Football singularity-Chapter 700 Jollof Rice
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~~~
[16/02/2021 | Puskás Aréna, Budapest | 21:23 CET]
[UEFA Champions League Round of 16 - 2nd Leg | Manchester City 0-0 Bayer 04 Leverkusen]
[Aggregate: 1-1]
[25’]
Hradecky’s free-kick was launched long, clearing City’s press. The ball bounced in midfield, where Baumgartlinger and Rodri contested it fiercely. The Austrian won the duel, nodding it down to Wirtz, who immediately turned away from Gündoğan’s challenge.
The German teenager drove forward five yards, his head up, scanning for options. Rakim had already begun his run down the left flank, dragging Walker with him. Diaby mirrored the movement on the right. Wirtz waited until the exact moment City’s shape stretched, then played a diagonal pass into the channel between Stones and Cancelo.
Diaby latched onto it, his first touch long taking him past Stones’s desperate lunge. He cut inside sharply at the side of the box, shaping to send a cross into the box. Cancelo committed, sliding across—but the French winger had already fired in the cross into Schick’s run.
The Czech striker created just enough separation to swing a foot at the incoming ball. Ederson bet him to it, diving out of his goal safely, embracing the incoming ball at the six-yard line before he could reach ot.
Ederson!" Drury roared. "Leverkusen so close to breaking the deadlock! This match is living on a knife’s edge!"
"Both goalkeepers have been exceptional," Tyldesley added. "But one of them will eventually be beaten."
[32’]
City responded with a spell of sustained possession, attempting to slow the game’s frenetic pace. De Bruyne became the focal point, dropping deeper to collect the ball, then launching attacks with his vision and passing range. In the 34th minute, the Belgian received from Rodri just inside Leverkusen’s half.
Aránguiz pressed him immediately, but De Bruyne’s first touch, mixed with a simple hesitation, took him away from the challenge with effortless grace. He looked up, seeing Sterling making a run in behind, and played a perfect through ball with the outside of his right boot. The pass split Tapsoba and the turning Frimpong, weighted to perfection as it curved outward toward the incoming winger.
The line’s man’s flag stayed down, Sterling was onside, albeit barely—his pace taking him clear. Hradecky rushed out, trying to narrow the angle, but Sterling shaped to shoot just outside the six-yard line. Before he could get the shot off, though, Tapsoba appeared from nowhere, sliding across with perfect timing.
His outstretched leg deflected Sterling’s shot just enough to send it spinning wide as Hardecky dove. "EDMOND TAPSOBA!" Tyldesley exclaimed. "What a stoppage! Sterling thought he had the opener, but Tapsoba saves Leverkusen once again!"
"That’s defending of the highest class," Drury added.
[37]
In the 37th, Rakim dropped back the halfway line, receiving the outlet pass from Wendell, who escaped Mahrez’s attempt at pressing. He moved to turn towards the win, dropping a shoulder, but pushed the ball forward, turning away from Walker. Cutting inward, he exchanged a one-two with Baumgartlinger, skipping past Gündoğan as he turned forward.
"Rakim on the move," Drury noted as the winger exchanged a sequence of passes with Wriz, the two quickly breaking the midfield.
Rakim slipped the ball to the top of the box into Wirtz’s run, who had slipped behind Rodri. The young playmaker drew Stones forward and back-heeled the ball right into the run of Aránguiz. "Charles Aránguiz!" Tyldesley exclaimed as the Chilean footballer fired a first-time rocket of a shot.
The ball flew like a missile from Aránguiz’s boot, rising toward the top left corner with venom. Ederson tracked it, launching himself across his goal, fully extended. His fingertips met the ball at full stretch, deflecting it just enough to send it crashing against the underside of the crossbar.
The rebound fell kindly for Schick six yards out, the goal gaping—but Dias threw himself into the path. But the striker trapped the ball, drawing it back to dodge the Portuguese defender and slotted the ball into the back of the net.
"GOOOAAL!" Drury’s voice exploded. "PATRICK SCHICK! LEVERKUSEN TAKE THE LEAD IN THE TIE! What composure! What quality from Patrik Schick!"
Schick sprinted toward the corner flag, sliding on his knees as his teammates mobbed him. Rakim was first there, jumping on his back, followed immediately by Wirtz and Aránguiz.
"Clinical finishing," Tyldesley said, his voice carrying admiration. "They bided their time, and one good chance was all they needed. Manchester City now need two to avoid elimination."
[Manchester City (1) 0-1 (2) Bayer Leverkusen — Patrick Schick 38’]
[42’]
City pushed forward with urgency, trying to secure the equaliser before half-time, throwing more bodies into the attack. De Bruyne tried to do his thing, but suddenly, he found two bodyguards stuck to him whenever the ball entered his area of influence. Whether through interceptions of fouls, Baumgartlinger and Aránguiz made sure the Belgian playmaker couldn’t influence the match.
Forced to play around him, City’s Tiki-taka tactics suddenly became less effective under Leverkusen pressure. In the 44th, Rodri tried to create an opportunity by dribbling up the left side of the field. He exchanged a couple of passes with Cancelo to escape the influence of Wirtz and Diaby before finding Mahrez on the cutback.
The winger flicked the ball inwards, finding the feet of Gabriel Jesus, who was tightly marked by Tah. The Brazilian striker tried to turn, using his body to shield the ball from Tah’s pressure, but the German captain was relentless. He stayed tight, hands on Jesus’s back, not allowing him any space to manoeuvre.
Gabriel attempted a quick spin to his right, hoping to create a shooting angle, but Tah anticipated it perfectly, stepping across and poking the ball away cleanly. The loose ball fell to Gündoğan at the edge of the box. The German midfielder struck it first-time, the shot rising toward the top right corner.
Hradecky tracked it, launching himself across his goal. His fingertips deflected it just enough to send it spinning over the bar. "LUKAS HRADECKY!" Tyldesley roared. "City denied time and time again!"
"They’re creating chances," Drury observed, "but Leverkusen’s are doing a better job at defending."
[45+1’]
The corner swung in dangerously, De Bruyne delivering it with pace toward the penalty spot. Bodies collided in the six-yard box—Dias rose highest, his header powerful, directed goalward, but couldnt bring it down enough. "Good header, but couldnt trouble the keeper." Tyldesley analysed as the ball harmlessly hit the outside of the net.
(FWEEET, FWEEET!)
[HT: Manchester City (1) 0-1 (2) Bayer Leverkusen]
~~~
[CBS Sports Studio, London | Halftime]
Kate Abdo reappeared on screen, flanked by her panel. The studio graphics showed match statistics—possession heavily in City’s favour at 67%, but Leverkusen leading where it mattered, the scoreline. "Well, gentlemen," Kate began, "Leverkusen have taken the lead. Are we witnessing a historic upset in the making?"
Richards leaned forward, his expression serious. "Look, City are dominating possession, creating chances, doing everything Guardiola wants them to do. But they can’t finish. And at the other end, Leverkusen are clinical, shown by their chance-to-goal-creation ratio this season in each game."
A graph appeared behind them showing that Leverkusen converted 1/7 chances they created. With every fourth chance ending with a shot on target, which was effective for a team playing in one of the best leagues in the world. "Look at you doing reachers for once," Carragher joked, causing Henry to smile brightly.
"You know me, guys, I always come prepared," he proudly boasted with a massive grin.
"Yes, prepared to eat. What did you pack for lunch today, Micha? Jollof rice." Kate asked, half-jokingly and genuinely curious to hear the answer.
"Guys, I think we have a match to analyse", Henry interrupted before things could go out of hand again.
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To Be Continued...
