Chapter 41: Victory over Bayern Munich, Advancing to the Finals

Compared to their first encounter, this time Lahm was much more cautious.

The opponent had proven their strength throughout the entire match, so underestimating them now would be a grave mistake.

From their previous encounter, Lahm understood that this guy was equally skilled with both feet, with no weak side.

He could break through from both the left and right sides.

So Lahm couldn't be deceived by his feints; he couldn't rush in recklessly, as that would only result in being easily dribbled past.

Dealing with such a player, the best approach was to call for teammates to come over for support.

But Lahm didn't have any teammates around him now; they were all behind him, about ten meters away beyond the penalty area line.

This distance was enough for the opponent to dribble past him!

And to avoid being dribbled past, the only option was to retreat defensively.

As long as he matched the opponent's speed, kept an appropriate distance, and closed the gap with his teammates, they could outnumber him in the penalty area and double-team him.

Then it would be much simpler to take the ball from him.

Lahm kept retreating, trying to maintain the right distance to avoid being dribbled past.

But Lin Quan wouldn't let him off so easily.

Seeing Lahm backing off, he immediately accelerated.

No matter how fast Lahm was, he couldn't keep up with Lin Quan while retreating.

So Lin Quan's acceleration closed the gap between them significantly.

At this rate, a few more steps, and he would shake off Lahm.

Lahm had no choice but to extend his arms and desperately tug at Lin Quan, trying to prevent him from overtaking.

Bayern's defender Gustavo saw Lahm seemingly holding off Lin Quan and took a risk by stepping up to intercept and try to steal the ball.

However, Lahm was shorter and lighter than Lin Quan, and although he had more experience in physical battles, Lin Quan had the upper hand in overall physical attributes.

So he quickly found himself at a disadvantage in the physical contest, and Lin Quan pushed his arm aside and kicked the ball towards the center.

There, a young player wearing the number 6 green jersey rushed forward from behind and received Lin Quan's pass!

Kevin De Bruyne!

Because Lin Quan drew Kroos away, De Bruyne was left unmarked.

And the moment he received the pass in their own half, he sprinted forward with all his might.

His efforts finally paid off, as he received Lin Quan's pass on the edge of the penalty area.

"Stop him!"

Bayern's defenders were shocked, and Badstuber immediately moved to intercept, leaving Boateng to continue defending Arnautovic.

But his attempt was in vain, as De Bruyne didn't stick to the ball, decisively took a shot, and passed diagonally to the top corner outside the small penalty area.

There, there were no defending or attacking players.

Could it be that De Bruyne's pass was off target?

No!

Just then, a player in a green jersey slipped past the defending player like an eel and received De Bruyne's pass in the empty space before Neuer could reach him.

At the moment of receiving the ball, Lin Quan and Neuer locked eyes from a distance.

There were no obstacles between them now; it was a one-on-one situation!

Lin Quan smiled at Neuer and immediately took a shot.

Neuer saw the direction of the shot and immediately made a save attempt.

But the ball flew past him and into the goal.

The score changed to 3-1, with Werder Bremen leading by two goals away from home against Bayern Munich!

Lin Quan completed his first hat-trick!

With less than five minutes left of regular time, this goal almost guaranteed victory!

It was almost impossible for Bayern to equalize within five minutes!

The stadium fell into a dead silence once again, as Bayern's fans stared dumbfounded at the Werder Bremen players celebrating wildly on the field.

It seemed they couldn't accept this scoreline, losing to an underdog at home!

This was something they never expected before the match, but it happened!

Not to mention them, even the Bayern Munich players didn't expect this outcome.

They seemed stunned, and in the last five minutes, some wanted to continue attacking to salvage the game, while others were afraid of pushing too far forward and conceding more goals, leading to a disaster.

Losing was not terrifying, but losing at home and turning it into a disaster was a bigger blow to their pride and reputation.

The players' thoughts were not unified, resulting in Bayern's attack becoming ineffective.

Meanwhile, inspired by Lin Quan's goal, the Werder Bremen players were high on morale and, instead of being constantly besieged by Bayern, they turned the tables and started pressing hard on Bayern's half of the field.

If it weren't for Bayern's defenders giving their all and holding their defensive line, they might have conceded another goal in the last five minutes.

The main referee noticed Bayern players losing their spirit and didn't even give a minute of injury time. As soon as the sixty minutes were up, he blew the final whistle.

Lin Quan had heard that the Bundesliga had the least added time among Europe's top five leagues, even in the world.

Their referees didn't like overtime, so when the outcome of the match was clear, they often didn't add extra time.

And Bundesliga players seemed accustomed to this; generally, they wouldn't protest.

As soon as the whistle blew, Werder Bremen's players, including substitutes and coaches, rushed onto the field, joining the eleven players already there in wild celebration.

They had actually beaten Bayern Munich, which was almost unbelievable.

Winning this game meant Werder Bremen had made it to the finals, and their opponent in the final would be determined between Borussia Dortmund and Hamburg.

"Coach, we didn't disappoint you with our performance, did we?" the players asked cheerfully when they saw Shauf.

"Of course not. You are my pride, and I'm proud of you. Okay, after celebrating, go thank the fans who came to support us!" Shauf replied.

He then took the players specifically to the east stand to thank the 2000 Werder Bremen fans who attended the match.

After expressing their gratitude, the players returned to the locker room, chatting and laughing.

De Bruyne, however, went out of his way to find the match ball, cleaned it with his jersey, and handed it to Lin Quan.

"What's this?" Lin Quan was a bit puzzled, not sure what De Bruyne was up to.

"Generally, a player who scores three goals in a match, completing a hat-trick, has the right to take the match ball as a souvenir. This should be your first hat-trick in an official match, so you can take this ball as a keepsake!" De Bruyne explained.

"You're thoughtful, thanks!" Lin Quan accepted the ball and borrowed a pen to write the date, time, opponent, and his own name on it before handing it back to De Bruyne.

"Huh?" De Bruyne looked puzzled, staring at Lin Quan.

"This was our first official match playing together, so I'm giving you this ball as a memento. When you perform a hat-trick in the future, don't forget to send me a gift too!" Lin Quan grinned.

"Sure, I'll remember this!" De Bruyne nodded seriously.

After taking a shower in the locker room, Lin Quan received a call from Guardiola.

"Hey, Pep, did you watch my game?" Lin Quan immediately guessed that Guardiola had watched the live broadcast of the match.

What he didn't know was that Guardiola wasn't watching the live broadcast; he was actually at the match.

"Yes, I watched the game. You played well. I'm proud of you. But I have a question: when did you move to the winger position?" Guardiola asked.

When he saw Werder Bremen's starting lineup, Guardiola felt something was off.

"Well, our coach has a keen eye and thought I would perform better on the wing, so he arranged it that way!" Lin Quan couldn't tell Guardiola that he had inherited Messi's attributes, so he had to credit (blame) Coach Shauf.

"I see. I've heard that Thomas Shauf is a legendary coach, but I didn't expect him to be so bold and insightful in using young players. I'll have to learn from him in this regard!" Guardiola said.

On the other end of the phone, Guardiola didn't know the truth. Hearing Lin Quan's explanation, he became very interested in Werder Bremen's head coach.

"Okay, after your game against Dortmund tomorrow, I'll come over personally to visit you and, at the same time, discuss team tactics with your coach!"