Football singularity
Chapter 514 514 A Bit Of Swagger

Please vote to show me your support for the story. The higher we climb in the rankings, the more motivated I will feel. Mass releases will be rewarded for each 10 rankings we manage to climb.

#More than 10 chapters ahead on my Patreon: /TrikoRex

{!!!Please leave a review, it helps me a lot and lets me know how many people are invested in the future of this novel!!!}

~~~

[19:00 German Time | Bay Arena, Leverkusen | Bayer Leverkusen 2 vs 0 Dusseldorf]

[45]

Zimmermann's heavy-handed leap sent Rakim stumbling forward, roughly landing on the turf. The referee, Daniel Schlage, paused for a moment, hand twitching toward his whistle, but then let play continue, waving it off as incidental contact. Prompting rakim to rais his arms in protest followed by a bout of boos by the home fans.

"Zimmermann's lucky there to the dismay of the home fans," Derek Rae commented, as the crowd erupted in louder jeers and whistles. "Nine out of ten times, that's called for climbing."

"I get wanting to set a tone early in the half," Twellman said, "but you don't need to launch off someone's spine like it's the Bundesliga dunk contest."

The ball, meanwhile, dropped perfectly to the feet of Morales, who used his body to get in Havertz's way as he let it roll to Fink. The midfielder nudged it forward before slotting the ball up the left flank past the outstretched feet of Demirbay. Thommy received the ball with his back to Bender, using his body to hold the Leverkusen right back off.

[47]

Thommy turned sharply, rolling the ball with his studs before spinning off Bender's shoulder. A subtle nudge helped him create just enough separation to whip in a curving low cross forward, aiming toward the near post. Hennings had anticipated the ball and darted past Tah with a clever diagonal run, catching the big centre-back slightly flat-footed.

Hennings reached the ball in stride, and with barely a glance up, met it first-time with the inside of his left boot. The contact was clean, sending the ball skimming just inches above the slick turf. Hrádecký instinctively dropped low, extending both arms and managed to smother the effort at the base of his near post.

"That's brilliant anticipation from Hrádecký!" Derek Rae exclaimed. "He might have just saved Leverkusen from a sure goal."

Twellman added, "That's elite shot-stopping instinct, Derek. Most keepers react late or spill that kind of chance. He got down so fast and held onto it, an absolute masterclass from Finn."

[50]

Despite being rattled by the near goal, the home side didn't take their foot off the gas. Despite starting off with the mindset of slowing the game down, they found themselves subconsciously adapting to Dusseldorf's fast pace. Given that they are a team that naturally plays at a higher pace, it wasn't much of a problem given the effort their opponents put in.

The middle third of the pitch became the busiest part of the pitch with the midfielders battling for possession. With how their formation was set out, Fink and Morales found themselves perfectly mirrored by Leverkusen's two holding midfielders. Havertz found himself in a similar situation in the 10 role as Marcel Sobottka acted as bodyguard.

Still absorbing Dusseldorf's pressure, Leverkusen found themselves coming out on top more than not. However, after a certain point, they began to seek a release valve. In the 52-minute, Baumgartlinger swept the ball across to Demirbay, who paused with it near the halfway line, after spinning by a defender.

Taking a second to scan the field, he spotted Rakim peeling into space on the left, not hesitating, he clipped a curling ball diagonally over the midfield congestion. Rakim took it down with a velvet touch, using his momentum to nudge the ball over the recovering Zimmermann, who came to a sliding stop in front of him.

"You need another hand, old man, you look a little winded there," Rakim said to the fullback in front of him after deftly touching the ball down. "I'm going to nutmeg you."

Before Zimmermann could even react, Rakim's left foot flashed over the ball in a step over as his right performed a reverse elastico. In panic, the full-back shut his legs, inadvertently letting the ball pass him by towards the byline. Rakim didn't wait and exploded from his spot, speeding after the ball.

"Oh, that's way too easy, Ayhan providing cover from the centre though," Twellman commented into the mic as Rakim looked like he would dribble into the box. However, instead of trying to beat the nearing Ayhan, he abruptly chopped the ball to his right with the side of his boot as he stepped back.

"Back and through his legs, we've seen this sequence of events before. Can he put the nail in the coffin, though?" Derek excitedly exclaimed as the ball rolled through Zimmermann's open legs just as he was hustling to recover.

Dodging his stride, Rakim used his long legs to side-step him and latch onto the ball again. Without hesitation, he bent a vicious cross into the box with his right, aiming for Volland. The striker had lost one of his markers with Ayhan moving to provide cover. Instead of standing still, he had switched positions with Diaby, allowing him to circle back to attack the area around the back post.

[53]

Volland sensed the opportunity. As the ball whipped through the air, he readjusted his body shape, held off the late-arriving Hoffmann with a subtle push using his back, and powered forward with a low leap. With exquisite timing, he met the cross just before the ball could dip too far, snapping his neck to drive a header downward.

It pierced the goal like a dart, leaving Kastenmeier glued to his line, unable to react as the ball rattled the bottom corner of the net. "GOAL! Volland buries it with authority," Derek Rae shouted over the stadium's eruption. "It's three for Leverkusen, and that might be curtains for Düsseldorf!"

Taylor Twellman's voice cut in, "You can't teach that some strikers just got that killer instinct, and Volland extends his scoring streak." The BayArena vibrated with the bouncing of fans who exploded out of their seats in jubilation. Their roars resounded, letting all their emotions spill out as Volland celebrated his goal at the side.

"That's Volland's eleventh goal of the season," Rae noted. "And that assist from Rakim, his 8th in the Bundesliga. The teenager continues to impress."

[Leverkusen 3:0 Dusseldorf]

[56]

Play resumed with Düsseldorf trying to claw their way back. Funkel's side pushed their lines higher, with Morales and Fink playing riskier vertical passes to catch Leverkusen on the break. Thommy and Skrzybski tried rotating wings, hoping to unsettle Wendell and Bender. If this had been the previous week's Leverkusen, they would have had a fighting chance, but the current home side seemed to have found their swagger.

They were now brimming with confidence, and it showed in the way they moved the ball around their ranks with ease. Even when they lost possession, no one panicked, and they simply executed the defensive drills they had practised. This led to a situation where all three ranks of defenders, midfielders, and strikers dominated their opponents.

In the next ten minutes, the number of shots flying towards the Dusseldorf goal exploded exponentially. By the 66th minute, it became clear that Düsseldorf's defensive shape was unravelling. Their backline began to drop deeper with each Leverkusen possession, but their midfield struggled to compress, leaving open pockets between the lines.

It was in one of these pockets that Havertz got to work using one or two touch passes to connect with nearby teammates. Raising the tempo of their play, they began pressuring their opponents on both flanks, with both holding midfielders stepping up. He received a pass from Baumgartlinger just inside the final third and turned smoothly under pressure.

Looking up for a second, he launched a piercing vertical ball down the right channel. Diaby pounced on it, bursting past Suttner with a shoulder dip that left the fullback chasing his shadow. The French winger surged down the flank and, just before reaching the byline, zipped in a low, fizzing cross toward the penalty spot.

Rakim, having drifted in unmarked from the far side, angled his run perfectly between the centre-backs. But just as he readied to strike, Hoffmann lunged in at full stretch and barely clipped the ball with the toe of his boot, diverting it out of Rakim's stride.

"Ohhh, that was close," Derek Rae intoned. "That was nearly four, and Rakim looked like he was going to bury it."

Taylor Twellman added, "Give credit to Hoffmann. He's had a rough night, but that was a goal-saving intervention. Any misstep and Rakim's already celebrating."

[69]

Panicked at what he was seeing, Funkle immediately made his substitutions. Kownacki replaced Skrzybski on the right flank, Thommy on the left flank, also left the stage for the Ghanaian Ampomah and in midfield, the Austrian Stöger replaced Fink. The substitution received a lukewarm welcome in the BayArena, but the changes prompted Peter Bosz to make some changes.

Demirbay left the stage for Wirtz, shifting the Leverkusen formation from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3, with Baumgartlinger acting as a holding midfielder. That wasn't the only change he wanted to make, but for now, he decided to wait and see for the next ten minutes. The welcome Wirtz received was not comparable to the opposing players, as a bout of applause rained down upon him and Demirbay.

.

.

.

.

To Be Continued...

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.