Compared to their first encounter, Lahm was much more cautious this time.
His opponent had already proven his ability over an entire match. If Lahm still underestimated him now, he would truly be blind.
Their previous encounter had made Lahm realize that this guy was equally adept with both feet and had no weaker foot.
He could break through from the left or from the right.
So Lahm could not be fooled by his feints or recklessly stick out a foot. That would only let his opponent get past him easily.
The best way to deal with such a player was to call his teammates over for support.
But Lahm had no teammates beside him right now. They were behind the edge of the penalty area, around ten meters away.
That distance was enough for his opponent to get past him!
And if he did not want to be beaten, the only option was to retreat.
As long as he matched his opponent's pace, kept an appropriate distance, and closed the gap to his teammates, they could use their numerical advantage to trap him once they reached the penalty area.
Then winning the ball from his feet would become much easier.
Lahm kept backing away, trying to maintain a suitable distance so he would not be beaten.
How could Lin Quan let him have his way?
Seeing his opponent retreat, he immediately accelerated.
No matter how fast Lahm was, he could not keep up with Lin Quan while retreating.
With that burst of speed from Lin Quan, the distance between them immediately closed considerably.
At this rate, after a few more touches, he would leave Lahm behind.
Lahm had no choice but to spread his arms and desperately tug at Lin Quan, preventing him from getting past.
Bayern defender Gustavo saw that Lahm seemed to have held Lin Quan up, so he risked stepping forward to try to win the ball.
Lahm was shorter and lighter than Lin Quan. Although he had more experience in physical battles, the raw physical difference was right there.
So he quickly fell behind in the tussle. Lin Quan pushed his arm aside and, before Gustavo's foot could reach the ball, kicked it toward the middle.
There, a young player in a green number 6 shirt charged forward from behind and received Lin Quan's pass!
Kevin De Bruyne!
Because Lin Quan had drawn Kroos away, De Bruyne was completely unmarked.
The moment he had passed the ball from his own half, he had sprinted forward with all his strength.
His effort was finally rewarded. At the edge of the penalty area, he received Lin Quan's pass.
"Stop him!"
The Bayern defenders were terrified. Badstuber immediately stepped up to intercept him, leaving only Boateng to continue marking Arnautovic.
His challenge achieved nothing. De Bruyne did not dwell on the ball and decisively sent a diagonal pass toward the far corner outside the six-yard box.
There were neither defenders nor attackers there.
Had De Bruyne misplaced his pass?
No!
At that moment, a player in green slipped past the defenders like an eel and received De Bruyne's pass in open space.
The instant he controlled the ball, Lin Quan and Neuer locked eyes across the gap.
There was nothing between them now. It was a one-on-one!
Lin Quan smiled at Neuer and struck the ball directly.
Seeing the direction of the shot, Neuer immediately made his save.
But the ball beat him into the net.
The score became 3–1. Werder Bremen had taken a two-goal lead over Bayern Munich away from home!
Lin Quan had completed the first hat trick of his career!
There were less than five minutes left in normal time. That goal had all but sealed the victory!
For Bayern to level the score within five minutes was practically impossible!
The stadium once again fell into deathly silence. Bayern's fans stared dumbfounded at the Werder Bremen players celebrating wildly on the pitch.
They seemed unable to accept the scoreline. They had actually lost at home to a weak side!
It was something they could never have imagined before the match, yet it had happened!
Not only had the fans not expected it, Bayern Munich's players had not expected this outcome either.
They looked as though they had been stunned senseless. Over the final five minutes, some wanted to keep attacking and salvage the defeat.
Others feared that pushing too far forward would lead to another conceded goal and turn the loss into a rout.
Losing was not frightening, but suffering a rout at home would deal an even greater blow to their pride and reputation.
The players could not agree with one another, leaving Bayern's attack utterly toothless.
Meanwhile, Werder Bremen's players, inspired by Lin Quan's goal, were brimming with morale. They cast off their earlier predicament of being besieged by Bayern and instead began relentlessly attacking Bayern's half.
If Bayern's defenders had not fought with everything they had to hold their line, they might have conceded another goal in those final five minutes.
Seeing that Bayern's players had lost their fighting spirit, the referee did not even award a single minute of stoppage time. The moment sixty minutes were up, he blew the final whistle.
Lin Quan had long heard that the Bundesliga was the league with the least stoppage time among Europe's Top Five Leagues, perhaps even in the world.
Their referees did not like working overtime, so when the outcome was no longer in doubt, they often did not add any stoppage time.
Bundesliga players seemed accustomed to this as well and generally did not protest.
The moment the whistle sounded, Werder Bremen's players, including the young players on the bench and the coaches, rushed onto the pitch and celebrated wildly with the eleven players on the field.
They had actually beaten Bayern Munich. It was almost unbelievable.
Winning this match meant that Werder Bremen had reached the final, where they would face either Dortmund or Hamburg.
"Coach, we didn't disappoint you, did we?"
When the players saw Schaaf, they grinned and asked him.
"Of course not. You are my pride, and I'm proud of you. All right, after celebrating, go thank the fans who came to support us!"
After saying that, he led the players to the east stand to thank the two thousand Werder Bremen fans who had come to watch the match.
After thanking them, the players returned to the locker room laughing and chatting.
De Bruyne deliberately found the match ball, wiped it clean with his shirt, and stuffed it into Lin Quan's arms.
"What are you doing?"
Lin Quan was rather confused and had no idea what he was up to.
"Generally speaking, after scoring three goals in a match, the player who completes the hat trick has the right to take the match ball home as a souvenir.
This should be your first hat trick in an official match, right? So you can take this ball home and keep it!"
"You're quite thoughtful. Thanks!"
Naturally, Lin Quan would not waste his goodwill. After taking the ball, he borrowed a pen, wrote down the time, date, and opponent on it, then signed his name.
Then he handed the ball to De Bruyne.
"Hm?"
De Bruyne did not react at first and looked at Lin Quan with a puzzled expression.
"This was our first official match fighting side by side. I'm giving you this ball as a memento. When you pull off a hat trick someday, don't forget to give me a return gift!"
"Okay, I'll remember this!"
De Bruyne nodded seriously!
After returning to the locker room and just finishing his shower, Lin Quan received a call from Guardiola.
"Hello, Pep. Did you watch my match?"
Receiving Guardiola's call at this time, Lin Quan immediately guessed that Guardiola had watched the televised broadcast.
What he did not know was that Guardiola had not watched it on television. In fact, he was at the stadium.
"Yes, I watched the match. You played well, and I'm proud of you. But I have a question: when did you move to the wing?"
When Guardiola saw Werder Bremen's starting formation, he had felt that something was off.
"Well, perhaps our coach recognized my talent and thought I played better as a winger, so he made that arrangement!"
Lin Quan could not tell Guardiola that he had acquired Messi's attributes, so he could only give Schaaf the credit—or the blame.
"I see. I had long heard that Head Coach Thomas Schaaf was a legendary coach, but I never expected him to be so bold and perceptive in his use of young players. That is something I need to learn from him!"
Guardiola, on the other end of the line, did not know the truth. Hearing Lin Quan's explanation, he immediately became deeply interested in Werder Bremen's Head Coach.
"How about this? After your match against Dortmund tomorrow, I'll come over myself. I'll visit you and take the opportunity to discuss team tactics and such with your Head Coach!"
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