Football singularity-Chapter 716 Quarter-Final
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[2021-04-05, 19:45 | BayArena, Leverkusen | Champions League Quarter-Final 1st leg | Leverkusen v Dortmund]
The Setting sun had long disappeared, and the floodlights illuminated the pitch below. Two teams in Red and yellow went through the customary pre-match greetings before heading to their respective half. Tension hung in the atmosphere sharp enough to cut glas and even the empty seats couldn’t diminish what was at stake.
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Formation - Bayer 04 Leverkusen (4-3-3):
GK: Lukas Hradecky
RB: Jeremie Frimpong
CB: Edmond Tapsoba
CB: Jonathan Tah (c)
LB: Wendell
CM: Florian Wirtz
CDM: Charles Aránguiz
CM: Nadiem Amiri
RW: Moussa Diaby
ST: Patrik Schick
LW: Rakim Rex
Substitutes: Lennart Grill, Lars Bender, Aleksandar Dragović, Julian Baumgartlinger, Kerem Demirbay, Leon Bailey, Demarai Gray, Lucas Alario
Manager: Peter Bosz
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Formation - Borussia Dortmund (4-2-3-1):
GK: Marwin Hitz
RB: Thomas Meunier
CB: Mats Hummels 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺
CB: Manuel Akanji
LB: Raphaël Guerreiro
CDM: Emre Can
CDM: Jude Bellingham
RW: Jadon Sancho
CAM: Marco Reus (c)
LW: Julian Brandt
ST: Erling Haaland
Substitutes: Roman Bürki, Łukasz Piszczek, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Axel Witsel, Mahmoud Dahoud, Giovanni Reyna, Youssoufa Moukoko, Thorgan Hazard
Manager: Edin Terzić
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"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Champions League knockout stage broadcast between Leverkusen and Dortmund." Peter Drury’s magnetic voice resounded as the camera panned down on the field below. "I’m your host, Peter Drury, joined by the spectacular Jim Beglin."
"Hahah, that’s a heck of an introduction," Jim commented with a bright smile. "And what a knockout clash we have before us, both sides have already faced each other 3 times this season in league and cup clashes. On average, Leverkusen have come out on top with two victories and a draw."
"Indeed, the team out of Leverkusen is having an incredible year, but I’m sure that this Borussia side will want to end their run against them," Drury responded, going into more detail, talking about the different match-ups on the pitch. "We’ve had a lot of discussions on what we expect from this match. Now it is finally time to let football do the talking."
Almost as if in response to his words, the referee who had finished his final checks blew his whistle, signalling the start of the match. *Fweeeet*
[1’]
Dortmund kicked off, and immediately Haaland laid it off to Reus, who turned and played it wide to Sancho on the right. Weathering the initial Leverkusen press, they immediately pushed forward as the English winger danced by Rakim’s challenge. His energy was infectious, quickly getting his teammates involved, exchanging a quick one-two with Brandt, skipping past Amiri’s challenge, before firing a diagonal pass toward Haaland’s run.
The Norwegian had already begun his surge, his long strides eating up the ground between him and Leverkusen’s defensive line. Tah read the pass through and surged forward, intercepting the ball before it could reach the striker. The ball deflected off his shin and fell kindly to Tapsoba, who immediately played it forward to Aránguiz.
The Chilean turned sharply away from Can’s press, his first touch taking him clear. He drove forward five yards before playing it wide to Rakim on the left. The winger collected it, immediately sizing up Meunier, who approached cautiously. Noticing how the fullback tried to guide him wide, he dropped a shoulder, feinting inside, then exploded down the line with a burst of acceleration.
Meunier recovered quickly, tracking back with haste, trying to force him wide, but the winger remained composed. He looked up, spotting Wirtz drifting into space up the middle, and cut the ball back with the outside of his boot. Wirtz controlled it with one touch, glided away from Bellingham’s challenge, and threaded a pass into Schick’s feet at the edge of the box.
The Czech striker held it up brilliantly under pressure from Hummels, then laid it off to Diaby, who had drifted inside from the right. The Frenchman struck it first-time from eighteen yards, his shot rising toward the top left corner. Hitz tracked it, launching himself across his goal, getting a firm hand to it, pushing it over the bar.
"WHAT A SAVE!" Drury exclaimed. "Moussa Diaby with a fierce strike, but Marwin Hitz is equal to it! Leverkusen starting with intent!"
The corner was delivered by Wirtz, curling into the six-yard box. Bodies rose in a mass of limbs—Tah got a glancing header, but it lacked power, and Hitz caught it comfortably. "Good early pressure from Leverkusen," Beglin observed. "They’re not sitting back—they’re going for it."
[7’]
In the 7th minute, Dortmund had their first real attack when Bellingham won the ball back in midfield with a crunching tackle on Amiri. He sprang up from the ground and immediately drove forward. Before Charles Aránguiz could close him down, he drilled a pass wide to Sancho, who had drifted inside, drawing Frimpong out of position.
He turned sharply, nutmegging the Brazilian right-back with ease, then burst into the box. Tapsoba slid across to cover, but Sancho had already squared it to Haaland, who was lurking at the penalty spot. The Norwegian striker struck it first-time with his left foot, sending the ball flying toward the bottom left corner.
Hradecky was alert, diving full stretch, doing enough to get a strong hand to, pushing it wide. "LUKAS HRADECKY!" Drury roared. "What a save! Erling Haaland thought he had the opener!"
The corner was delivered by Reus, curling toward the back post where Hummels lurked. He managed to rise above Tah and powered a header goalward. Frimpong at the post managed to block it with his chest, and before anyone could pounce on the rebound, Hradecky smothered it.
"Dortmund’s turn to apply pressure," Beglin noted. "This is already shaping up to be a fascinating contest."
[12’]
The match settled into a tense rhythm, both sides probing without overcommitting. Leverkusen dominated possession, for the most part working the ball patiently from side to side, but Dortmund’s compact shape made it difficult to find openings. On one occasion, Wirtz dropped deep to collect from Tapsoba, turning away from Bellingham’s press.
He drove forward ten yards, then played a diagonal pass to Rakim on the left. The winger controlled it with his first touch, but before he could make anything with it, Meunier slid in, stopping the attack. The throw was taken quickly, but the attack had lost its momentum with shirts of relief smothering the home side.
As the visitors began stealing into the game, they regained their fair share of possession. Bellingham and Can especially became busy, mixing a variety of short and long passes to create attacking opportunities. In the 15th, the English wunderkid out of Birmingham found Julian Brand with a nifty through ball down the left flank.
He skipped by Frimpong along the flank and sent in a grounded cross from the side of the box. It flew across the six-yard box, evading Tah’s outstretched leg, finding Haaland charging in at the back post. The Norwegian threw himself at it, stretching every sinew to make contact—his boot connected, but the angle was too tight. The ball flew across the face of the goal and out for a goal kick.
"OH SO CLOSE!" Drury exclaimed. "Erling Haaland inches away from giving Dortmund the lead! That was the chance!"
[18’]
The game opened up as both sides began trading attacks, with Dortmund pushing forward again when Sancho received the ball on the right. He immediately took on Wendell with a series of stepovers, but the Brazilian left-back stood firm, refusing to be drawn in. Sancho managed to slip the ball through his legs and burst into the box.
Tapsoba was there instantly, sliding across with perfect timing. His tackle was clean, taking the ball and man together, but the referee waved play on. Sancho stayed down, appealing for a penalty, but the official wasn’t interested. "Good defending from Edmond Tapsoba," Drury noted. "He timed that to perfection. Sancho wants a penalty, but the referee says no."
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To Be Continued...
