Football singularity-Chapter 663 Picking Up Yellows
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[25/11/2020, 21:20| UEFA Champions League Group Stage 2nd Leg | BayArena, Leverkusen]
[Bayer 04 Leverkusen Vs Shakhtar Donetsk]
[39']
Shakhtar tried to respond immediately, driven by the urgency of needing something from the match. Maycon won the ball in midfield, moving forward with purpose. He played it wide to Tetê, who had found space down the right wing.
The Brazilian winger took it in stride, driving at Wendell. His pace was evident, forcing the Leverkusen fullback to backpedal. Tetê cut inside sharply onto his left foot, creating a yard of space. He fired from twenty yards out, the shot rising toward the top corner— But Hradecky read it perfectly, positioning himself underneath it to gather it cleanly.
"Good save from the Finn," Rae noted, "but that's more comfortable than what Trubin's been dealing with." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢
[42']
The goal had lifted them, and Leverkusen smelled blood, so they attacked with renewed vigour. Demirbay collected it from deep, squaring it to Tapsoba, who launched a diagonal ball toward Diaby on the right. The French winger controlled brilliantly, took one touch forward past Ismaily's challenge, and whipped in a low cross toward the near post.
Schick attacked it, his run taking him between the two centre-backs. His flick was clever, redirecting toward the far post where Rakim was arriving—Dodô somehow got there, sliding to clear. The ball ricocheted out for a corner. "Shakhtar hanging on by their fingernails now," Robson observed. "That opening goal has completely shifted the momentum."
[45']
The referee checked his watch. One minute of added time. Leverkusen pushed forward one last time before the break. Lars Bender advanced down the right, playing a one-two with Diaby before launching a cross into the box. Schick bullied his way between Vitão and Bondar, rising above them, his head powerfully directing the ball toward the bottom corner.
Trubin dove full stretch, his gloves pushing the ball to the side, but it wasn't enough as it hit the inside of the post. "PATRICK SCHICK!" Rae roared. "Finally! After all those chances, the Czech striker gets his reward!"
[Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Shakhtar Donetsk — Patrick Schick 45+1']
Schick raced away toward the corner flag, arms outstretched, relief evident on his face. His teammates mobbed him, Rakim grabbing his head as they fell to the ground in joy. The rest of their teammates quickly joined in their celebration, congratulating the striker on his goal. On the touchline, Bosz breathed a sigh of relief as he animatedly clapped in encouragement.
(Fweeet, Fweeet!)
[HT: Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Shakhtar Donetsk]
~~~
[46']
(Fweeet)
The second half began with Shakhtar showing slightly more ambition. Luis Castro had clearly demanded more attacking intent during the interval. Solomon dropped deeper to collect possession in midfield, trying to link midfield to attack.
In the opening exchanges, Shakhtar completed a sequence of twelve passes, working the ball patiently from right to left. Marlos found Taison on the left wing, the Brazilian controlling and driving at Lars Bender. His cutback found Dentinho at the edge of the box, who struck first-time.
The shot was well-placed, skipping low and hard toward the bottom corner, but Hradecky dove to his left, palming it beyond his goal out for a corner. "Hradecky alert as ever," Rae noted. "Shakhtar is starting this half brighter."
[51']
The momentum Shakhtar had built evaporated in the 51st minute, undone by a moment of individual brilliance. It started with Baumgartlinger intercepting a loose pass from Maycon in the centre circle with a well-timed slide tackle. The Austrian jumped up, trapping the ball below his feet and immediately looked forward, spotting Wirtz's movement.
The German youngster had dropped into space between Shakhtar's midfield and defensive lines, his body already turned toward goal as the pass arrived. His first touch was immaculate, cushioning the ball despite Marlos arriving to press. His second touch was a sharp turn, using Marlos's momentum against him to create separation.
Suddenly, Wirtz was facing forward with space opening up ahead. He accelerated forward, taking three touches forward as Maycon scrambled back. Twenty-five yards out, Wirtz shaped to shoot, forcing Bondar to commit. At that exact moment, he slipped a pass through the narrowest of gaps—between Bondar's outstretched leg and Vitão's sliding challenge.
The pass was weighted perfectly for Rakim, who had continued his run into the box. He pushed off Dodô, who tried to pull him back as he shopped the ball across the diving keeper. Trubin tried to adjust on his knees, but Rakim merely chipped it over the downed keeper well past his outstretched hand.
Dodô, who had continued his run to the goal, jumped forward feet first, trying to jab at the ball, but he couldn't reach it. "RAKIM REX AGAIN!" Rae's voice soared. "What a start to the second half! Leverkusen are running riot now!"
Rakim pointed to Wirtz as they sprinted to the corner flag. He came to a stop at the corner flag, looking into the cameraman's lens with a light smile. Crossing his index and middle fingers, performing the shadowclone Jutsu handsign just as Wirtz appeared next to him. He held his right hand out, and the latter formed the rasnegan before they both smashed it forward.
Diaby, Schick, and the rest of their teammates arrived seconds later, joining them in their celebrations. Robson's voice carried admiration. "The combination play between these two young talents is exceptional, Derek. Rex and Wirtz are quickly becoming the most dangerous duo in the Bundesliga. That's his second goal of the night, and both have come from brilliant interplay with Florian Wirtz."
[Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Shakhtar Donetsk — Rakim Rex 51']
Shakhtar tried to respond, their pride stung by the widening scoreline, and they were forced to play more aggressively. They couldn't afford to play conservatively when their opponents are dominating them so thoroughly. The match quickly became a slaugherfest with the defensive midfielders quickly becoming active.
Both sides' defensive midfielders seemed to be playing to see who could pick up more cards, as in just 5 minutes, all of them received yellow cards. Marlos quite literally wrestled Wirtz to the ground when the latter tried to initiate a count. Moments later, Maycon slid in late, slipping Rakim's legs, but luckily, the latter managed to react quickly enough to roll and absorb the damage.
An inforcer's job is to protect your team's playmakers and make sure that players don't easily consider fouling them. Baum Garlinger did just that in the 54th minute after his team's two wunderkinds were fouled consecutively. Following a clearance that sent the ball flying to the middle of the pitch, the Austrian arrived late but still rose to match Maycon's shoulder, checking the latter with so much momentum that he went flying.
The referee booked him without bothering to listen to the excuse before summoning both sides' captains for a chat. His efforts to calm things down fell on deaf ears, as a minute later Demirbay slid in with both feet, taking out Manor Solomon as he won the ball. However, according to the referee, the challenge was too dangerous, and he also entered the referee's little black book.
Seeing the players developing into a physical confrontation, Bosz pulled captain Lars Bender aside. While he was doing that, Donetsk head coach Castro used the chance to make a double substitution. Marlos and Dentinho came off, Marcos Antônio and Fernando came on.
The tactical shift was quickly evident to a more aggressive 4-1-4-1. The changes had an immediate impact, with Marcos Antônio being especially active. He collected the ball from deep and pinged a vertical pass to Solomon. The Israeli playmaker turned Demirbay inside-out with clever footwork, gliding into space behind the holding midfielder.
He drove at Tapsoba, performing a stepover before cutting inside, unleashing a shot from twenty yards out. Hradecky leapt across the air, fingertips extended, and somehow managed to tip it over the bar. "What a save!" Rae exclaimed. "Hradecky is yet to be beaten tonight!"
[60]
In the 60th minute, Tetê received the ball wide on the right, thirty yards from goal. Wendell was positioned correctly, blocking the obvious pass inside. But Tetê didn't look for the pass; as he dribbled forward, intent on taking him on.
Wendell expertly backtracked, side-stepping, showing him wide, but the Brazilian winger suddenly accelerated forward. He performed a step over with his right, baiting the full back enough to turn his hips before cutting
inside onto his left foot, accelerating past Wendell's challenge with a burst of speed.
Tapsoba closed him down, but Tetê had already committed as the shooting angle opened up. Twenty-five yards out, he struck it cleanly with his left foot.
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To Be Continued...
