After coming on, Lin Quan immediately received a pass from De Bruyne.
Others might not have known how good Lin Quan was, but De Bruyne, who had been tormented into doubting his life during training, knew better than anyone!
After taking the ball, Lin Quan raced down the wing at full speed.
The opponent's left midfielder wearing number 13 immediately stepped up to defend.
Seeing that Lin Quan was quite young and had an Asian face,
the opponent looked down on him, seemingly believing that Asian players could not play football.
As he closed in on Lin Quan, he spat out some trash talk:
"Kid, the football pitch isn't for Asians. You should go back and play table tennis!"
Lin Quan glanced at him and said with a smile, "I'm going to get past you on your left!"
What?
This little brat!
He actually dared to provoke him!
Before he could retort, Lin Quan's right shoulder dipped slightly, his body leaned to the right, and the ball moved to his right foot.
He really wanted to break through on his left!
Cottbus's wide midfielder instinctively chose to block the route down his own left. No matter what, he could not let the other player get past him on that side!
He could not afford that humiliation!
However, just as he thought Lin Quan would break through on his left, the ball returned to Lin Quan's left foot. At the same time, Lin Quan had already shifted his balance the instant he nudged the ball!
Damn it, he fooled me. He's going to break through on my right!
So he gave it everything he had, twisting his body awkwardly as he lunged to the right, trying to stop Lin Quan's advance.
But when he threw himself to the right, Lin Quan had already vanished from sight!
Damn, I got fooled!
Number 13 sensed something was wrong and looked back. Sure enough, Lin Quan had already charged into their half.
He had really gotten past him on his left!
"Damn it, what is that idiot Kemur doing? How did he let a sixteen-year-old kid get past him so easily?"
On Cottbus's bench, their starting left midfielder had been beaten with just a few simple touches.
The Head Coach flew into a rage!
On the home side's bench, however, Head Coach Schaaf and his two assistants exchanged glances after seeing Lin Quan effortlessly beat his man. All three could not help but smile.
"This kid just feels different when he dribbles past people!"
"Yes, I feel the same way. Other players have to use every trick they know and rack their brains just to beat someone once, but for him, it's as easy as eating and drinking!"
"In front of him, defenders are like training cones. They're completely useless!"
"I was worried that his dribbling tricks would only work in training. I never expected him to dare use them in a match, and he's using them so smoothly, without the slightest hesitation or fear!"
"Heh, I noticed it too. This kid has a maturity that doesn't match his age!"
Although Lin Quan had only completed one dribble since coming on, everyone on the bench had already been completely reassured.
They had long known about Lin Quan's technical ability. Their only concern was whether he would dare show those skills in a real match.
Now that they saw Lin Quan showing no stage fright and boldly using his dribbling skills, they could finally relax.
Of the three players brought in on loan, two had met or even exceeded their expectations.
That came as a pleasant surprise to the coaching staff, and it gave them greater hopes for the new season.
While securing survival, could they perhaps dream of making a breakthrough in the cup competitions as well?
In the livestream chat, after Lin Quan came on and completed a dribble,
some fans supporting Lin Quan began tagging the viewers who had called him a mascot earlier.
"Where are the people who called Brother Lin a mascot? Come out and take a walk!"
"Heh, with a dribble that sharp, change his shirt and I'd believe you if you said he was Messi! A mascot? Can your mascot beat people like that?"
The people being tagged were unconvinced:
"What are you so pleased about? The other side is just a garbage team from the second division. That number 13 can't even play football. What's so impressive about getting past him? Let him beat another player if he's so capable!"
Huang Wei had no time for the argument in the comments. He stared fixedly at the computer screen, unwilling to miss a single moment!
Seeing Lin Quan get past their wide midfielder, Cottbus's defensive midfielder immediately moved toward him.
At the same time, the left back stepped up to block his route forward with the ball, preparing to work with the defensive midfielder to stop the attack and launch a counterattack on the spot.
Lin Quan did not slow down. He continued driving forward, then when the defensive midfielder stuck out a foot to intercept, he shifted the ball sideways past him and cut inside into the opponent's half-space.
This time, Cottbus's two center backs had no choice but to step up and close him down.
They absolutely could not let him pass the ball from this position. If he got it through, the opposing striker could shoot directly after receiving it.
Nils Petersen, the striker loaned from Bayern, might not have been a great finisher, but his movement was highly flexible.
By then, he had already found space in the opponent's penalty area. If Lin Quan passed the ball, he would be through one-on-one.
So Petersen began raising his hand to call for it, shouting in his heart, Pass it, pass it, pass it now!
But how could Lin Quan, surrounded by defenders, see his signal? Even if he did, he might not have been able to make the pass at that moment.
His path was almost entirely filled with the legs of opposing defenders, packed so densely that there was not even the slightest gap!
Seeing that their center backs had blocked Lin Quan's path forward, the tracking defensive midfielder immediately launched into a sliding tackle.
Even if it meant conceding a free kick in a dangerous area, he had to teach the other side a lesson and stop this kid from being so arrogant!
But it was as though Lin Quan had eyes in the back of his head. The moment the tackle came in, he lightly jumped over it and avoided the interception.
Messi had often been tackled from behind and at an angle during his professional career. Having inherited the experience of Messi's eight-year professional career, Lin Quan had long anticipated his opponent's intentions.
However, avoiding the tackle caused the ball to get slightly too far away from Lin Quan.
That gave the opposing fullback a chance to win it. He immediately stretched out his long leg, trying to intercept the ball.
But before he could touch it, another foot had already kicked the ball away first.
Unable to pull his leg back in time, the fullback kicked Lin Quan and sent him stumbling.
The referee had already put the whistle to his lips. The moment Lin Quan fell, he would blow for a foul.
The opponent had missed the ball and kicked the man instead. It was an indisputable foul, and the referee had seen it clearly from nearby.
But following the principle of allowing advantage, he did not blow the whistle immediately before Lin Quan had completely lost control of the ball.
Before falling, Lin Quan braced himself against the turf with one hand, quickly got back to his feet, and reclaimed the ball before the opposing center back could clear it.
At that point, his run with the ball had changed from a vertical drive into a lateral one.
Seeing that he was about to charge into the penalty area, the other center back immediately barged toward him, trying to knock him down with his shoulder or force him out of position and make him lose control of the ball.
But Lin Quan shifted his body to the right, dodged the collision, took a large touch forward, and burst into the penalty area.
Now, only the opposing right back and goalkeeper remained in front of him.
Cottbus's right back did not dare foul inside the penalty area. He put his hands behind his back and stared at the ball at Lin Quan's feet, ready to stick out a foot and block him at any moment.
Lin Quan glanced at the goalkeeper's position, nudged the ball to the right, suddenly accelerated, and cut diagonally toward the right side of the goal.
The move was too fast. The opposing right back could not keep up with the rhythm and immediately lost his defensive position, leaving him with no choice but to slide in.
If he got the ball, he would be the team's hero.
If he missed the ball and kicked the man instead, he would definitely receive the red-card-and-penalty double punishment and instantly become the team's sinner.
Seeing that Lin Quan had created an angle and could shoot at any moment, the goalkeeper
immediately crouched down with his hands low. He shuffled forward quickly to close down the shooting angle while preparing to make the save.
But Lin Quan, sprinting at full speed, had little time or angle left to adjust his body.
So before the goalkeeper could completely close down the angle, he could only throw himself into a sliding shot.
The ball rolled past the goalkeeper's right side at tremendous speed. The goalkeeper instinctively tried to block it with his foot, but he was still a step too late.
When he looked back, the ball had already rolled into the goal and was bouncing around in the net.
At the sidelines, nearly everyone on the home and away benches and coaching staffs stood up, staring wide-eyed at Cottbus's goal.
That goal reminded them of Messi's goal of the century in the 2010–2011 Champions League semifinal between Barcelona and Real Madrid!
No one had expected that someone could actually recreate it!
Before you continue