บท 108: Feels Like Messi's Treatment!
"Hehe, this kid's in trouble!"
In the stands, Devieser saw Werder Bremen's attack being blocked. After Lin passed the ball back, a slight smile appeared on his face.
Six months ago, Chelsea had faced Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, leaving a deep impression of Bayern's strong midfield and defense.
This season, with the addition of Javi Martinez, Bayern's midfield and defense had further strengthened.
Combined with Mandzukic's active defensive play and fierce offensive capabilities, Bayern's impact this season was even greater than last.
In this match, Werder Bremen seemed to face tough odds.
However, the tougher it got, the more curious he became. How would Werder Bremen's number ten player perform under adversity?
If the attempts in the first ten minutes made Lin doubt Bayern's tactics targeted him, as the match progressed, he became more convinced. The opponents' defense today was definitely well-planned.
After sidestepping Ribery again, Lin encountered Martinez's interception.
This time, Lin didn't hesitate. With a burst of speed and three consecutive dribbles, he momentarily threw off Martinez's defensive position.
Seizing the opportunity, he immediately surged towards the opponent's penalty area.
But Bayern's left-back Alaba moved up and blocked his path.
Behind Alaba, Boateng was also in position, ready to aid his teammate in ending his attack.
Martinez was tracking Lin from behind, actively chasing back.
With no time to get past Alaba, Lin shifted laterally, attempting to create space and find an opening for a shot or breakthrough.
Alaba, typically, would abandon marking when the opponent left his defensive zone to maintain defensive shape. However, this time, despite Boateng and Dante moving forward, Alaba stuck to Lin like glue.
Lin was puzzled, wondering if Bayern had dispensed with their left-back?
He looked toward Bayern's left side and saw Ribery, who had surprisingly returned and temporarily replaced Alaba, acting as Bayern's left-back.
At this moment, Martinez caught up from behind Lin.
Another defensive midfielder, Gustavo, also moved closer, blocking Lin's passing lanes.
Lin found himself caught in a five-person encirclement by the opponents!
Unable to pass the ball, with no passing lanes available, he had to forcefully attempt a breakthrough.
First, he dodged Alaba's interception; then, he spun past Dante's tackle. However, before he could get past Boateng, Martinez pushed him down from behind.
This foul was outside the penalty area, and the referee awarded a free kick but did not give a card.
Apologizing slightly, Martinez reached out, pulLing Lin up from the ground, patting his back as he did so.
He had actually held back a bit.
If Lin wasn't his national team teammate, he would have tackled him already and not given him a chance to dribble.
Lin was frustrated, having experienced being marked before, but never by five players - a treatment rarely seen, even for Messi.
Especially against a team like Bayern Munich, such a show of force against a young player seemed excessive.
Werder Bremen's free-kick, Lin and De Bruyne discussed how to take it.
De Bruyne was also having a tough game, closely marked by the opponents. Gustavo and Schweinsteiger restricted his ball touches and passing opportunities.
Under such tight marking, De Bruyne, lacking in physical strength, struggled to hold onto the ball when aggressively challenged.
His passing accuracy dropped significantly in this game, making three mistakes.
Fortunately, playing in an advanced position, when losing possession, the team swiftly organized to counterpress, preventing Bayern from posing a real threat.
Standing in front of the ball, you look at me, I look at you.
Lin calculated the distance between the free-kick spot and the goal, opting to give the chance to De Bruyne.
After a run-up, De Bruyne delivered a lifted shot that soared over the wall, dipping abruptly towards the bottom left corner of Bayern's goal.
Before the ball crossed the goal Line, a large hand appeared, deflecting the shot.
Neuer!
After saving the opponent's shot, Neuer roared triumphantly, exuding dominance!
The fans at the Allianz Arena applauded his excellent performance.
This season, Neuer has been improving steadily. After being held to a draw by Werder Bremen away, he kept eight clean sheets in the following 11 league matches, conceding only seven goals in the first half of the season.
Many times, he cleared the threat well before it reached the goal, showcasing his title of 'Sweeper Keeper.'
Just by his activity range, he seemed more like a defender than a goalkeeper.
This goal wasn't scored by Lin, but after Neuer saved the penalty, his eyes turned towards Lin.
"This time, I won't let you score past me again!"
Defender Dante discussed with a few teammates and felt this goal still posed a threat.
If Neuer hadn't been in good form with quick reactions, they might have conceded a goal.
"Don't give the opponent such good set-piece opportunities; their number 6 is an expert at free-kicks, don't give them a chance!"
Experienced Dante knew when they had contained Werder Bremen's regular attacking methods. Long shots and set-pieces would be their most significant threats against Bayern; protecting the dangerous area in front of the penalty box effectively curbed them.
Regarding set-pieces, the players needed to be smarter in their defending.
If they were to foul, it should be done in less dangerous areas, not waiting until the opponent reached the edge or inside of the penalty area to commit a foul.
Werder Bremen's corner kick, taken by De Bruyne near the near post.
Phil Krug couldn't outjump Boateng, whose physical attributes were too strong; even slightly nudged Krug before jumping, giving him a disadvantage due to his lack of experience. If Arnautovic were on the field, he would surely use his body to jostle before jumping to gain an upper hand in the aerial duel.
After Bayern won the ball, they quickly launched a counter-attack, with Ribery advancing towards Werder Bremen's half.
Many Werder Bremen players were still in Bayern's half and couldn't retreat in time.
This was a golden opportunity for Bayern!
With Ribery unmarked on the wing, instead of crossing from the byLine, he cut inside towards Werder Bremen's penalty area.
At the moment, Werder Bremen only had 3 defenders in the backLine, while Bayern had three players on the counter.
Both sides faced a three-on-three situation!
Seeing Ribery cut into the dangerous area, captain Fritz rushed forward.
Ribery didn't waste time dribbLing past defenders; he quickly passed the ball to Robben on the other side, who then passed it back to Ribery.
With Ribery finding space, he could shoot directly after receiving the ball. Forced to act, Werder Bremen's defender Papastathopoulos had to abandon Mandzukic and move forward to intercept.
Seeing the defender react, Ribery made a lofted pass, the ball sailed over Papastathopoulos' head and landed in the penalty area.
At the same time, Mandzukic pushed past his marker, leaped high like a war god, using his head to hammer the incoming ball.
The ball soared towards Werder Bremen's net, and despite Milits's effort to save it, he couldn't alter the fate of conceding a goal.
In the 32nd minute of the first half, Bayern seized a counter-attack opportunity. Ribery assisted Mandzukic, changing the score to 1:0!
The Allianz Arena turned into a sea of celebration, with sixty thousand Bayern fans joyously celebrating the goal.
On the opposite side, five thousand Werder Bremen fans watched despondently, their faces filled with worry.
The team had been passive for the first thirty minutes, with their attacks almost completely stifled.
Apart from De Bruyne's free-kick attempt, there were no other threatening attacks.
On the other hand, Lin attempted a few long shots from outside the box, but under Martinez's interference, these attempts failed to pose a threat.
One of the shots even went way off target, flying into the stands.
Such erratic shooting was uncommon for Lin.
Being behind by just one goal shouldn't be alarming; with Werder Bremen's potent attacking capabilities this season, there's still a chance to equalize or even turn the game around.
But the team's pride, the offense, seemed completely frozen in this match.
That's the most concerning issue for the Parrot Legion fans.
Without the attack, Werder Bremen would lose their identity!
In the live chat, fans also noticed Werder Bremen's anomalies:
"What's going on? Lin and De Bruyne seem muted in this match?"
"They've been contained by Bayern's tactics!"
"In this match, Martinez has been sticking close to Lin, restricting his movements in the front field."
"Yes, Bayern's defense is very targeted; with Martinez at the forefront, they've created a blockade around Lin in both the front and backfields, limiting his range to the left edge of Bayern's penalty area, making it challenging to threaten Bayern's goal."
"As for De Bruyne, his physicality is lacking, so when faced with an aggressive physical approach, he struggles to retain possession; Bayern's midfielders have been actively disrupting, essentially cutting off the connection between him and Lin."
"You haven't noticed? Up to now in the first half, De Bruyne and Lin haven't had a single direct collaboration."
"Oh, it seems that way. So how do we break through Bayern's defensive system?"
There's not a really good way; if anything, it's about competing in the midfield. If your midfield is tougher than theirs, beat them in midfield, wrestle and control the situation to help Lin breakout."
"True, but Bayern's midfield is too solid!"
"Their midfield strength even makes it tough for Barcelona!"
"Hey, Bayern fans, stop dissing. When Barcelona faced Bayern earlier, they effortlessly scored 4 goals, sweeping Bayern!"
"Haha, those are things of yesteryears. Are they really bringing up the 08-09 season? Present-day Bayern is undoubtedly stronger than the struggling Bayern back then. And as for Barcelona? They are getting worse every passing year!"
"Haha, the fans of the Southern giants really know how to boast. You just dare to stir the fishpond in the Bundesliga. How about facing us fairly and squarely in the Champions League match?"
"Barcelona fans, don't get too overconfident. If you meet us, then Bayern will teach you a lesson in humility!"
"Haha, I am looking forward to it; looking forward to seeing Bayern being beaten 4-0 at Camp Nou again!"
The conversation quickly deviated due to the banter between the Barcelona and Bayern fans. However, the onlookers weren't bothered by the deviation, and they earnestly analyzed the situation:
"Both Barcelona and Bayern are group leaders, so they won't meet in the round of 16. But there might be a chance in the quarterfinals or semi-finals!"
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