Chapter 30: A God-Tier Skill—Lin Hao’s Explosive Headbutt!

"Holy cow! What is going on? Am I... am I seeing things? Since when has Hao Junmin been this fierce?"

"Exactly! This... this through ball, this level of chemistry... damn it, it looks like he and Lin Hao were born to the same mother!"

"Ten consecutive passes, and they just tore through Hannover 96's defensive line? This... this is too damn terrifying!"

"Haha, awesome! Watching this game, seeing our own two players pull off a move like that—it feels so good!!!"

"Incredible! This goal really gives us face! Staying up all night was worth it. Score a few more, damn it; I bet big on the total goals!"

"Wuwuwu, finally a goal! I secretly put my unit's 230,000 into a 'big' bet. If that kid Lin Hao doesn't score today, I'll be the one ending up behind bars tomorrow!"

"You stinking idiot, keep the gambling trash away from my feed!"

...

Under the brilliance of this duo’s strike, not only was the commentator He Wei roaring with excitement, but back in their home country, countless fans staying up late to watch the live stream were instantly sent into a frenzy.

Of course, unlike the ecstatic fans back home, the AWD-Arena fell into a deathly silence.

After the referee’s whistle signaled that the goal was valid, the AWD-Arena, which had been echoing with the Hannover 96 anthem, went completely quiet. Over forty thousand Hannover 96 fans stared blankly at the Schalke 04 players who were now embracing on the pitch.

"My God! Those two guys... they... they..."

"It only took two of them? And we just conceded like that???"

"What the f*ck! Unbelievable!!!"

The Hannover 96 fans couldn't comprehend it. They had been dominating the flow of the game against Schalke 04. Why, then, was it the struggling Schalke 04 that scored first? And to think, it was only two players! How could their supposedly impenetrable mid-to-back defensive line be dismantled so effortlessly by just those two?

...

As the forty thousand Hannover fans fell silent, the three thousand traveling Schalke 04 supporters finally unleashed their pent-up frustration after a dozen minutes of tension.

"Lin!"

"Lin!"

"Lin!!!"

The three thousand die-hard Schalke fans began to chant Lin Hao’s name in unison. To be honest, before arriving at the AWD-Arena, all the Schalke faithful expected to simply enjoy the pleasure of slaughtering their opponents.

However, who could have imagined that Hannover 96, whom they had humiliated in various ways last season, would suddenly become so fierce? They were so aggressive that the Schalke fans feared their own team might be on the receiving end of a bloodbath.

Fortunately, the number 23, who had brought them endless surprises since the Super Cup, stood up at the most crucial moment of the match, just as he always did.

...

1-0!

Relying on the dream duo of Lin Hao and Hao Junmin, Schalke broke the deadlock.

Of course, the goal didn't trigger any special reaction from Mirko Slomka on the Hannover bench. In his eyes, Lin Hao’s goal was nothing more than pure luck. After all, his defensive line had been pressing high up toward the midfield, near Huntelaar and Raul. Without making any tactical adjustments, Slomka continued to shout at his players, instructing them to maintain their steady control of the midfield.

The match resumed with the referee’s whistle!

Hannover 96 had the ball. Sergio Pinto, the core of Hannover’s midfield, received the pass and began to slowly advance toward Schalke 04’s backfield. The five-man midfield configuration gave Pinto more options in Schalke’s half. He could pass to the wings or coordinate short-range plays with his teammates.

However, perhaps the goal from Lin Hao had acted like an adrenaline shot for the entire Schalke squad. Even Raul, who had no defensive duties in the front, tracked back to his own half. With Raul back, Huntelaar naturally stuck to Hannover’s left midfielder, Lars Stindl, who occupied the same position. As for the midfield, Baumjohann began to exert pressure under the loud instructions of their veteran leader.

With fierce defensive tackles and tough physical contact, the entire team spared no effort in their short-range pressing and aggressive counter-tackling. Gradually, the discomfort Schalke 04 felt with their new tactics completely vanished.

In the twenty-sixth minute of the match, Baumjohann executed a textbook slide tackle to strip the ball from Sergio Pinto’s feet!

Jurado, receiving the ball, immediately launched a full-speed sprint down the center. Lin Hao followed closely behind. At the same time, the entire Hannover 96 team retreated rapidly after losing possession. Altin Lala, tasked with the heavy defensive responsibility, rushed toward Jurado the moment he started his run.

However, before Lala could get close, Jurado immediately slid a diagonal pass to Lin Hao, who was positioned slightly ahead to his left.

Naturally, Lin Hao, who was being closely monitored by Slomka’s plan, was also being shadowed by a Hannover defender. Manuel Schmiedebach, one of their two defensive midfielders, had already been sprinting toward Lin Hao before he even touched the ball. Seeing Jurado pass to Lin, Schmiedebach gritted his teeth and stuck to him like glue.

But just as Schmiedebach closed in, Lin Hao, who had been sprinting toward the heart of the Hannover backfield, suddenly performed a sharp stop.

Without any wasted movement, Lin Hao used the sudden stop to shake off Schmiedebach and sent a diagonal pass with his right foot. Hao Junmin, benefiting from a 50% chemistry bonus, had already received the pass in the flank’s danger zone.

"Beautiful!"

"Lin Hao with a diagonal push!"

"He gets the ball to Hao Junmin again!"

"Because Hannover has piled all their forces near the midfield!"

"Hao Junmin is only being marked by their left-back, Leon Andreasen!"

"Hao Junmin!!!"

"He takes the ball with his right foot, turns, and drives forward!"

"Great ball!!!"

"Hao Junmin has gotten past him!!!"

"Inside the box, Lin Hao has already taken his position!"

"Hao Junmin!!!"

"He crosses it directly with his right foot!!!"

At the AWD-Arena, after using his speed to breeze past Leon Andreasen, all eyes were fixed on Hao Junmin, who had just performed this perfect duo act with Lin Hao.

Just as everyone expected, after shaking off the last defender, Hao Junmin quickly whipped the ball into the center.

And right there!

The 1.88-meter-tall Lin Hao had already leaped high, towering over Hannover center-back Mario Eggimann. Facing Eggimann, who stood at only 1.83 meters, Lin Hao didn't have to put in much effort to firmly reach the ball first in the air.

With no unnecessary movements, Lin Hao hammered his forehead into the incoming ball.

"Bang!!!"

The AWD-Arena once again echoed with the sound of a strike that chilled the hearts of every home fan!