Soccer: Maxed-out ball control, the skill is too overpowered.

Chapter 231 Too silly! Leverkusen's title crisis

Good news: Fusion value 100%

Theoretically, there should be a new template.

Bad news: The system is still the same old thing, a belated but finally arriving system upgrade.

"When will this upgrade be completed?"

Lu Xiao had been staring at the message "[System upgrade in progress... Please wait!]" for the past two days.

The system remained completely silent for half a day.

This was the case after the 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid at the Calderón Stadium.

Under normal circumstances, Lu Xiao doesn't need to be in a hurry.

If the system upgrades are slow, let it upgrade slowly.

But this period happens to be the most intense part of the competition schedule.

Facing two strong teams, Wolfsburg and Atletico Madrid, in succession

Four days later, on February 22, 2015, the 22nd round of the Bundesliga will take place, with Bayer Leverkusen playing away against Augsburg.

On February 28th, Bundesliga Round 23, Bayer Leverkusen vs. Freiburg;

On March 9th, in the 24th round of the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen will play away against Paderborn.

On March 12th, the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16 will see Bayer Leverkusen face Atletico Madrid!

It's not two matches a week, but these matches are all very important.

There's no room for error in the league; we need to fight Bayern for points and contend for the title.

The Champions League is even more crucial, and with the first leg ending in a 1-1 draw, they hold a slight advantage.

However, if a mistake is made, Leverkusen could be eliminated by Atletico Madrid.

Unfortunately, the system is still upgrading at this critical juncture!

Lu Xiao can't even change the template.

Furthermore, it's impossible to accumulate rage points during the match, and it's also impossible to use the [Assist Mode] to summon another template.

Until the system update, Lu Xiao could only continue to use the [Bee Joy Return] template and 3 skills in the competition.

……

February 22nd, Bundesliga Round 22,

At halftime, Augsburg led Bayer Leverkusen 2-0.

This match looked ridiculous, and the content of the match itself was equally ridiculous.

Lu Xiao played the full 90 minutes in the Champions League match, but he has been temporarily placed on the bench to rest.

Other key players who also rested include Maguire, Van Dijk, and De Bruyne.

Harry Maguire's blunder in the Champions League match, where he was "one-on-one" with Joshua Kimmich, was widely reported by the German media, making him one of the most talked-about defenders in Europe...

Even black and red are still red, so let's just say they're not famous!

……

Lothar Matthäus once publicly commented on Harry Maguire's "defensive comedic performance":

"This defender doesn't deserve to be in the squad of a top Bundesliga team; he's only suited for a mid-to-lower table Premier League team."

It's unlikely that any wealthy family will want him in the future.

This is no longer the era of long passes and crosses; nobody attacks with high balls head-on anymore.

Whether it's possession or counter-attacking, penetrating the space behind the defense is the key.

Clearly, Maguire's slow turning speed is an easy problem to exploit.

His weaknesses will be exploited relentlessly by his opponents…

Bild even used more exaggerated language to describe the match against Atletico Madrid:

"Low-level mistakes ruin a winning game; fans call for England's culprits to go back to the other side!"

An English center-back acquired from Sheffield United

He was heavily criticized by the media and fans.

Jokes and memes are flying everywhere on social media platforms like Twitter.

These factors have seriously affected the young center-back who just turned 22.

He used to have a kind, gentle smile on his face, but now you can't see that smile anymore.

He also became quiet and reserved in the locker room.

Seeing that Harry Maguire was not in a good mood, Sasha and Hyypia decided to give him some time to cool off.

Just then, Rüdiger recovered from his muscle strain and returned to the court.

In this match against Augsburg,

Van Dijk was rested, and the central defensive pairing of Rudiger and Spahic started.

……

That's how it turned out; they conceded two goals in the first half.

Spahic, who had been out of action for a long time, performed even worse than Maguire.

Maguire can at least mark men,

34-year-old Pochettino center-back Spahic is now left with no one in sight.

In the 12th minute of the match, the opponent's quick counter-attack easily broke through Spahic's defense.

That's bad enough, but what's even more fatal is that Spasic is a stress monster.

Instead of reflecting on their own performance after conceding the goal, they pressured their teammate Rudiger for not marking him properly.

The two almost got into a fight on the field.

This affected the teammates' mentality, leading to another goal conceded before the end of the first half.

"WTF???"

Sitting on the bench, Lu Xiao was stunned by what he saw, and he and De Bruyne looked at each other in disbelief.

Back in the locker room, Rüdiger almost got into a fight with Spahic.

"Hey! Who are you talking about, you idiot?"

"You pig! You're a pig!"

Rüdiger was tall and burly, with a dark and tough appearance that gave him a fierce look.

Spasic, a veteran of Bayer Leverkusen, fears no one and went head-to-head with Rüdiger.

The two were about to fight, nose to nose.

They were pulled apart by Lu Xiao and Harry Maguire.

"Calm down!"

Lu Xiao's words carry weight. He is the team's third captain, the team's soul, and has a good relationship with everyone. He is also a user of the "Face Fruit" ability.

For Lu Xiao's sake, Spasic finally parted ways with Rüdiger.

"It's all my fault, I'm sorry."

Harry Maguire, on the other hand, began to blame himself.

"Not a child?"

Lu Xiao was completely confused.

"What are you apologizing for?"

"If I were stronger, things wouldn't be like this now. I'm afraid... I'm simply not suited for the top league."

In theory, this is indeed Harry Maguire's first top-flight league season.

It's really crazy to travel thousands of miles across the sea to play football in Germany.

The main reason for the invitation was the simultaneous invitation from both Hull City, a Europa League team, and Bayer Leverkusen, a Champions League semi-finalist.

No one can refuse Leverkusen.

I didn't expect the Bundesliga to be so tough.

"Harry, I'm going to say something that you should remember whether you believe it or not."

In these extraordinary times, Lu Xiao had no choice but to resort to extraordinary measures. He looked at Maguire with a serious expression.

Maguire did not look down on Lu Xiao because of his age.

No one on the team underestimated Lu Xiao.

"you say."

"Harry, you'll be a key defender for the England national team in the future, possibly even a regular starter for a top club like Manchester United. You'll be one of the world's best center-backs..."

"this……"

Harry Maguire couldn't believe that Lu Xiao had such a high opinion of him.

England's main players?

World-class center-back?

Maguire wouldn't even dare to dream of it!

Playing in the Champions League has already fulfilled his lifelong dream. If he can win the Bundesliga title with Bayer Leverkusen and realize his championship dream,

Maguire has no regrets in this life.

Is it possible for my career to take another step forward?

"Believe me, you can do much more than this. One or two mistakes don't matter, and being ridiculed by the entire internet doesn't matter either."

That's how public opinion works; if you play poorly, you'll be trampled into the abyss by everyone.

But as long as you perform well enough

Public opinion can also pull you out of the abyss and elevate you to a pedestal.

Remember, public opinion is always something you create yourself.

Seeing Maguire's dazed expression, Lu Xiao knew he needed time to process it, so she simply ignored him.

De Bruyne then sneaked up to Lu Xiao and smiled.

Why are you looking at me?

"Do you say this to everyone?"

De Bruyne remembers clearly that Lu Xiao told him since he was a child that he, De Bruyne, was the future world's best midfielder (for a limited time).

I've said this more than once.

Lu Xiao, however, was very serious:

"I'm serious, I'm not bragging."

"Yes, yes, yes, I believe Harry will come to his senses no matter what, and I am very grateful to you."

"You're being too polite by saying that."

Lu Xiao punched De Bruyne.

De Bruyne was simply trying to comfort them.

It has to be said that, despite being only 18 years old this year, this kid speaks like a veteran player in his 30s.

With Lu Xiao mediating, the Leverkusen locker room finally returned to calm.

In the second half, the head coach substituted Lu Xiao.

They finally managed to regain some ground.

"OHHHHH——Luuuuu Shaaaaaw——"