Football singularity

Chapter 779 HALF TIME

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[2021-05-29 | Estádio do Dragão, Porto | 21:38 WEST]

[Manchester City 0-1 Bayer 04 Leverkusen]

[38’]

Diaby’s first touch took him away from Zinchenko’s desperate lunge, his acceleration immediate. The Frenchman immediately sped into the open right channel that Zinchenko’s left back had vacated. He seemed to remember his track star aptitudes as he took long touches, quickly crossing into the final third as his legs pumped with energy.

"Leverkusen counter!" Drury’s voice rose. "Diaby with space!"

The play unfolded quickly with Amiri moving up the middle just a couple of paces behind Schick. Rakim kept Walker busy charging up the right flank at speed, looking to break into the box at any moment. Rúben Dias suffeled across trying to shut the French speedstar down before he could make things happen.

Diaby read his approach as he reached the edge of the box, just a couple of steps away from a head-on collision. Dropping a left shoulder, he feinted a cut inside, and despite knowing the Frenchman’s preference for his right foot, the Portuguese footballer had no choice but to cover the breakthrough direction. As if he had been waiting for that action, the winger took a long touch, nudging the ball past the defenders’ reach.

Catching up the ball in four long strides, he looked up once, then sent a first-touch cut back to the top of the box. Stones, who had been closely following Schick into the box, tried to stretch his foot out, but he couldn’t reach it as Amiri got on the end of it. Holding off Foden, he let loose a right-footed stroke to the far left side, sending Ederson across his box. The keeper was already diving to his right, stretched every inch of his 6’2" frame, his fingers reaching desperately for the trajectory.

"AMIRI!" Drury roared. "CAN HE DOUBLE THE LEAD?!"

The ball dipped late, bending toward the far post. Ederson’s fingertips grazed it—barely—but enough to alter its path. The ball struck the inside of the left post with a sharp CLANG, bouncing back into play.

"OFF THE POST!" Tyldesley screamed. "Ederson got a touch! City survives!"

The rebound fell to Schick at the six-yard box, his eyes widening as the ball dropped into his path. But Stones had recovered, throwing his body in the way as he swung at the ball. The defender’s block sent the ball spinning harmlessly wide for a corner.

[41’]

Rakim’s delivery was whipped in with pace, curling toward the penalty spot. Tapsoba rose highest, getting above Gündogan, but his header was too close to Ederson. The Brazilian keeper caught it cleanly, immediately looking to launch a counter.

Ederson rolled it quickly to Walker on the right. The English fullback took one touch, then drove forward, spotting space ahead as Leverkusen’s players were still recovering from the corner.

"City in transition!" Drury called.

Walker played it inside to Bernardo Silva, who turned smoothly away from Demirbay’s press. The Portuguese midfielder accelerated into space, then slipped a pass through to De Bruyne, who had dropped deep again.

De Bruyne’s first touch took him away from Lars Bender, who tried to drape himself over him. He drove forward five yards, his head up, scanning options, spotting Sterling made a run in behind Frimpong on the left while Mahrez drifted inside from the right. Foden had moved up to the edge of the box, waiting for the playmaker’s move.

De Bruyne chose Sterling out wide, who took one touch before cutting inside onto his right foot. Frimpong stayed tight, playing physically, refusing to dive in, forcing Sterling back toward the touchline. The winger played it back to Zinchenko, who had moved up on the overlap.

The Ukrainian fullback struck a first-time cross into the box, aiming for the near post where Foden was making his run. But Jonathan Tah read it and charged across to head it clear with a swing of his head. The ball fell to Gündogan at the edge of the box, who chested it down. He struck it on the half-volley, rifling a bullet rising toward the top right corner.

"GÜNDOGAN!" Tyldesley’s voice climbed.

Hradecky was already moving, his positioning as optimal as he could manage. He took two quick steps to his right, then launched himself, right hand fully extended. His fingertips connected with the ball, pushing it over the bar.

"WHAT A SAVE!" Drury roared. "Lukas Hradecky keeps Leverkusen in front!"

The Finnish keeper jumped up from the ground, pumping his fists as he let out a roar of jubilation, pumping himself up. "YAAAAAAAHHH!"

[43’]

De Bruyne stood over the corner on the right side, the ball placed carefully as City’s big men flooded the box. Dias, Stones, and even Gündogan had pushed up looking to occupy good positions as the Leverkusen player matched them.

De Bruyne raised his hand, then delivered an in-swinging cross toward the near post. Bodies rose trying to hit it, but Dias got there first, flicking it on with his head. The ball glanced across the six-yard box, spinning toward the far post where Stones was arriving.

The English defender stretched out his leg, trying to redirect it goalward, but Tapsoba was there, throwing his body in front of the shot. The ball deflected off the Burkinabé defender’s knee, looping upward. Hradecky jumped into the air, muscling everyone out of the way before anyone could react, smothering the ball against his chest.

"City fails to capitalise once again!" Drury exclaimed. "They won’t get too many more chances like that with how defensive the German side is approaching this match!"

The referee checked his watch, and af if responding, the fourth official raised his board signalling two minutes of added time.

[45+1’]

Leverkusen immediately went into conservation mode, slowing things down, patiently working the ball in their own half. Demirbay to Lars Bender to Tah to Tapsoba as City pressed high, trying to force a mistake before halftime. Tapsoba played it back to Hradecky, who controlled it with his feet, then played it short to Sinkgraven.

The Dutch fullback took one touch, then launched it long toward Schick. The Czech striker challenged Dias in the air, winning the header and flicking it down toward Amiri. The playmaker controlled it on his chest, but Gündogan was already closing him down.

Amiri turned away from the press, then played it wide to Diaby on the right. The Frenchman took one touch, looking to drive forward, but the referee’s whistle cut through the stadium.

(FWEEET! FWEEET!)

"And that’s halftime!" Tyldesley announced. "Bayer Leverkusen lead Manchester City 1-0 at the break in the Champions League final!"

[HT: Manchester City 0-1 Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Rakim Rex 16’]

~~~

[Leverkusen Dressingroom]

Peter Bosz entered the dressing room, Fredrick Bauer and the tactical staff following behind. The room quieted immediately, all eyes turning toward the manager. The manager didn’t speak right away as he simply stood at the front of the room, letting the silence stretch for a moment, studying his players’ faces. He finally nodded upon seeing their serious faces that hadn’t relaxed in the slightest.

"Forty-five minutes," he said, his voice calm but firm. "We are forty-five minutes away from winning the Champions League. From completing the treble. From making history." He paused, letting that sink in.

"But if we approach the second half thinking we’ve already won, we will lose. Manchester City are too good, too experienced, too dangerous for us to take our foot off the gas. They will come at us harder in the second half, after making adjustments."

Bosz clicked a remote, and the tactical screen on the wall came to life, showing freeze-frames from the first half. "What we did well was transition quickly when we won the ball. Rakim’s goal came from exactly that. Demirbay, winning the ball and getting it up the field quickly."

"We also defended well structurally," Bosz continued. "Pep’s City are great at breaking teams down, but their fatal weakness is the lack of a striker to make use of their exceptional midfield’s playmaking ability."

He drew lines on the board that showed De Bruyne dropping to the edge of the final third, acting as a convergence point for their Tiki taka play. "Let them play wide, unlike us, they lack a target man like Patrick or the wingers capable of comfortably breaking down three men like Rakim." He paused, drawing their attention to the city side, drawing wide lanes he wanted them to play. "Tah and Edmond, I don’t want to see the ball drop in the box, and Kerem and Lars win any second ball outside the box, we don’t need to give any of their midfield trio a second attempt at our goal."

He continued to give instructions for a good few minutes, making sure his troops understood the game plan. Walking around the room, he gave a few personal instructions to the players, telling them what to pay attention to. Frimpong especially received thorough instructions on how to deal with Sterling, who, like Hazard, could turn into prime Bale at any moment.

"Alright, lads, let’s get the job done."

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TO BE CONTINUED...