nervous.
Could Frankfurt overturn a four-goal lead at home? That seemed highly unlikely, right?
On the bench, Lin, like the players on the field, couldn't help but recall the champagne in the locker room.
Did they leave the champagne unopened?
Lin almost couldn't resist the urge to go back to the locker room to check—it's dangerous to have that temptation!
Fortunately, Werder Bremen's players quickly realized the danger. They upped their midfield defense, marking Frankfurt's number 10 Hoffer tightly, effectively thwarting Frankfurt's attacks.
In the end, after ninety minutes, Werder Bremen triumphed over Frankfurt 4-2 at their home ground.
Since that match, a rule emerged in Werder Bremen's locker room: Champagne isn't allowed in the locker room!
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