Chương 195: Topping the Group!
For a moment, Boateng felt like he was back at the Allianz Arena.
Back to that August afternoon, in front of more than 50,000 fans, the first time he faced Lin on the field.
Recalling how Lin had tricked him, causing an uproar in the stands, Boateng's deep-seated fear resurfaced.
Without even engaging, Boateng's legs felt weak.
He signaled to Dante with his eyes: "Big brother, you go first!"
Dante remembered his own painful experience facing Lin at the Weser Stadium, shaking his head resolutely.
"My old body isn't up to it. You're younger and tougher, you go!"
Their silent exchange reached no conclusion, and by then, Lin was already bearing down on them with the ball.
Seeing no way to avoid it, the two of them braced themselves: "Let's go together!"
Seeing them both charging at him, Lin moved the ball sideways, then pulled it back.
Reacting quicker, Boateng managed to keep up with Lin's movements.
But the older Dante couldn't keep up, a half-step too slow, ending up blocked by his teammate Boateng.
It turned into Lin against Boateng alone again, despite it initially looking like two defenders.
Sweating from the tension, Boateng didn't notice he was blocking his own teammate.
Focusing intently on Lin's every move, Boateng watched him shift the ball, change direction, then repeat the motion.
After several shifts and changes, Boateng was thoroughly confused.
Finally making his way around, Dante saw Boateng about to be beaten and decided to tackle, aiming to stop Lin by any means necessary.
However, Lin anticipated this, swiftly moving close to Boateng.
From the audience's perspective, it looked like Dante was tackling Boateng.
With a thud, Boateng fell to the ground.
"Ow!"
Two cries of pain echoed.
Boateng clutched his ankle, shouting in pain.
Meanwhile, Dante was crushed by the falling Boateng, nearly knocked out of breath.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
"Why tackle me instead of him?"
Boateng's mind was full of confusion, unable to understand Dante's actions!
Feeling his ribs about to break, Dante, in pain, didn't even respond to Boateng.
Seeing his teammates down, Neuer hesitated, cursed under his breath, then charged out.
Facing Neuer, Lin didn't shoot immediately. Confident in his skills, he chose to dribble past the goalkeeper.
With no defenders left, the goalkeeper was at a severe disadvantage, especially against such a skilled player.
There was no contest. Lin successfully bypassed Neuer and calmly tapped the ball into the empty net, making it 3-2!
City took the lead again!
This time, with less than ten minutes left in the game!
Victory was now within their grasp!
"GOAL! Yaya Touré with the assist, and Lin scores after getting past multiple Bayern defenders. This crucial goal could change the fate of both teams and even alter the landscape of this season's Champions League!"
"No one expected Bayern, dominant throughout the match, to falter so late. Touré's sudden advance caught them off guard, and Lin ruthlessly punished them for it!"
"This is Lin's first goal of the match, but it's worth its weight in gold. If this score holds, City will top the group, putting the defending champions Bayern Munich below them!"
Commentators across various TV stations emphasized the significance of this goal to their viewers.
Since the Champions League knockout stage pairs group winners against runners-up, Lin's goal might place other top teams in jeopardy!
If Bayern ends up as a runner-up, they'll face another group winner in the knockout stage, making those teams extremely anxious.
Fans of other top clubs, seeing this score, started to curse.
"What's going on? How did Bayern mess up?"
"Something's fishy, definitely rigged!"
"With Bayern's strength, they can't possibly lose to City. There's something shady here!"
While some accused the match of being fixed, others defended it.
"Hehe, what's shady? You're just scared of facing Bayern in the knockout stage and trying to discredit City!"
"Exactly. Why can't City beat Bayern? BATE Borisov beat Bayern 3-1 at home last year. Is City weaker than BATE?"
"Lin is indeed Bayern's nemesis. He often led Bremen to victory over Bayern, and now he continues this trend in the Premier League. Bayern's really unlucky!"
"Exactly! Lin contributed to all three goals today with one goal and two assists. Bayern's downfall was entirely his doing!"
Fans didn't care about group standings. The more exciting and chaotic the qualification process, the happier they were.
If Bayern qualifies as a runner-up and faces other top teams in the knockout stage, it would make things even more thrilling.
On the sidelines, seeing his team trailing again, Guardiola's expression grew serious.
This goal came at the worst possible time. With only four minutes left, Bayern had little time to equalize.
But cornered, they had no choice but to go all out.
Thinking quickly, Guardiola called over Götze, gave him instructions, and sent him onto the field.
Bayern substituted a defensive player for an attacker.
They were going all in!
City retreated into full defense mode, leaving only Agüero up front. Everyone else fell back to defend with all they had.
In the final minutes, Bayern launched their fiercest attacks of the game.
Unwilling to lose away, Bayern's players took turns attacking City's goal.
But City's determined defense thwarted all of Robben, Ribéry, and Müller's attempts.
Beep, beep, beep—
With two short and one long whistle, the Etihad Stadium erupted in celebration.
Fans hugged each other, celebrating this great victory!
They had actually defeated Bayern Munich!
"The match is over. With goals from Agüero and Lin, City triumphs over Bayern 3-2 at home, earning three precious points and temporarily leading Group D!"
Seeing City's players embracing in celebration, commentator He Wei expressed his thoughts:
"Few expected City to win, but they responded to all doubters with a great victory. This is a collective triumph and a personal one for Lin and Agüero, City's sharp swords."
"I think from now on, all European giants will be more cautious when facing them!"
Xu Yang added emotionally: "Many might overlook one thing: Lin, who can do everything on the field, is only 17 and a half years old.
He has only been in professional football for a little over a year.
We don't know how far he will go, but we are honored to witness his every step toward greatness!"
The traveling Bayern fans were disappointed, some even shedding tears.
When their team scored first and dominated the match, they thought they had it in the bag.
But City was resilient, like an indestructible cockroach, always coming back.
Before Lin's final goal, many Bayern fans had accepted a draw.
But City didn't even give them that.
Bayern, now with one win and one loss, had three points, ranking second in the group.
They lost the initiative to compete for the top spot and had to contend with CSKA Moscow for qualification.
This outcome was hard for Bayern fans to accept, with many starting to miss the old coach Heynckes.
If he were still here, Bayern might have won this match, right?
Guardiola, however, didn't lose his composure. After the game, he approached Pellegrini for a handshake.
"Congratulations, your team played very well today!"
"Thank you. Bayern's strength was also impressive. I hope we both advance!"
Defeating Guardiola for the first time, Pellegrini was in a great mood, his smile visible from afar.
"Thank you!"
Guardiola nodded and went to console his players.
Passing by Lin, they exchanged glances but said nothing, quickly looking away.
Bayern's players needed to heal their wounds, while City's players continued to celebrate with the fans.
After the celebrations, on the way back to the locker room, Lin encountered an unexpected person.
"Want to swap jerseys?"
Seeing Lin approach, Neuer began taking off his shirt.
"Uh…"
You're already taking it off, how can I say no?
"Of course!"
They swapped jerseys in the players' tunnel.
Neuer, like claiming a trophy, draped Lin's jersey over his shoulder, stared at him seriously, and said:
"Next time, I will beat you!"
"Oh, then good luck!"
Lin didn't consider Neuer his rival; his rivals were Messi and Ronaldo.
...
With the second round of Champions League group matches over, the qualification scenarios became clearer.
In Group A, after a dip in league form, Manchester United also struggled in the Champions League.
They were held to a draw by Shakhtar Donetsk away. Moyes' team was dominated in possession, pass success rate, and shots.
If not for the team names being visible, fans might think Shakhtar were the true Red Devils.
After this match, Moyes faced increasing criticism.
In Group B, Juventus was held to a draw by Galatasaray at home, accumulating only two points from two matches.
Considering their next game is against the in-form Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, their chances of winning are slim.
If they don't win, their chances of advancing look bleak. Juventus might be the first top team to be eliminated.
Contrarily, Real Madrid was in top form, thrashing Copenhagen 4-0 at home. Ronaldo and Di María both scored twice.
With five goals in two matches, Ronaldo led the Champions League scoring chart.
As Ronaldo's performance improved, his chances of winning the Ballon d'Or increased, with Ribéry's lead diminishing.
In Group C, PSG thrashed Benfica 3-0,
firmly holding the top spot.
In Group E, Chelsea swept their opponents 4-0 away, recovering from recent struggles.
However, De Bruyne, who left Bremen with Lin, seemed to be completely out of Mourinho's plans, not even making the squad.
Despite Chelsea's win, they weren't top of Group E; Werder Bremen was.
With Elia's goal, they won 1-0 away against Basel, winning both their matches and looking good for qualification.
Despite losing Lin and De Bruyne, Bremen, under Schaaf, maintained good form, becoming the biggest dark horse in the group stage.
In the heavily watched Group F, Arsenal beat Napoli 2-0 for their second win, putting them in a good position.
Dortmund and Napoli each had a win and a loss, ranking second and third, with Marseille losing both matches and having slim chances.
In Group H, third-favorite Barcelona almost slipped up away.
Despite 82% possession, they struggled against Celtic's defense.
Without Messi, Barca's attack lost much of its potency.
If not for Fabregas scoring a free kick, Barca might have dropped points.
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