Football singularity
Chapter 777 The Biggest Stage
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~~~
[2021-05-29| Estádio do Dragão, Porto| 21:45 CET]
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the most anticipated match in club football, the UEFA Champions League final," Peter Drury announced, his voice lifting the atmosphere as the broadcast revealed the players leaving the tunnel. "We are live in Porto—Guardiola’s Man City in sky blue and Bosz’s Leverkusen in crimson red. We’ve discussed and debated all week how things might go, but now, it’s time for the football to speak."
The Estádio do Dragão sat bathed in floodlight, its 50,000-seat capacity reduced to just 14,500 due to ongoing pandemic restrictions. But what the stadium lacked in numbers, it more than made up for in atmosphere. The limited crowd created pockets of intense noise—City fans in one section, Leverkusen supporters in another, with neutral UEFA guests scattered throughout.
---
Mancity Xi: 4-3-3
GK: Ederson
LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko
CB: Rúben Dias
CB: John Stones
RB: Kyle Walker
CM: Bernardo Silva
CAM: Ilkay Gündogan
CM: Phil Foden
LW: Raheem Sterling
ST: Kevin De Bruyne
RW: Riyad Mahrez
Coach: Pep Guardiola
Sub: Fernandinho, Gabriel Jesus, Sergio Agüero, Eric García, Rodri, Scott Carson, Zack Steffen, Ferran Torres, João Cancelo, Benjamin Mendy, Nathan Aké, Aymeric Laporte.
VS
Leverkusen Xi: 4-2-3-1
GK: Lukas Hradecky
LB: Daley Sinkgraven
CB: Jonathan Tah
CB: Edmond Tapsoba
RB: Jeremie Frimpong
CDM: Kerem Demirbay
CDM: Lars Bender
LM: Rakim Rex
CAM: Nadiem Amiri
RM: Moussa Diaby
ST: Patrick Schick
Coach: Peter Bosz
Sub: Lennart Grill, Lars Bender, Santiago Arias, Wendell, Exequiel Palacios, Demarai Gray, Leon Bailey, Paulinho, Lucas Alario, Aleksandar Dragovic, Charles Aránguiz, Julian Baumgartlinger Defensive Midfield.
---
"And what a journey it’s been for both sides," Clive Tyldesley added as the camera panned across the players showing the starting line-ups. "Manchester City, seeking their first-ever Champions League trophy after years of near misses. Bayer Leverkusen, the German underdogs who’ve already secured a domestic double and now stand ninety minutes away from immortality."
~~~
[VIP Box Section, Estádio do Dragão | 20:52 WEST]
May Parker hurried through the VIP entrance, her black Reformation dress swishing as she strode quickly, her heels clicking on the polished concrete. Emma followed at her side in a beige dress, her light blond locs bouncing with every hurried step. Behind them, Lisa and Ben Rex walked at a more leisurely pace, Leverkusen memorabilia draped over Ben’s Navy Sainclare suit and Lisa’s dark blue Versace dress, indicating their excitement as they chatted and glanced at the passing crowd.
"Mom & Dad, hurry up, we’re already late," Emma called out, turning to run backwards as she waved at her parents.
"One minute later now won’t make much of a difference, honey," Lisa responded, but her daughter had already turned back around, surprisingly agile in her platform boots.
May and Emma reached the VIP box entrance just as the attendant was about to close the doors for kick-off. "Wait, please!" May called out, fishing their credentials from her clutch.
The attendant checked their passes, then their temperature with a portable kit, and finally waved them through. Despite being slightly annoyed, the two girls didn’t make a fuss and quickly walked into the spacious room. Ignoring the buffet and indoor flat screens, they made a beeline for the balcony seats.
The box was sparsely populated, with about 20 people scattered across 50 seats, social distancing protocols still in effect. Finding their seats, they were just in time for the opening whistle to blow. "And we are on the way as Patrick kicks off the 2020/21 UCL—Demirbay launches it long and MOUSSA—CLANG!!"
The sound of the ball hitting the left post resonated throughout the stadium as the German fans rose to their feet belatedly. "OFF THE POST!" Tyldesley roared. "Fifteen seconds in, and Leverkusen have struck the woodwork!" The ball rebounded out to Schick, who tried to redirect it back goalward, but Dias cleared it desperately over the bar for a corner.
"OH MY DAYS! Leverkusen came out swinging, and Edison was rooted to the spot." Drury said his breathing was audible as he analysed the play. "From Shick to Demirbay, the midfielder did a good job holding the ball before launching it long to Rakim."
"What a surgical strike it was," Tyldesley chimmed in as the replay showed the German footballer nudging the ball past the charging De Bruyne and launching a low defence-splitting ball to the left edge of the box. "The winger lost his man with a shoulder drop, catching the ball with the outside of his right, expertly escaping Stone’s lunge. Instead of going himself, he picked out Diaby on the other end, who was completely unguarded as he pirced into the box."
"The Frenchman was eager to score and tried to blast it to the bottom corner, but his aim was too exact," Drury concluded as the replay ended. "If this is an indication of Leverkusen’s game plan, City need to wake up fast."
In the VIP box, May had her hand over her mouth, Emma gripping her arm tightly. "That was fifteen seconds," Emma breathed. "And you guys missed it because you’re 20 seconds late."
Lisa simply chuckled at her daughter’s chiding as she took her seat next to her husband. "Hoho, as long as I don’t miss my son scoring, I don’t care." She confidently said as she elegantly folded her legs and placed her Birkin on the floor. "Honey, do you want anything to eat? I know you didn’t get a chance to have lunch."
~~~
[1’]
Back on the pitch, Demirbay stood over the corner flag on the right side, the ball placed carefully as Leverkusen players flooded the box. Tah, Tapsoba, and Schick all attacked the near post while Rakim hovered at the penalty spot, his 6’2 frame scanning the area, before slowly moving to the far side.
The German midfielder raised his hand, then delivered a whipped in-swinger toward the six-yard box. Bodies rose into the air as the players’ bodies clashed like gladiators, with Schick managing to get above Stones’ flicking it goalward, but Ederson was alert, palming it clear with his left hand. The ball dropped just outside the six-yard box at the back post, where the figure of Rakim could be seen swinging his right boot at the dropping ball.
"RAAAAAKIM!—Oh, he’s fuddeled it." Drury Road as Rakim seemed to lose his footing, his wound-up leg slicing the underside of the ball, sending it flying into the air. "That’s not a chance you want to miss—Looks like he’s asking, but Antonio Lahoz is waving him off."
As Rakim exchanged a few choice words with Walker, the replay showed Rakim swinging at the ball as Walker arrived, contact occurred, and the winger lost balance.
"No penalty," Tyldesley confirmed as the replay showed Walker’s hand making contact with Rakim’s hip as both went for the ball. "Close, but not enough. The referee’s letting them play."
[7’]
Manchester finally settled into possession after weathering Leverkusen’s high-speed attack. They slowly worked the ball patiently from back to front, pushing and pulling the field, but the German side dropped back into their own half, letting them pass the ball around all they wanted there. Ederson rolled it to Stones, who played it square to Dias, and the Portuguese defender took a touch, then switched it out to Walker on the right.
The English fullback drove forward a few yards before playing it inside to Bernardo Silva. The Portuguese midfielder turned sharply away from Demirbay’s press, then played it forward to De Bruyne, who had dropped deep to the halfway line to receive.
De Bruyne’s first touch was velvet, taking him away from Lars Bender. He drove forward three yards, drawing Demirbay across as the German side seemed to switch on, surging toward him. Sandwiched between Bender and Demirbay, the Belgian playmaker knocked it wide to Sterling, who cut into space.
The English winger used his back to keep Frimpong at bay, but Diaby came from the side, forcing him to turn away. Before he could get moving, though, Bender slid in, sweeping away the loose ball.
[15’]
Gündogan received it from Dias in midfield, turning smoothly away from Amiri’s press. He promptly played it forward to De Bruyne, who played the role of a false nine as the two wingers cut in as a narrow-striker duo, looking to orchestrate. The Belgian maestro took one touch, then drove forward, his vision already scanning the channels.
He spotted Sterling making a run back outward from the centre, exploiting the space behind Frimpong. De Bruyne shaped to play the through ball, his body language selling it perfectly. But he checked at the last second, dragging the ball back as Lars Bender committed to the interception.
The City captain accelerated past him, driving into Leverkusen’s half with purpose, Mahrez making a diagonal run from the right, as Foden drifted inside from the left. "De Bruyne with options now—" Drury’s voice rose slightly.
He played it wide to Mahrez, who took one touch before cutting it back to the arriving Gündogan at the top of the box. Gündogan shaped to shoot, drawing Tapsoba out of position, then slipped it back to De Bruyne, who had continued his run. The Belgian was twelve yards out, left foot cocked back, with the goal opening up in front of him—Lars Bender slid in from nowhere.
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TO BE CONTINUED...