Bayern's Targeted Approach
"Yes, he's called the Messi of the Bundesliga. But I think he's even better than the young Messi. He's just 16 now, turning 17 in two months!"
"So young?"
Devieser was surprised to hear this news.
He was sent by Chelsea's manager Emma to assess Lin's abilities at the Allianz Arena.
Before coming, he had heard about this very young player, assuming he was around nineteen or twenty.
He never expected him to be under 17, which made him very astonished.
How could a player of this age have such strong immediate fighting power?
"Yes, that's the most incredible thing about him. His maturity on the field is nothing like a young player's; it's more like a veteran player who has played professionally for seven or eight years!"
George Evans followed De Bruyne all the way and naturally witnessed Lin's transformation from an unknown player to a top-notch rising star in the football world, which deeply impressed him.
Devieser was half skeptical about the words Evans had said; the experience in matches needed to be accumulated through playing each game.
This was something that couldn't be a shortcut like natural talent.
Hence, he fell silent, focusing on watching the match.
The match had a high attendance at the Allianz Arena.
The stadium, with a seating capacity of 75,000, had over 65,000 fans today, including around 5,000 away fans.
Werder Bremen had an outstanding record this season, especially against Bayern, where they remained undefeated.
This record reassured the Parrot Legion fans, willing to travel long distances to support and cheer the team at away games.
Before the game started, Werder Bremen fans started singing early.
The Bayern fans, seeing the commotion at their home ground, also began singing.
Soon, the overwhelming number of Bayern fans drowned out the songs of the Parrot Legion fans.
The chants of the Werder Bremen fans could only be heard near the southeast corner.
Standing on the pitch, both teams' 22 players could only hear Bayern Munich's team anthem.
The Bayern team anthem was not unfamiliar to the Werder Bremen players.
In the beginning of the season, when they first came to the Allianz Arena, they had heard the Bayern fans singing this "Forever Number One."
That game, Werder Bremen cleanly defeated Bayern, leading to Bayern's defeat in the Telekom Cup.
"Forever Number One" became a joke!
This time, hearing the Bayern fans singing this song, the Werder Bremen players not only didn't feel pressured, but they laughed heartily one by one.
"What's wrong with them? What are these guys laughing at?"
Their opponents, the waiting Bayern players, saw the opposing team inexplicably laughing, feeling very confused!
Upon seeing the away team's players laughing, the home fans initially hesitated, then immediately showered them with boos.
Clearly, they interpreted Werder Bremen's fans laughing as mocking them, so infuriated, they forgot about singing and only wanted to retaliate with boos and insults.
The Bayern team song stopped, and the referee blew the whistle to start the game.
During Werder Bremen's ball possession, De Bruyne passed the ball to Lin, and Lin passed it back to Junuzovic.
The Bayern players pressed aggressively from the start, launching an attack on Werder Bremen's defense.
Under pressure, Junuzovic couldn't hold the ball and quickly passed it to Fritz.
Fritz then moved the ball to the wing, right-back Selassie received the ball and passed it back to Lin, who fell back to receive the ball.
Werder Bremen played patiently and did not rush to attack.
However, passing in their own half was dangerous—especially against a strong team like Bayern Munich with potent attacking prowess.
Seeing the opponents pressing at the back, Bayern increased their forward pressing line, disrupting Werder Bremen's passing strategy.
The ball quickly returned to Lin's feet, observing the Bayern player's positions before receiving the ball. In his mind, he calculated his attacking route.
This time, instead of passing back, he carried the ball forward to begin the attack.
Bayern's left midfielder Ribery immediately stepped up to intercept. Having faced each other twice before, both had outplayed each other.
In attack, both players were exceptional, smoothly bypassing each other.
In defense, they were both not as strong, with Ribery slightly better due to his physical attributes and aggressive tackling.
However, facing Lin's stronger dribbling ability, Ribery's defensive prowess seemed insufficient. Handling him was almost effortless for Lin.
After another encounter, Ribery still couldn't stop Lin, getting bypassed once again.
Seeing this move, Devieser smiled, nodding in satisfaction.
No wonder others had such high praise for him; this kid was indeed extraordinary.
However, getting past Ribery was just the beginning; Bayern's defense was solid.
Their two sweeping defensive midfielders were waiting for Lin. Devieser was excited; he wanted to see how Lin would handle this situation.
When Lin got past Ribery, he was immediately met with a defense from his national team teammate Martinez.
Outsiders might not know how formidable Martinez was, but Lin had witnessed this guy's prowess.
With exaggerated physical qualities, abundant energy, a vast range of movement, and strong interception capabilities!
Not to mention his speed in recovery, explosiveness, agility, and positional awareness, all of them top-notch!
Martinez wasn't just a simple defensive midfielder; he was an all-around player who had played as a midfielder, defender, and even as a forward, excelling in all positions.
Bayern spent €40 million to acquire him; they definitely didn't misjudge his abilities.
When such a player appeared in front of Lin, he immediately raised his guard.
"Lin, you're not scoring at the Allianz Arena today!"
Martinez defended Lin while joking with him.
As teammates in the national team, Martinez saw Lin as a younger brother and wouldn't be disrespectful to him.
"That's not for you to decide!"
Lin replied with a smile and then set off with the ball.
Martinez's speed was impressive; he caught up to Lin, engaging in physical contact while trying to steal the ball with his feet.
This combined approach made it uncomfortable for Lin to carry the ball.
Martinez, standing at 192cm tall and weighing over 80kg, possessed physical fortitude beyond what Lin could match.
If Lin hadn't been quicker, maintaining a half-step lead over Martinez, preventing him from fully exerting himself, he would have been pushed aside earlier.
Seizing the opportunity when Lin was held by Martinez, Bayern's left-back Alaba immediately stormed in and disrupted the play by kicking the ball away.
The ball was disrupted, but possession still belonged to Werder Bremen.
Junuzovic rushed over to take the free-kick, but upon holding the ball, he noticed both De Bruyne and Lin were being tightly marked by the opponents.
Passing to them would likely result in the ball being snatched away.
For safety, he threw the ball to his backline teammate Selassie.
Selassie, upon receiving the ball, saw De Bruyne marked closely and lacking a good passing opportunity.
Thus, he had to pass the ball sideways to the captain, Fritz.
After receiving the ball, Fritz glanced at the positioning of the Bayern players on the field, frowning.
De Bruyne was constantly marked closely, either by midfielder Gustavo or midfielder Schweinsteiger.
Damn it, Bayern's midfield is too tough!
Able to both attack and defend, the all-around Martinez, specialized defender Gustavo.
These three tough players standing there gave a sense of impenetrability.
Given Werder Bremen's midfield strength, attempting to battle Bayern in midfield would be inviting trouble.
Thus, he dared not pass the ball to De Bruyne; seeing Lin dropping back to receive the ball, he passed it to him instead.
As soon as Lin received the ball, he was immediately pressured by Ribery.
Bayern's striker Mandzukic also rushed over, seemingly intending to double-team him.
As Lin took a few steps forward, "Man, Martinez is also moving up, and even Mandzukic is following him.
Aren't you a forward?
Why are you following me back to your own half?"
Lin stopped, passing the ball back to his teammate.
He felt targeted by Bayern as evidence: every time he crossed half-field, there would be at least two or even three Bayern players around him.
While it didn't threaten their defensive line yet, if Bayern's defense, with full-backs and center-backs coming, it could turn into a siege situation!