Chương 42: Hat-trick, Victory over Bayern Munich
Compared to the first time, Lahm is much more cautious this time.
The opponent has already proven his strength throughout the game, and if Lahm underestimate him now, it would be a mistake on his part.
The previous encounter made Lahm realize that this player is skilled with both feet, without a weaker foot.
He can attack from both the left and the right foot.
Therefore, Lahm must not be deceived by the opponent's feints or make hasty moves. Such actions will only allow the opponent to easily pass him.
The best approach to deal with such players is to call for teammates to come and help defend.
However, Lahm currently finds himself without any teammates around, as they are positioned behind the penalty area line, approximately ten meters away in the middle.
This distance provides enough space for the opponent to pass him!
If Lahm wants to avoid being passed, his only option is to retreat.
By matching the opponent's speed, maintaining an appropriate distance, and closing in on his teammates, Lahm can utilize the advantage of numbers to double-team the opponent when they reach the penalty area.
This will make it much easier to steal the ball from the opponent's feet.
Lahm starts to back away, ensuring a suitable distance to avoid being overtaken.
But how can Lucas make it easy for him?
Seeing Lahm retreat, Lucas immediately accelerates.
No matter how fast Lahm is, he cannot keep up with Lucas when retreating.
Therefore, Lucas accelerates, significantly reducing the distance between them.
If this continues, after a few more steps, Lucas will successfully evade Lahm.
Lahm has no choice but to spread his arms and desperately grab Lucas to prevent him from surpassing him.
Bayern defender Gustavo notices that Lahm seems to be holding onto Lucas, so he takes a risk to intercept the ball and intends to block the pass.
Considering Lahm's shorter and lighter build compared to Lucas, although Lahm is more experienced in physical confrontations, the overall advantage is in Lucas's favor.
Lahm quickly loses in the physical duel. Lucas pushed Lahm away with his arm away and kicks the ball to the center before Gustavo can touch it.
There, a young player wearing the No. 6 green jersey rushes up from behind and receives the pass from Lucas!
It's Kevin De Bruyne!
Since Lucas drew Kross away, De Bruyne is left unguarded.
And as soon as he passed the ball in their own half, De Bruyne sprinted forward with all his might.
His efforts finally paid off as he receives the pass from Lucas at the front of the penalty area.
"Stop him!"
Bayern's defenders are taken aback, and Badstuber immediately steps forward to intercept, leaving Boateng to continue defending Arnautovic.
Despite Budstuber's attempt to grab the ball, De Bruyne evades him and quickly passes it diagonally to the top corner outside the small penalty area.
There, neither defenders nor offensive players are present.
Could De Bruyne have made a passing error?
No!
At that moment, a player wearing a green jersey swiftly slips past the defenders like a loach and receives De Bruyne's pass in open space.
The instant he receives the ball, Lucas and Neuer exchange glances across the field.
There are no longer any obstacles between them; this is a one-on-one situation!
Lucas smiles at Neuer and shoots directly.
Neuer predicts the direction of the shot and dives to save it.
However, the ball is one step ahead and flies into the goal.
The score is now 3-1, with Werder Bremen leading Bayern Munich by two goals in the away game!
Lucas completes his first hat-trick!
At this moment, less than five minutes remain in regular time. This goal almost seals the victory!
It is highly unlikely for Bayern to equalize within five minutes.
The stadium falls into a deathly silence once again, with Bayern fans dumbfoundedly staring at the Werder Bremen players wildly celebrating on the field.
They find it hard to accept the score—they have actually lost to an underdog team at home!
This was something they could never have imagined before the game, but it has become a reality.
Not to mention that the fans couldn't believe it, even the players of Bayern Munich didn't expect this outcome.
They seem to be in a daze after being dealt such a blow.
With less than five minutes remaining, some players still want to continue attacking and salvage the match.
Others fear that pressing too far forward will only result in conceding more goals and leading to further disaster.
Losing is not the worst, but if they lose at home and experience a big loss, the blow to their pride and reputation would be even greater.
With the players' thoughts not aligned, Bayern's offense becomes non-threatening.
The Werder Bremen players, influenced by Lucas's goal, are now high on morale.
Instead of being besieged by Bayern, they begin to attack Bayern's half.
If it weren't for Bayern's defenders giving their all to protect the defensive line, they might have conceded another goal in the final five minutes.
Seeing the dwindling fighting spirit of the Bayern players, the referee doesn't even add a minute of stoppage time. When the 90 minutes mark arrives, he blows the whistle to end the game.
Lucas had heard before that the Bundesliga is one of the top five leagues in Europe, and it's even known for having the shortest stoppage time in the world.
Their referees aren't fond of extra time, so when the game isn't in suspense, they often don't allocate additional minutes.
The Bundesliga players seem to be accustomed to this, and under normal circumstances, they don't protest or question it.
As soon as the whistle blows, the Werder Bremen players, including the young players on the bench and the coaches, rush onto the field and celebrate wildly with the eleven players who were on the pitch.
It's unbelievable that they defeated Bayern Munich.
Winning this game means that Werder Bremen has reached the final, and their opponent in the final will be either Dortmund or Hamburg.
"Coach, our performance did not disappoint you?" The players smile and ask Schaaf when they see him.
"Of course not, you make me proud. Well, after the celebrations, let's thank the fans who came to support us!" Schaaf replies.
2,000 Werder Bremen fans in appreciation gave them a huge applause.
After the appreciation, the players return to the locker room, chatting and laughing.
De Bruyne purposely retrieves the game ball, wipes it with his jersey, and hands it to Lucas.
"What's this for?" Lucas is a little confused, unsure of De Bruyne's intentions.
"Normally, when a player scores three goals in a game, they have the right to keep the game ball as a memento of their hat-trick achievement.
This is your first official game with a hat-trick, so you should keep the ball as a souvenir!" De Bruyne explains.
"You're very thoughtful, thank you Kevin!" Lucas acknowledges De Bruyne's gesture and accepts the football. He borrows a pen, writes the date, time, opponents, and signs his name on it.
He then hands the ball back to De Bruyne.
"Huh?" De Bruyne looks puzzled, questioning Lucas's action.
"This game marks our first official game playing side by side. I want to give you this ball as a souvenir. When you achieve a hat-trick in the future, remember to give me a gift in return!" Lucas said with a smile.
"Okay, I will remember this!" De Bruyne nodded earnestly.
Back in the locker room, right after taking a shower, Lucas received a call from Guardiola.
"Hey, Pep, did you watch the game?"
Realizing that Guardiola must have watched the live TV broadcast of the game, Lucas greeted him.
Little did he know that Guardiola was actually at the stadium watching the match in person.
"Yes, I watched the game. It was a great performance, and I'm proud of you. But I have a question, when did you start playing as a winger? When I saw the starting lineup for Werder Bremen, something seemed off," Guardiola inquired.
"Well, perhaps our coach has a keen eye and believes I can excel as a winger. That's why he made the tactical arrangement like this," Lucas replied, attributing the decision to Coach Schaaf without revealing his own enhanced attributes resembling Messi's.
"I see. I've heard that Coach Thomas Schaff is good coach. I didn't expect him to be so daring and visionary in using young players. There's much I can learn from him!" Guardiola expressed his interest in Werder Bremen's head coach after hearing Lucas's explanation.
"How about this? After tomorrow's match between your team and Dortmund, I'll come over in person.
I can visit you and also discuss team tactics with your head coach," Guardiola proposed, eager to engage in a conversation with Thomas Schaaf.
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