Football singularity-Chapter 666 Inter Again
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[01/12/2020, 21:00 | UEFA Champions League Group Stage MD5 | BayArena, Leverkuse]
[Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs Inter Milan]
The BayArena buzzed with anticipation despite the limited attendance. With Inter and Real Madrid having drawn again in their return leg, the Germans found themselves in second place with 7 points, just one behind the Spanish giants. The Italian side found themselves in an awkward position, having drawn three times in a row.
Both sides knew that the final score of this match could decide who would eventually go through. Antonio Conte’s side was frustrated with their recent results, and the Italian media was questioning his European pedigree. But they remained unbeaten, and with Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martínez leading the line, they possessed the firepower to hurt anyone.
Derek Rae and Stewart Robson settled into the commentary box, reviewing their notes as both teams completed their warm-ups. "Big night at the BayArena, Stewart," Rae began. "Leverkusen can take a giant step toward the knockout stages with victory tonight."
"They can indeed, Derek," Robson replied. "But Inter are a completely different proposition to Shakhtar. Conte’s teams are organised, physical, and extremely difficult to break down. And with both sides looking for a victory, we are in for an exciting 90 minutes."
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Formation - Bayer Leverkusen (4-2-3-1):
GK: Lukas Hradecky
RB: Lars Bender
CB: Edmond Tapsoba
CB: Sven Bender
LB: Wendell
CDM: Charles Aránguiz
CDM: Julian Baumgartlinger
RW: Moussa Diaby
CAM: Florian Wirtz
LW: Rakim Rex 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
ST: Patrick Schick
Substitutes: Niklas Lomb, Aleksandar Dragović, Daley Sinkgraven, Kerem Demirbay, Leon Bailey, Nadiem Amiri, Demarai Gray, Lucas Alario
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Formation - Inter Milan (3-5-2):
GK: Samir Handanović
CB: Milan Škriniar
CB: Stefan de Vrij
CB: Alessandro Bastoni
RWB: Achraf Hakimi
CM: Nicolò Barella
CM: Marcelo Brozović
CM: Arturo Vidal
LWB: Ashley Young
ST: Romelu Lukaku
ST: Lautaro Martínez
---
(Fweeet!)
[1’]
Inter took possession immediately, their three-man backline spreading wide, inviting pressure. Leverkusen’s front three pressed cautiously—Schick cutting off the pass to Brozović, Rakim and Diaby positioning themselves to block wide passes to the wing-backs.
"Interesting tactical battle already," Rae observed. "Leverkusen want to press Inter’s build-up, but Conte’s side are comfortable playing through pressure with their numerical advantage at the back."
The opening ten minutes were cagey. Inter dominated possession—64% to Leverkusen’s 36%—but created little. Their build-up was methodical, probing for weaknesses, Brozović orchestrating from deep. However, Leverkusen’s formation remained compact, pressing with discipline, waiting for their moment.
[14’]
That moment came in the 14th minute when Vidal’s pass intended for Hakimi was slightly overhit. Lars Bender intercepted, pushing the recovering winger off as he immediately looked forward. Wirtz had dropped deep, showing for the ball between Inter’s midfielders.
The pass found him, and he turned with a crisp Maradona turn, escaping the pressure from Marcelo Brozović, and suddenly, Leverkusen had numbers forward. He drove forward five yards, drawing Barella toward him, then slipped a pass through to Rakim, who had drifted inside from the left.
Škriniar stepped up to press, but Rakim’s first touch was a deft flick around the Slovakian defender, using his pace to blitz past him. He accelerated into the box, forcing Handanović to rush out to narrow the angle. In response, Rakim shaped to shoot with his right foot, forcing the goalkeeper to commit, then dragged it back onto his left, gliding past the lunging keeper as if he was on ice.
He shaped to shoot, but his foot stopped before the ball, watching De Vrij sliding into the goal. Before anyone could stop him, he calmly lifted the ball into the empty net where no one could interfere. "We wondered if here was gonna score but really we should have been questioning when he was going to get on the score sheet."
"That’s goal number six in the Champions League and 19th in both international and in service of the club." Robson analyses as Rakim raced off to the corner flag in celebration. "This young winger is on an unstoppable run this season, set to break the record if he continues scoring as he has been doing."
[Leverkusen 1 vs 0 Inter - Rakim Rex 15th]
[27’]
Despite conceedingInter’s quality showed as they remained composed and weathered the Germans’ initial barrage of attacks. In the 27th minute, Brozović received the ball from deep in his own half, turning away from Aránguiz’s press with a clever pirouette. He played a vertical pass into Barella’s feet, the Italian midfielder laying it off first-time to Hakimi, who had made an overlapping run down the right.
Rakim tried to get in his way, but the Moroccan wing-back was rapid, leaving him trailing. Dribbling at Wendell, the fullback was forced to step up, trying to slow him down, but the inter man performed two step overs before knocking the ball past him. A foot race ensued as the two charged into the final third, but the Moroccan player clearly won the battle for pace, managing to reach the ball first.
He cut inside onto his left foot, moving across the Brazilian, forcing him to slow down before whipping in a dangerous cross. Lukaku charged into the box, bodying the towering Tapsoba out of the way as he attacked it at the near post. His header was goal-bound, with Hradecky not being able to reach it, but he missed by mere inches, rattling the side netting before hitting the billboard.
"We almost had an Equaliser!" Rae roared. "Brilliant work from Lukaku and Hakimi, but I’m sure they will want to try that again!" The Belgian striker could be seen holding his head in disbelief, shaking it slowly before apologetically raising a hand at his teammate.
[34’]
They got another chance in the 34th minute, and it came from a simple throw-in on the left that became dangerous through intelligent movement. Ashley Young received the ball with his chest, holding off Diaby, and played it inside to Bastoni, who drove forward with the ball.
Leverkusen’s shape was momentarily disorganised with the centre back charging forward, bodies in the wrong positions. Bastoni played a diagonal pass to Vidal, who had found space between Leverkusen’s midfield and defence. The Chilean controlled it with one touch, turning with its momentum, as he scanned the goal ahead of him.
Play unfolded in his vision with Young and Hakimi bombing up the wings as Martínez’s playing of Lukaku’s position made a run into the box. He dribbled forward, assessing his options, but with defenders giving him so much space, he suddenly had an idea. Knocking the ball forward slightly, he took a large step and then struck it cleanly from twenty-five yards out.
The ball left his boot with a muffled boom and exploded forward, rising above Sven, who had tried to lunge in its way, heading toward the top right corner. Hradecky in front of his goals shuffeld backwards and launched himself, fingertips extended—but he couldn’t reach it. The ball crashed against the underside of the crossbar and bounced down over the line.
"GOAL!" Rae’s voice carried surprise. "Arturo Vidal gives Inter the equaliser with a stunning strike!"
Vidal sprinted toward the corner flag, sliding on his knees, his mohawk fluttering as teammates mobbed him. Conte pumped his fist on the touchline, roaring instructions even in celebration.
[Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Inter Milan — Arturo Vidal 34’]
[37]
The equaliser jolted Leverkusen as Bosz could be seen standing on the touchline, gesturing frantically, demanding his team push higher, press harder. But Inter had found their rhythm now, their three-at-the-back system creating numerical advantages in midfield. This created more problems for the Germans as they found themselves overloaded in midfield, forcing their winger to play lower or risk being dominated.
Leverkusen tried to respond before halftime. Wirtz dropped deep repeatedly, attempting to link play, but Brozović shadowed him intelligently. Rakim drifted inside from the left, but Škriniar tracked his movement, refusing to give him space.
[42]
A moment of quality nearly restored Leverkusen’s lead in the 44th minute. Baumgartlinger won the ball in midfield with a perfectly timed tackle on Barella, immediately playing it forward to Diaby. The French winger drove at Bastoni, his pace forcing the Italian defender to frantically retreat.
Diaby cut inside sharply, creating a yard of space, and fired a curling effort toward the far post. Handanović dove full stretch, the ball grazing his fingertips before spinning just wide of the post.
"So close!" Robson exclaimed. "Moussa Diaby nearly put Leverkusen back in front!"
(Fweeet, Fweeet!)
[HT: Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Inter Milan]
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To Be Continued...
