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Chapter 250 Champions League Top Scorer, Restarted!

Almost everyone was focused on finding signs of nervousness in Tyne's first Champions League appearance, scrutinizing every Tyne player—especially those who had never played in the Champions League before.

If someone accidentally misjudges the ball, passes it too far, or doesn't shoot well, they'll wonder if they're nervous.
Aside from those who were actually hoping to embarrass Tyne, there were also many Tyne fans.

But no one expected that Tyne would score the first goal!
"Look at this ball..."

Even Chinese commentator Luo Jin, when he saw the ball being passed to Wang Lie, only said something perfunctorily, without having much hope for the outcome of the attack.

It wasn't that he looked down on Wang Lie, but rather that during this attack, Wang Lie hadn't actually created any space—he was being marked by Lille's defensive midfielder, Samuel Adrani.

So when the ball went into the goal, Luo Jin was also momentarily stunned:
"what……"

Of course, his transition was excellent, and he immediately shouted excitedly, "Aha! Wang Lie! Wow! That shot! That was beautiful! Wang Lie has scored the first Champions League goal in the history of Tyne Club!"

Zhao Chuanfeng also praised Wang Lie's performance: "He ran to the near post and shot to the far post! He fully demonstrated Wang Lie's superb shooting skills! Logically speaking, this wasn't a great opportunity, but Wang Lie's outstanding individual ability turned what seemed like a bad chance into a goal!"

※※※

"Anderson Nova... a cutback pass... Wow... Wow!!! Goal!! Unbelievable! A goal!! The first goal was scored by Tyne! Tyne, making his Champions League debut!!"

At the Miners' Bar, all the fans, including Tang Lin, jumped up from their seats.

Because the attack before the goal looked like an ordinary attacking opportunity, everyone just sat in their chairs and watched the game.

Only when the football flew into the goal did they jump up from their chairs and cheer.

"Aaaaaah!! Am I dreaming?! We're actually in the lead?!" Robbie Dixie raised his arms, his eyes wide, his face filled with disbelief.

No one answered him, because everyone was cheering.

The enormous surprise shocked each and every one of them.

Since that send-off ceremony, there has been a lot of criticism and ridicule of Tyne's fans online.

In fact, those comments that mocked them as country bumpkins and unsophisticated couldn't hurt them.

Because they admit they are country bumpkins, and that they have never seen the world.

We might get excited and even lose our composure over our first-ever Champions League match, so what?
We don't exist to please you!
However, the criticism that their actions would put more pressure on the team is something that everyone is very concerned about.

After all, they didn't want their good intentions to end up being the culprits who dragged the team down.

So from the time Tyne went to Lille until Wang Lie's goal, Tyne fans were in this state of worry.

Fearing the team might actually perform poorly...

Now that they saw Wang Lie score, a huge weight was finally lifted off their shoulders.

In any case, the team didn't seem to be so nervous about how to play because of their grand farewell ceremony...

※※※

After scoring, Wang Lie didn't run to the corner flag to celebrate. Instead, he punched the huge banner that read "Welcome to the Champions League".

Three years later, his Champions League career restarted.

He knew this was definitely not his last goal in the Champions League!
Welcome to the Champions League?

That's right, you should definitely welcome me, because I am the all-time top scorer in the Champions League!

Wang Lie, who was throwing a punch, was quickly grabbed from behind by his teammates.

Ribeiro hugged Wang Lie and shouted, "Ahhh! Wang! You did it! You did it! Three years! Three years! Do you know how I survived these three years?!"

His voice was still choked with sobs, as if he were even more agitated than Wang Lie himself…

Outsiders might be surprised and puzzled by his behavior.

But Ribeiro himself knew that he was definitely not acting in an abstract way.

Over the past three years, he has seen many people online who believe that his god-like status is over and who have vowed that Wang Lie's era is over. They believe he should accept the fact that he is leaving the mountain, step into the shadows, and give the center stage to the more popular and younger players.

Ribeiro initially used a pseudonym to speak up for Wang Lie and argue with those people—the reason he didn't use his real name was because his manager wouldn't allow it, fearing that if this person got carried away with his emotions, he would speak recklessly and cause a lot of trouble.

After all, when he mentioned in an interview that Wang Lie was his idol, a flood of trolls would rush in to hurl insults and sarcastic remarks at him. If he dared to use his main account to fight back against those trolls, he'd probably be orphaned on the spot and explode...

Later, every time Ribeiro's alternate account spoke up for Wang Lie, it would fall into endless mockery and sarcastic remarks, as well as verbal battles with the other party.

He couldn't convince those who disliked and rejected Wang Lie. No matter how he recounted Wang Lie's past achievements, the haters always repeated, "That was in the past," "It was all marketing," and "He's leeching off the whole team."

So Ribeiro gradually stopped arguing with people online.

He just felt frustrated.

Just because a player is on the decline in his career, he has to endure such shameless ridicule. There is no respect or reverence for a legendary player. Moreover, they will find many specious fallacies to justify their slander, as if it is only natural for them to mock Wang Lie and that Wang Lie deserves it.

He felt it was wrong, but he couldn't change other people's opinions, much less change the prevailing trend.

He could only remain silent.

He had originally thought he would remain silent and resentful, burying his respect and love for Wang Lie deep in his heart, never to mention it again...

It wasn't until Wang Lie transferred to Tyne and watched Tyne's performance and ranking rise steadily in the Premier League that the fire in his heart was rekindled.

When he heard Wang Lie issue the hero's order at the contract renewal ceremony, he had no other thoughts in his mind but to go to Tyne and fight alongside his god, and to uphold the god's dignity with practical actions.

No matter what method he used, even if it meant falling out with his former club, Milan City, and being accused of being ungrateful by Milan City fans, he was willing to do it.

He even felt that this was a "divine revelation"—that he had been allowed to witness the descent of God at the Champions League final in Lisbon so that he could become God's right-hand man at that moment.

He couldn't afford to miss this opportunity, because it was God's will.

Seeing Ribeiro excitedly hug Wang Lie and cry during the live broadcast, everyone—from commentators and fans to professional media reporters—broke into laughter.

I think Ribeiro is a bit abstract.

Even those who support Wang Lie think Ribeiro's actions are excessive.

Soon enough, memes and GIFs of him crying appeared online, drawing a lot of teasing.

Wang Lie did not laugh at Ribeiro for his loss of composure, but instead hugged him tightly.

※※※

After Wang Lie scored, the noise at Asker City Stadium subsided considerably, with only the cheers of Tyne fans remaining.

However, their numbers were too small to cover the entire area.

The largest group of fans, Atlético Lille, were caught off guard.

When people see the soccer ball fly into the net, many people's first reaction is not that the ball went in, but that it slid just off the line...

It wasn't until they saw the side netting of the goal being lifted that many of them realized Lille had conceded a goal...

This is even harder to accept—our Atlético Lille, the runner-up of last season's Ligue 1, a traditional powerhouse that has consistently participated in European competitions almost every year, has actually been defeated on home soil by a country bumpkin team that is participating in the Champions League for the first time in its more than 100-year history!

Before the match, almost all Lille Atlético fans were full of confidence in their team, believing they would achieve a complete victory over Tyne at home.

有些球迷在面对媒体镜头的时候，还比出了“3:0”“4:0”……甚至是“5:0”的手势。

Regardless of their final differences in predicting how many goals the team would win by, they at least shared one consensus: none of them believed Tyne would score...

what?
You said Wang Lie is in great form lately? Tyne is on fire, currently top of the Premier League? But that's the Premier League; this is the Champions League…

But they all forgot that the man in front of them was the all-time top scorer in the Champions League!

Lille fans stood silently in the stands, stunned and unable to accept the reality of being outmaneuvered by the country bumpkins, Tyne.

When Lille's head coach Youssef Chapchet saw the ball conceded, he leaned back sharply and sighed deeply.

Despite his pre-match instructions to his players to strengthen their defense against Wang Lie, Wang Lie still managed to score a goal.

Samuel Adrani, the defensive midfielder responsible for marking Wang Lie, actually did a very good job. He followed Wang Lie from outside the penalty area all the way into the penalty area, almost never leaving him.

Moreover, the moment Wang Lie took the shot, Adrani did not hesitate to collide with him, actively seeking physical contact in an attempt to interfere with Wang Lie.

Even after achieving this, Wang Lie still managed to score a sudden goal thanks to his exceptional ability to play without a weak foot.

Like a thunderclap out of nowhere, without any warning, and then the ball went in...

Before the match, he guessed that Wang Lie would perform very well, and he was right!

However, he would rather he hadn't guessed correctly...

Having been mentally prepared, Chapchett quickly composed himself after his solitary sigh, walked to the sidelines, whistled at his players, reassured them with gestures, and told them not to panic.

They had considered the possibility of conceding a goal before the match.

I just didn't expect to concede the first goal after just over twenty minutes in the first half...

But it's okay. No matter how you concede a goal, you have to stay calm and not let the opponent take you down in one go. Considering the attacking prowess that Tyne has shown in the Premier League, this is not an exaggeration.

Therefore, he warned his players before the game that if they lost the ball, they should not rush to come back immediately, but should first consolidate their defense and withstand the storm of attacks that Tyne might launch.

So, does shrinking the defensive line guarantee a successful defense?
Chapchett didn't know that, but he did know that if the team pushed forward to attack Tyne after conceding a goal, the chances of conceding another goal were much greater than the chances of quickly equalizing the score.

Judging from the starting lineup that Tyne fielded before the game, Chapchett could somewhat guess McNeil's thoughts on the left wing.

This is a very aggressive head coach.

He often employs tactics that seem overly risky in matches, and he is not afraid to take the risks.

For example, in the second round of the Premier League, McNeil insisted on using a new tactic when facing defending champions Clayton Sports away from home, even though his own tactics were not yet fully formed, which almost caused the team to lose the game away from home.

If it weren't for Wang Lie's miraculous performance, Tyne's longest unbeaten streak in team history would have been limited to thirteen games.

Therefore, Chapchett believes that McNeil's decision to start the more offensively-minded Anderson Nova instead of the more balanced Charlie Cohen was clearly aimed at focusing on attacking down the left flank, prioritizing offense in the away game, and striving to score early and take the lead.

In retrospect, McNeill's tactical objectives have been achieved.

Aggressiveness is indeed a good fit for a team that is young, fearless, and full of youthful vigor.

But being radical also means taking more risks.

※※※

McNeil has recovered from the huge surprise of the goal.

Then he faced a choice:

What's the next step?
He didn't give the team any instructions on how to attack aggressively from the start; this goal was a complete surprise.

His original plan was to slowly maneuver against Atlético Lille away from home, giving his team more time to adapt to the pace of the Champions League.

Although the pace of the Premier League is already very fast, the Champions League is even faster.

He was still worried that the players wouldn't adapt.

Unexpectedly, Wang Lie scored a goal just twenty minutes into the game.

Tyne is now leading by one goal, and it's easy to imagine how fierce a comeback they'll face from the home team away from home...

A one-goal lead isn't safe!
This score is far from safe.

The cautious McNeil decided to take the initiative to seek a safer approach.

"...Atletico Lille probably didn't expect us to score first and take the lead. So they'll definitely be in disarray after conceding. I think we need to intensify our attack and capitalize on the chaos to score again. If we can take a two-goal lead in the first half, it will make the rest of the game much easier for us..."

Sam McNeil covered his mouth and said to assistant coach Cesar Varo standing next to him.

Varo confirmed with him: "Continue the attack?"

McNeil hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded: "Continue the attack and keep putting pressure on Atlético Lille."

Varo nodded, walked to the sidelines, and gestured to the Tyne players, who had finished celebrating and were running back to their half of the field, to intensify their attack.

※※※

"...After taking the lead, Tyne didn't slow down; instead, they intensified their attack! Their left-back, Anderson Nova, almost turned into a left winger!"

"Katic launched a long pass from the backfield to Wang! Wang won the aerial duel against Lille's center-back Yassin Meyer! Cabella received the ball, cut inside, and shot! Vinier made a brilliant save! He pushed Cabella's shot out for a corner!"

"Taine's attacks have been incredibly fierce lately, while Lille Athletic have retreated very deep, giving Taine almost all the space outside their 30-meter zone. It's making you wonder whose home ground this is..."

"Wang—header!! Oops, just a little over! He holds his head in his hands, looking very disappointed..."

"Vitini... He's past one! And another! He's like he's conquering the left flank! He's in! A curling shot towards the far corner! Oops... it's wide!"

During the ten minutes that Wang Lie scored, the commentators exclaimed in similar surprises one after another.

All the highlights came from Tyne's offense.

The highlights featuring the home team, Atlético Lille, on television were almost entirely their desperate, even somewhat disheveled, defensive plays.

For example, in this instance, Vitini used the same tactic again, suddenly changing direction from the wing to cut inside into the penalty area. Then, facing the Lille defender who came up to mark him, he kept his upper body still while raising his right foot and shaking it at a very fast frequency, leaving the Lille defender confused about what he was going to do next.

At this moment, he suddenly flicked the ball towards the center with the outside of his right foot, and then followed up with a shot!

The ball deflected off a defender, leaving Lille's goalkeeper Laurent Vinier unable to make a save.

Just as Tyne's fans in front of their TVs were preparing to raise their arms in celebration.

The ball was kicked away by Lille Atlético's left-back Amadou Tutu, who rushed to the goal and kicked it almost out of bounds!
"what--"

In the miners' bar, all the Tyne fans who had previously raised their arms clasped their hands down and hugged their heads.

But they quickly rallied. Robbie Dixie, watching Vitini on the TV screen with his hands on his head, biting his lower lip, his face contorted with regret and even a hint of rage, shouted, "It's okay, it's okay! Keep playing! We'll definitely score more goals!"

His words were echoed by others:

"Yes! Let the Champions League get to know us!"

"We not only want our first Champions League goal! We also want our first Champions League point! Our first Champions League victory!"

The enthusiastic atmosphere filled the small bar with the roars of the fans, and then spread out through the cracks in the door.

At this very moment, countless bars like this in the city are filled with the same frenzy.

The Newcastle night sky was ignited by the passion of the fans; the air seemed to dance and rise like flames over the city.

(End of this chapter)