First Start

The discussions in Spain couldn't reach Lin in Germany.

As the weekend's match was an away game, he immediately flew back to Germany after the national youth team's game, leaving only a three-day gap between the two matches.

For Lin, who had recently played a full game in the national youth match and had to travel long distances, this was quite a test.

On September 15, Werder Bremen headed to Hanover to challenge the third-placed team in the league, Hannover 96.

Due to an injury to Elia in the midweek Dutch national team match, Schaaf, during the lineup planning, put Lin in the starting lineup for the first time.

This surprised Lin, as he thought it would take some time before he could make it to the starting lineup, but it happened much sooner than he expected. 

"Schaaf's Pre-Match Talk: "Hannover's home ground is tough to play on, and the opponents are very stubborn. This match is a considerable test for us."

The coach announced his tactics before the match: "Our game plan for this match is to use the first half when we have ample energy to score as many goals as possible, secure the win, and avoid leaving the game in suspense till the second half. Hannover is good at using the second half to turn the game around, and we can't give them that chance. Understand?"

"Understood, coach!" The players responded loudly. The team's consecutive wins and draws against strong opponents inflated the Werder Bremen players' confidence.

It seemed like they didn't think much of a team like Hannover 96!

As it turned out, underestimating the opponent came with a cost.

Just six minutes into the game, Hannover's midfield core, Huszti, took advantage of Werder Bremen's defensive line's mistake and scored.

With Lin's addition, Werder Bremen's attacking power was indeed good, but their defense had not improved much.

Last season, Werder Bremen conceded the fourth most goals in the entire Bundesliga, indicating how weak their defensive line was.

It was a dumbfounding goal; Selassie was not decisive with his pass in the back, was pressured by the opponent, lost the ball, and Hannover counterattacked on the spot.

Werder Bremen's goalkeeper didn't have enough time to react, and the ball flew into their own net.

After conceding the goal, Mielitz felt very angry and shouted at his defenders to stay focused and not lose concentration.

Fortunately, Hannover's defense was also quite weak.

In the 18th minute, Werder Bremen took advantage of a counter-attack opportunity to equalize the score with a goal from De Bruyne.

Eight minutes later, Werder Bremen launched another attack, and Lin was tripped in the penalty area, winning a penalty for Werder Bremen.

Lin took the penalty and scored, making it 2-1.

In these two attacks, Lin had an outstanding performance in the front, with an assist and a goal, leading Werder Bremen's two goals.

Seeing his significant threat, Hannover immediately strengthened their defense against him, not allowing him to easily receive the ball.

In the 31st minute, Schlaudraff of Hannover received a yellow card for a foul against Lin.

In the 37th minute, Haggui also received a yellow card for defending Lin.

Although they caused two yellow cards to their opponents, their approach also made it difficult for Werder Bremen's front-line attack to cooperate effectively. 

Especially for Lin, every time he received the ball, the opponent immediately pressured him; if they couldn't get the ball, they fouled him.

Before the end of the first half, his jersey was already covered in mud, having been brought down by the opponents many times.

What's even more frustrating was that the opponents' fouls were quite strategic, mostly around the center circle, not providing good free-kick opportunities.

However, not having direct scoring opportunities didn't mean they couldn't take advantage of the free-kick opportunities given by the opponents.

Otherwise, if they allowed the opponents to restrict them with such blatantly aggressive foul tactics, he feared that in the future, other teams would also adopt the strategy against him, leading to a "retribution on Lin" strategy. 

So, in the 44th minute of the first half, when Lin broke through with the ball and was fouled by the opponents, he discussed with De Bruyne and decided not to take a direct free kick but to plan a strategic play. 

Seeing Werder Bremen planning a set-piece, Hannover players immediately arranged a defensive wall in front of the penalty area, blocking the opponent's passing lines.

From such a distance, direct shooting was impossible; the opponents would most likely choose to loft the ball into the penalty area, creating a header opportunity.

But what they didn't expect was that De Bruyne's free kick didn't aim for the high point in the penalty area but was passed to Lin in the side of the penalty area.

After receiving the ball, Lin immediately broke into the penalty area, and the opponents rushed out in an attempt to restore their three lines of defense and expand their defensive area.

But at that moment, Lin made a sudden stop, raised the ball, and passed it. 

The Hannover players who were rushing out watched the ball fly over their heads but were powerless to stop because it came too fast.

Suddenly, there were fewer defenders guarding Arnautovic, and seeing the ball flying towards his head, he instinctively nodded the ball towards the goal.

The Hannover goalkeeper made a symbolic attempt to save the ball but didn't touch it at all.

The score on the field became 3:1!

After scoring, Arnautovic was overjoyed and excitedly rushed to Lin, held his passing foot, put it on his knee, and made a gesture as if to shine his shoes.

The pass was really beautiful, as if it had eyes, it found his head directly in the crowd.

Not to mention him, even if his 80-year-old grandmother was brought over, she could easily get the ball in.

When did it become so easy to score a goal? Ultimately, it was all because of Lin's great pass!

Seeing his teammates not wasting the opportunity he created, Lin was also very happy in his heart.

After being sickened by Hannover's foul tactics for so long, he finally vented his anger.

After conceding this goal, Hannover indeed restrained themselves a lot and in the remaining time in the first half, they didn't dare to easily foul again.

Two minutes later, the first half ended, and Werder Bremen returned to the locker room with a 2-goal lead.

In the locker room, Schaaf praised the players for their first-half performance. However, he also criticized the team for the early goals conceded.

"Lin, are you okay in terms of stamina?"

After arranging the tactics for the second half, Coach Schaaf asked Lin individually with concern.

Since Lin had never started before and had never played for so long, Schaaf couldn't judge if he could hold on for the full match.

"For now, I'm okay. If I really can't hold on, I'll ask for a substitution!"

Lin estimated that he could play for about 75 minutes. In the previous Telekom Cup match, he played for 60 minutes. He had improved a lot in terms of stamina during this time, so he should be able to play for an additional ten minutes.

As long as the opponents in the second half didn't suddenly accelerate and both teams didn't get into a fast-paced attack, it shouldn't be a problem.

The second half of the match quickly began, and Hannover, unwilling to lose at home, indeed stepped up their attacking intensity.

They replaced a defensive midfielder with a forward and adopted a very aggressive stance.

Amid the cheering of the home fans, Hannover's attack was relentless, wave upon wave.

In the 66th minute of the match, Hannover took a corner, and unbelievably, eight attacking players from Werder Bremen were contesting the ball within the penalty area.

Although they didn't win the first touch, they managed to win the second one.

Fortunately, goalkeeper Mielitz showed great bravery and made a close-range save of the opponent's header.

But the danger in front of Werder Bremen's goal was not resolved because the ball that was saved was regained by the opponents.

It was Mielitz again. Seeing the opponents trying to shoot, he instinctively extended his leg to block the almost certain goal out. 

The home fans couldn't help but sigh. They were just a little bit away from scoring, but the damn goalkeeper stopped their hopes.

However, Hannover's attacking wave did not end there.

Just as Coach Schaaf had emphasized before the match, Hannover was a very fiercely competitive team, and they had a strange phenomenon where their second-half performances were often better than the first half.

It felt like they hadn't woken up in the first half, playing with a sleepy feeling.

But in the second half, they suddenly awakened.

For a long five minutes, they launched a continuous attack on Werder Bremen's goal.

Finally, in the 66th minute of the match, Hannover's midfielder Andersson made a long-range shot from outside the penalty area and scored, bringing the score to 3:2.

Indeed, Hannover's home ground was not so easily conquered!