Football singularity-Chapter 698 2nd Leg
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[14/02/2021 | Team Hotel, Budapest | 18:30 CET]
The familiar arrival routine had become second nature—passport control, luggage collection, team bus through unfamiliar streets. But this time, Budapest felt different; they had just been here a couple of weeks ago. The Puskás Aréna was a great venue, but if Rakim had to pick, he would have preferred to play in the Etihad Stadium. Things were meant to be.
Playing in European away legs meant experiencing different venues across different countries. Beyond the match implications, it allowed players to imagine what it would be like to play for their opponents. One example was Ronaldo, who, upon experiencing the love of the Juventus fans, decided to join them after his time at Madrid expired.
For young players like Rakim and Wirtz, playing in the best development league, which is the Bundesliga, closely followed by League One, it was a missed opportunity. Sure, they played against European giants in youth competitions, but facing a giant like City at home was an experience hard to come by. Pressure makes diamonds, and experiencing hostile crowds can push a decent player to the realms of stars.
Rakim sat in the hotel lobby with Wirtz, both scrolling through their phones as the rest of the squad checked in. The past three weeks had been a grind—five matches across two competitions, each more important than the other. "Feels like we just left here," Wirtz muttered, pocketing his phone.
"Feels like a lifetime ago," Rakim countered, and in some ways, it did. The draw against Manchester City on February 24th had been followed by a relentless stretch of fixtures that tested every ounce of Leverkusen’s title credentials.
~~~
[26/01/2021 | BayArena, Leverkusen | Bundesliga MW18]
Wolfsburg had arrived at the BayArena sitting fifth in the table, their direct, physical style causing problems for every opponent they faced. The match lived up to the pundits’ expectations, with end-to-end chaos; neither defence could establish control. Wout Weghorst opened the scoring for Wolfsburg in the 18th minute, his aerial dominance giving Tapsoba problems.
But Leverkusen responded quickly—Wirtz equalizing in the 24th, bending the ball around the keeper’s lunge after a Rakim through ball. Diaby put Leverkusen ahead just before halftime with a solo goal, cutting inside from the right and curling it past Casteels. But Wolfsburg equalized again in the 67th minute through Brekalo’s long-range strike.
The winner came in the 82nd minute. Rakim received the ball on the left, beat his marker with a sharp cutback, and whipped in a cross. Schick rose above everyone, his header powerful and precise, nestling into the bottom corner. That proved to be the last goal of the match, sealing another victory for the Leverkusen side as they maintained their lead. However, Bosz wasn’t pleased in the post-match press conference, emphasizing the need for better defensive organization.
[FT: Leverkusen 3-2 Wolfsburg]
~~~
[30/01/2021 | Red Bull Arena, Leipzig | Bundesliga MW19]
The trip to Leipzig was always going to be difficult—second-place Leipzig, at home, desperate to close the gap. The atmosphere was electric despite COVID restrictions, the 10,000 fans creating noise that echoed through the stadium. Leipzig used this boost to dominate the opening twenty minutes, their press suffocating Leverkusen’s build-up.
Dani Olmo opened the scoring in the 16th minute, finishing off a slick team passing sequence that bypassed Leverkusen’s midfield entirely. But Leverkusen weren’t leading the table for nothing and grew into the match. Bailey equalized in the 34th minute, latching onto a through ball from Amiri, calmly slotting the ball past Gulácsi. The second half was more balanced, both teams creating chances but neither able to establish control.
Leipzig retook the lead in the 68th minute—Yussuf Poulsen converting from close range after Hradecky could only parry Sabitzer’s shot. It looked like defeat until the 85th minute, when Rakim cut inside from the left and unleashed a curling effort that flew past Gulácsi into the top corner. The away point felt like a victory given the circumstances, but it was still two points dropped. Bayern, who had won their match earlier in the day, closed the gap to five points once again, overtaking RB.
[FT: RB Leipzig 2-2 Leverkusen]
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[03/02/2021 | Stadion Essen, Essen | DFB-Pokal Round of 16]
The DFB-Pokal clash against Rot-Weiss Essen should, on paper, have been straightforward. But cup football is never simple, especially away from home against lower-league opposition desperate to create an upset. Essen’s tiny stadium was empty, and Bosz rotated the squad heavily—Lomb in goal, Dragović and Sven Bender at centre-back, Amiri and Bailey starting in attack alongside a rested Rakim.
The match was frustrating to say the least. Essen sat deep, defended with discipline, and made life difficult for Leverkusen’s technical players. Chance after chance went begging—Bailey hit the post in the 34th minute, Amiri forced a brilliant save in the 52nd.
The breakthrough finally came in the 78th minute. Wirtz, brought on as a substitute, threaded a pass through Essen’s defence. Alario, also off the bench, stayed onside by inches and finished calmly past the goalkeeper.
[FT: Rot-Weiß Essen 0-1 Leverkusen]
~~~
[06/02/2021 | BayArena, Leverkusen | Bundesliga MW20]
This was the match that sent shockwaves through the Bundesliga. Stuttgart, sitting mid-table, arrived at the BayArena without their injured star striker, Silas Wamangituka. Few gave them a chance after all, they were facing a side that had beaten favourites like Bayern and BVB.
Things didn’t follow the script, though, as Stuttgart defended with an organized compact 5-3-2 shape, denying Leverkusen space to create. Bosz’s side dominated possession—72% by the final whistle—but couldn’t find the breakthrough. Rakim hit the post in the 23rd minute. Schick forced two brilliant saves. Diaby’s shot was cleared off the line by a spectacular dive from the keeper.
Then, in the 82nd minute, disaster struck. A Stuttgart counter-attack caught Leverkusen’s defence high. Mateo Klimowicz played a simple ball over the top, and Nicolás González latched onto it, racing towards the Leverkusen box. Hradecky rushed out to try and deny him, but the striker was unimpressed and calmly slotted it past him.
Leverkusen pushed desperately for an equalizer, throwing everyone forward in the dying minutes. But Stuttgart held firm, their celebration at the final whistle wild and uninhibited. That signalled the Red Lions’ official second loss in the league, tightening the gap between second and first.
[FT: Leverkusen 0-1 Stuttgart
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[13/02/2021 | BayArena, Leverkusen | Bundesliga MW21]
The response had to be emphatic after that shocking loss, which cost them 3 points. Mainz arrived struggling near the relegation zone, and Leverkusen, still stinging from the Stuttgart defeat, came out with intensity that bordered on ruthless.
Rakim opened the scoring in the 12th minute, latching onto a through ball threaded by Aránguiz, finishing with clinical precision. He doubled his score sheet in the 31st with a solo goal, his pace tearing apart Mainz’s defence with a string of skill moves. Bosz made early substitutions in the second half, protecting key players ahead of the Manchester City return leg.
Bailey added a third in the 68th minute, finishing a sweeping counter-attack. Despite the victory, the tension over the league standings had intensified, as they were only four points ahead of Bayern. That was only so because the Much team had a game in hand and could easily bring the distance down to just 1 point.
[FT: Leverkusen 3-0 Mainz]
~~~
[14/02/2021 | Team Hotel, Budapest | 19:15 CET]
Now, sitting in the hotel lobby with Wirtz, Rakim reflected on the three weeks. Five matches, three wins, one draw, one loss. Eleven points from a possible fifteen. It wasn’t a bad result, but in a title race against Bayern Munich, it wasn’t quite good enough. Especially given that things would inevitably get harder towards the end of the season in the three-horse race they were in.
"You ready for Tuesday?" Wirtz asked, breaking the silence.
Rakim looked up from his phone. "Are you?"
"I asked first."
"Yeah," Rakim said simply. "We need a victory, so it’s hard, but I’m confident. That draw at home still bothers me."
"Me too." Wirtz stood, stretching. "Come on, they have rooms sorted."
They walked toward the staff who would outline their rooms, allowing them to get some rest before the evening meeting. They would have an evening training session, followed by a tactical meeting, for the second leg.
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To Be Continued...
