Dominating Football with Perfect Ball Control

Chapter 324: 324. I will always believe in you!

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”Pass! Pass!!!”

”Vamos!”

”Hey! Over here!”

”Stop him!!!”

On the pitch, shouts rose and fell.

Lance’s head was buzzing. He was playing purely on muscle memory.

Suddenly, urgent footsteps and the sound of air being cut through came from behind and to his side.

Lance subconsciously half-turned to shield the ball. He pulled the ball back with his right foot to evade, but his supporting foot was already kicked with immense force, and he lost his balance, falling onto the grass.

The world spun!

”Lance!!!”

”You fucking tackled him, didn’t you?!”

”Referee! Referee!”

Immediately, the pitch was in chaos.

Lance lay on the turf, looking at the pale red sunset in the sky above the stadium. His first thought was:

”It would be nice to lie here and watch the sunset with Chloe.”

...

”Is he okay?”

”Medic, medic!”

The Atlético Madrid players were in a panic.

Their leader, Lance, was on the ground, and everyone’s heart clenched.

Anyone could get hurt, anyone could fall, but not Lance!

Fortunately, the team medic rushed over, shining a torch into Lance’s eyes.

”Lance, can you hear me?”

”Stop shining it, I’m fine.”

Seeing that Lance was still conscious, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The fans in the stadium, including viewers in front of their televisions, held their breath, staring intently as Lance got up with the medic’s help...

At the University of Munich, inside the student halls, Chloe was lying on her bed, her laptop open, looking worried, nervously biting her delicate, fair thumb.

”Hey, Chloe, are you really not going to the party? Everyone’s gone, and Henry, Heinrich, they’re all there.”

Her female roommate was very confused.

On such a beautiful weekend, instead of going to a party, she was locked in her room watching a football match, and it was La Liga?

The people whose names were just mentioned were all popular figures at the University of Munich, handsome and talented upperclassmen.

As long as she could get to know them, she could easily navigate campus life for four years.

With Chloe’s looks and model figure, she could effortlessly charm these upperclassmen, becoming the most dazzling socialite at the University of Munich.

But from the first day she entered university, Chloe was either in the library or watching matches in her room, having almost no social life on campus.

Her wonderful university life was even less fulfilling than secondary school.

Without at least one or two relationships, is university life truly complete?

”Forget it, Laila. You go have fun, you know I have to watch the match.”

”What match is so captivating?”

Laila curiously leant over.

It turned out to be Atlético Madrid vs Barcelona in La Liga.

”I remember you were a Bayer Leverkusen fan, how did you become an Atlético Madrid fan...”

Before Chloe could answer, her roommate Laila suddenly understood.

”Oh, oh, oh, I see... You’re a fan of Lance, no wonder.”

That explained it.

A die-hard fan of Lance.

Falling for such a handsome and skilled football star, no wonder she disdained the boys on campus.

Laila also liked Lance, she had liked him since his time in the Bundesliga.

But she wasn’t as obsessed as Chloe.

Because she knew that Lance was just a distant star.

Chloe clearly treated Lance like a boyfriend.

”You’re really... beyond help.”

On the screen, Lance was being helped up by the medic, seemingly not injured.

Only then did Chloe let out a long sigh of relief.

From her expression, she looked as if she wished she could rush into the screen and lie beside Lance.

”Hehe, he’s fine.”

Lance was physically unharmed, and Chloe was happier than anyone.

”Alright, I’ll watch with you.”

Laila couldn’t bear to leave Chloe alone in the room.

Anyway, Laila was also a nobody at parties. Aside from shrinking into a corner and drinking beer, almost no one came over to talk to her.

Might as well watch the match with the pretty girl and see Lance perform.

”Ah? We’re already trailing?”

”Yes, Barcelona is very strong today.”

Chloe gently bit her lower lip, her Barbie doll-like angelic face etched with a serious expression.

The game had reached the 18th minute of the first half.

Atlético Madrid 0-1 Barcelona.

During the dead ball, the director once again showed fans a replay of the goal.

In the 13th minute of the match, Barcelona’s passing in the attacking third created an opportunity.

Messi dribbled horizontally. He feinted a shot, faking out three defenders in a row, making Godín lunge for the tackle. Messi played a short diagonal pass.

Suárez made a lateral run into the box, and a low shot found the back of the net.

0-1.

Atlético Madrid was on the back foot.

The German commentator Scholl’s tone was anxious:

”To be honest, Lance’s performance today has been average, not reaching the dazzling level of his previous peak. Of course, that’s not to say Lance is playing badly; he’s done what he needs to do.”

”He’s been involved in linking up play in the attacking third, made several attempts at goal, and had three dangerous shots against Ter Stegen... It’s just that Lance needs to perform even better. He needs a miraculous, game-changing performance to help Atlético Madrid win the match.”

”Indeed, the entire Barcelona team is in excellent form today, continuing their perfect run of 14 consecutive La Liga victories. From the front line to the back, every player is like a precisely operating machine. Atlético Madrid, by contrast, can only defend passively...”

The commentator’s description worried both of them.

”It feels like a really tough game, Barcelona is too strong,” Laila couldn’t imagine how Atlético Madrid could win.

Chloe said nothing. She was just silently praying.

”I believe in you, I always believe in you, My King.”

...

Atlético Madrid was at a disadvantage. The home fans sang their team anthem in unison to boost morale.

Interspersed were one or two chants for Lance.

Lance ran tirelessly on the pitch. The fans’ encouragement gave him a lot of strength. At the same time, he could feel a powerful sense of belief pouring in from outside the stadium.

Despite losing the template’s boost, Lance was still running his hardest.

”Iniesta... that ball!! Lance!! Extremely crucial!”

Beautiful!

The commentator couldn’t help but shout.

Iniesta had just beaten a man, burst into the box, and was about to pass to the far post.

Messi and Suárez were closing in, and that goal seemed certain.

Fortunately, Lance tracked back in time. He made a beautiful sliding tackle to dispossess Iniesta, got up, backheeled the ball to evade the press, did a rabona turn, and then accelerated past Rakiti? from the other side!

The dazzling dribble wasn’t over yet. He aimed for the open space on the left, a precise 40-metre long pass found Griezmann!

Barcelona’s high press in the attacking third was instantly nullified by Lance. In the chaotic situation, he carved open a clear attacking route!

”What a play!!!”

The stadium erupted in thunderous applause!

This was the real Lance!

That series of dribbles and the pass, single-handedly opened up the game.

This was the power of a superstar!

Lance himself didn’t care about much else.

He had no time to ponder how he had just done that. Having lost the template’s boost, it was theoretically very difficult to perform such intricate dribbling moves.

Lance had only one thought!

”Charge forward!”

”Attack!!! Attack!!!”

Atlético Madrid, who had been suppressed for nearly 10 minutes, instantly shifted from defence to attack!

In the 37th minute of the match, they finally got a beautiful opportunity!

”Griezmann, dribbling past Alves!!!”

”But Alves is fast! He’s catching up!”

”Griezmann stops the ball and changes direction, trying to go inside, but Alves is sticking to him.”

”Torres drops back to support, passes to Torres, then switches to Saúl on the right...”

”Oh no!! He didn’t pass behind, the Barcelona players have all tracked back.”

Torres played it safe and didn’t attempt a through ball behind the defence.

He played a safe pass to feet.

Saúl on the right could only drop back, receive the ball with his back to goal, and was intercepted by Alba.

Mascherano, Busquets, Rakiti?, and other players had already rushed back, forming two insurmountable walls.

The opening Lance had worked so hard to create seemed to have been filled by Barcelona.

”Hmph, I knew your tactics all along.”

Everything had been calculated by Barcelona manager Luis Enrique. Countering Atlético Madrid’s attacks was simple. No need to rush the tackle. Just hold up Griezmann or Lance, and a quick defensive recovery would allow them to form a compact defensive block with numerical superiority.

The numerical advantage for a quick counter-attack had already been lost.

With equal numbers, Atlético Madrid would find it difficult to break through Barcelona’s interception.

Next, they not only had to organise a positional attack, but also constantly guard against Barcelona’s sudden press. The MSN Trio was lurking in the back, watching like tigers!

A slight mistake, and the attacking opportunity would become the opponent’s!

Saúl was under immense pressure, sandwiched between Alba and Rakiti?. He looked set to lose the ball.

A figure rapidly approached.

Saúl, in desperation, quickly threaded the ball through the gap between the players!

Seeing the face of that person the instant he passed the ball, Saúl’s face lit up with joy!

”Lance!! Perfect timing!”

Originally, without the template, Lance would find it difficult to dribble past defenders. He could only try to patiently organise the passing play.

But at this moment, his mind hadn’t even reacted, his body had already acted first!

”Watch out!”

Before Lance received the ball, Busquets had already rapidly approached. His concealed backward movement was aimed directly at Lance’s ankle. He would be swept to the ground the moment he controlled the ball. And with Busquets’s acting skills, he could very likely deceive the referee, winning the ball and launching a counter-attack without consequence.

Just as everyone was worried about Lance, they saw his body feint, and he actually let the ball pass through his legs!

”What?”

Before Busquets could react, Lance had already quickly ducked and darted past him from the side, turned to receive the ball, and continued to weave into the penalty area!

Heading straight for the heart of the defence!

”Shit!!”

Messi saw this and knew it was bad, quickly running back.

But Lance was like a catfish. He dribbled past Busquets, then performed an ’elastico’ outside the box to shake off Mascherano, and backheeled the ball to change direction and turn, evading Piqué’s interception!

He dribbled past three defenders in a row, and suddenly shot inside the box!

”Lance! Lance! Lance—”

Amidst the commentator’s drumbeat-like urgent shouts, under the tense and shocked gaze of fans worldwide, Lance’s powerful shot, finding an opening, flew straight into the top corner of the goal!!!

”Yes!!!”

Chloe immediately jumped off her bed, ecstatic!

Countless fans in front of their televisions in the distant East celebrated with wild cheers in the dead of night!

The Calderón Stadium erupted like a volcano!

”Gooooooooal!!!”

”Lance performs another miracle!!!”

”Facing an Atlético Madrid disadvantage, he single-handedly equalises the score!!!”

”1 to 1!”