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[Ti 20:11 | BayArena | Bayer Leverkusen 3 – 3 Borussia Dortmund]
[81]
"Yo," Giovanni heard Rakim say as he jogged up to cover him for the ensuing throw-in, surprising him slightly.
"Eh yeah hi," he said, positioning himself slightly behind him, blocking the winger's path into the box if he were to receive the ball. The reason for his surprise was the fact that they hadn't talked with Rakim since their match in Poland, and even that was just polite conversation.
"Congrats on the call-up," Rakim said yet again, unprompted from the Arican midfielder, "Weird how we played against each other as kids and now we get to do it on the big stage."
Sinkgraven made the throw-in to his feet, and Rakim reacted imdiately by pushing off Giovanni's chest and calmly tapping down the ball. Skipping to his left, he dodged a lunge by Witsel, stopping the ball just at the touchline. Retna quickly recovered, stepping up to close him down, but Rakim rely poked the ball through his legs, sending a pass into the feet of Amiri.
[82]
Amiri barely needed a touch. The ball zipped to his feet, and with a delicate caress, he guided it to the other side of the box. Bailey was already darting across the edge of the box, and with one sweeping motion, Amiri sent the ball curling into his path.
Bailey let the ball glide ahead of him with a feather-light touch, cutting inside on his favoured left. Akanji was already anticipating the move, shifting his weight and preparing to pounce. But Bailey had him second-guessing with a sudden hesitation that forced the defender to delay his tackle.
Humls on the side did not hesitate as he ca sliding in to take the ball cleanly and sent Bailey sprawling to the ground. The defender did not bother looking back as he jumped up from the ground and sent a pass out wide to Thorgan Hazard.
"What a stop by Humls," Rae exclaid as the away fans cheered in joy at their long-serving defender. "Though I'm not surprised since we have seen him do similar things week in week out."
"Indeed, Humls is one of the best defenders in the world for a reason." Robson chid in, "Given the turnover rate in the squad, having a reliable rock to build your defence on is a must for any coach stepping into that role."
[83]
Hazard controlled the ball near the right touchline and imdiately started drilling up the field. He shrugged off Sinkgraven's attempt to body-check him early, using his montum to burst ahead. A shoulder-to-shoulder race erupted between them as they crossed the halfway line.
As they reached the final third, Sinkgraven attempted a sliding tackle from the side. Hazard anticipated it, though as he ca to a sudden stop, performing an L drag back to manoeuvre around the sliding defender. "Silky bit of footwork from the Belgium," Rae exclaid as the winger cut inward just as Götze made a run across the box to the right side, opening up the middle.
Bender ca in from the middle, but Hazard nudged the ball further ahead as he slipped past the shoulder check. His balance was exquisite as he kept his legs pumping, storming toward the top of the box. Götze's decoy run continued to pull Tah wide, briefly exposing the space between Leverkusen's centre-backs.
The Belgian chopped the ball sharply back inside on his right foot, just as Sven Bender stepped up to et him. Catching the defender off flat-footed, he drove into the opening. Just as Tapsoba ca across to intercept, Hazard took his chances from there, firing a shot to the bottom right corner.
The ball skipped along the ground, kicking up a stream of water as it zipped toward goal at blistering pace. Hrádecký dropped low and flung himself toward the corner, fingertips grazing the slick surface as he desperately tried to get across. (Thwack!) The sound of leather striking the post rang out like a bell through the BayArena.
"Luck strikes again for this Leverkusen side," Rae exclaid as the cara panned over the disbelieving expression of the Belgium winger. "This Dortmund side must be asking themselves what more do they need to do to put this ga to bed."
"Indeed, Derek, they have been doing their best, but sotis it's just not enough," Robson comnted, much to the annoyance of the away fans who began cursing his family line. "When two teams at their level face each other, the margin for error is slim, and that is what we are witnessing. Oh, it looks like it's the ho side's turn to launch a counter."
[86]
The ball ricocheted across the face of the goal, skipping past the outstretched legs of Götze and Tapsob. Amiri raced back, beating Sancho to the ball just as it left the box on the other side. He steadied himself with a quick touch, then knocked the ball down the line to Rakim, who had tracked back.
Not holding onto it, he knocked it inwards into Havertz's run, who ca sprinting up the middle channel. His first touch was subli, cushioning the ball with the outside of his boot as he held off Can's pressing from his side. The young German's head was already on eh swivel, scanning the field as he felt the Dortmund midfielder's presence closing in.
With a deft shoulder drop to the left, he created separation from the Turkish German. The fans in the stands sat forward in anticipation as their golden boy surged forward, his long strides eating up the ground between the halfway line and Dortmund's final third. Humls had already begun his retreat, reading the danger as Havertz approached at pace.
However, the veteran defender found himself caught in no man's land - too far from his own goal to drop back, yet unable to commit to a tackle that might leave his team exposed. Zagadou rushed across to provide cover, but Havertz had already spotted the movent. With a subtle shift of his hips, he directed the ball toward the left channel where Lean was making his run.
The Jamaican pace was electric as he latched onto the through ball, a second before Akanji's desperate lunge. Hastily manoeuvring around the defender while he still had the chance, he dribbled into the area between the box and the touchline. Akanji turned swiftly, trying to shepherd Bailey toward the byline, but the winger's hips were as quick as silver.
With a whip-crack chop of his left boot, he reversed course with the swiftness of a Brazilian magister, he cut inside so abruptly that Akanji's studs skidded across the slick grass. Bailey now had the box yawning before him. Zagadou lunged to close him down, yet the Jamaican slid a tantalising pass square to Havertz just inside the "D."
[87]
Havertz took the ball on the half-turn, letting the weight of Can's challenge glance off his shoulder. One stride, two strides—then, anticipating Humls' stepping out, he popped a deft reverse pass behind the veteran's blind side. Lars Bender, of all people, had charged into the box for the first ti in the ga and arrived like a runaway train.
He struck the ball first ti, sending it skipping towards goal, but luck wasn't on his side as Zagadou's heel managed to clip it after his desperate lunge, spinning out for a corner. The BayArena groaned, half in anguish, half in exasperation at missing yet another chance to take the lead.
"A roller coaster ride here at the BayArena, we promised you drama, we promised you goals, but we did not promise you peace of mind," Rae bellowed as the players trudged into the Dortmund box for the corner kick. "At this point, they may have to settle for a draw, what do you think, Steward?"
Robson took a mont to gather his words before saying sothing that caught his partner off guard. "In the words of the legendary Sepp, ' The ball is round, the ga lasts ninety minutes, and everything else is just theory.' It's not over until that whistle rings, and I don't believe that any of the 22 players is willing to rest until it does."
The Cara flashed to the figure of Rakim close to the edge of the box marked by Giovanni. "If there were a man the fans would bet on to step up in these crucial monts, it would be him. A heavy burden for such a young man, but he carries it with swagger."
[88]
Amiri placed the ball at the quadrant, wiping rain from his lashes while the BayArena humd with nervous electricity. He raised two fingers to signal for Tah to target the back post and for Bender the middle. In the next mont, players began to shuffle in the box, prompting their opponents to react accordingly.
A hole quickly appeared between the goal and the edge of the box, with Tah being the only player standing on the penalty spot marked by Humls. Amiri took a deep breath before clenching his right fist, prompting Volland, who had been in the mix of the chaos at the edge of the box, to get into motion. Before anyone could react, he arced a wicked in-swinger toward the near post.
Voland found himself alone as he raced to the area around the front post, lunging forward as the ball closed in. "Oh, my days, he is completely unmarked."
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To Be Continued...
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