Chapter 667 Quarter-Finals Bound! [Monthly Bonus]

Up in the gantry, the main commentator was still trying to make sense of the decision.

"Well, there are certainly arguments on both sides here. Some are saying penalty, others believe the contact happened just outside. But the referee hasn’t pointed to the spot."

The official stood near the edge of the penalty area, his index finger pressed against his earpiece.

The stadium waited, especially Leo, who watched him closely, with Carlo standing beside him.

Walker continued protesting, pointing towards the ball and insisting that the challenge had been clean.

Eventually, the referee lowered his hand.

The fans in the stadium all watched on eagerly as he pointed towards the turf, just outside the penalty area.

A free kick.

The Wigan players exchanged looks.

There was a brief wave of disbelief from the home supporters, followed by a mixture of applause and frustrated whistles.

Leo then approached the referee.

"How is that not a penalty?"

The official gave him a short explanation, pointing towards the spot where Walker had made contact.

Leo looked down at the grass, then back at him.

He wasn’t convinced, but there was little else to be done.

The players eventually moved away, and Leo took responsibility for the free kick.

He placed the ball down, then stepped back while City began assembling their wall.

Akanji stood near the centre, with Stones beside him.

Walker too moved into position, while Ortega adjusted himself behind the line, constantly looking around the bodies in front of him.

The main commentator returned to the situation.

"Now, this is an interesting position for Wigan. Calderon standing over it, and we’ve already seen what he can do from these situations.

He has excellent technique, and Ortega will know that he cannot afford to get his positioning wrong."

His partner added, "The wall is going to be important here. City need to cover the near side without leaving the goalkeeper exposed at the other end."

The referee walked across the penalty area, making sure the wall was at the required distance.

He checked the position of the ball, spoke briefly with Ortega, then retreated.

Leo remained still, and when the whistle came, he took his first step forward, shaping his body as though he intended to strike directly towards goal.

The City wall reacted accordingly, but instead, he rolled the ball into Reyes.

"Is this it? Calderon plays it short!"

Reyes received just outside the box and, realising they’d been fooled, the City defenders immediately shifted towards him, with several bodies stepping out to block the shooting lane.

But Reyes didn’t shoot.

’

He took one touch and rolled the ball back into Leo’s path.

The return pass was perfectly weighted, expertly done by Reyes, and Leo didn’t waste it.

Taking advantage of the momentary attention on Reyes, he stepped onto it and unleashed a powerful strike from outside the area.

"CALDERON GOES FOR IT!"

The ball rose, curling towards the goal as City defenders threw themselves across its path, but none made contact.

"CALDERON! WHAT A HIT!"

Ortega had to take two quick steps backwards.

He launched himself towards the ball, stretching both arms above his head, but the shot was already past him.

In the next second, the expectant faces of the Wigan fans, however, dropped as the ball crashed against the crossbar.

The sharp metallic ring echoed above the goalkeeper’s head, and the rebound flew back into the penalty area.

Ortega landed awkwardly, turning towards the ball as Akanji reacted first and hammered it away, but there was no time to linger.

"OH WHAT AN EFFORT FROM CALDERON. THAT SHOT WAS TRAVELLING, BUT IT SEEMS WIGAN AREN’T DONE YET."

Leo, seeing the state of the Wigan setup behind him, jogged right back as Whatmough collected the clearance and played it towards him, allowing Wigan to retain possession.

Leo received with his back to goal and turned in one movement.

Then immediately released a one-touch pass into Carlo’s path, but the Italian returned it without hesitation, failing the City players’ expectation of another run.

City’s midfield was being pulled apart by the second, and they just couldn’t come together.

After the Wigan players returned to their respective positions, Leo accelerated again, taking the ball into the space between Rodri and the defensive line.

The Spaniard stepped forward, determined to stop him this time.

But Leo came at him with conviction.

He couldn’t back down forever.

He shifted the ball towards his right, drawing Rodri across before using the outside of his boot to bend a pass around him.

The ball travelled towards the far side of the penalty area.

The ball looked like going out but just before it could do so, Ezra appeared on the end of it.

He had timed his run perfectly, arriving behind Ake before the fullback could recover.

Ezra stretched out his foot and redirected the ball across the face of goal.

"EZRA! HE’S GOT IT ACROSS!"

The City players who had thought the ball was going out now had to react to the delivery travelling through the six-yard box.

But it was for nought.

Jake, taking advantage of the laxness, burst through the gap between Stones and Akanji.

The two defenders reached out, pulling at Jake’s shirt to keep him back, but the striker only launched himself forward and met the ball with a hopping volley.

His boot connected cleanly and before he could even react, the ball flew past Ortega and crashed into the back of the net.

"GOOOOOOOOOAL!"

Jake, the moment the net snapped back, pushed against the ground and then turned towards the supporters with his arms spread as the noise swallowed everything around him.

The home supporters lurched forward from their seats, screaming and waving their scarves.

Several players raced towards Jake, while others chased after Leo, who was already being surrounded.

The Manchester City players immediately turned towards the assistant referee, with Akanji raising his arm, but the assistant’s flag stayed down.

The goal stood.

"IT’S A WIGAN GOAL! JAKE HAS PUT THEM AHEAD! AND IT’S LOOKING LIKE THE QUARTER-FINALS FOR WIGAN AT THE MOMENT."

The main commentator was almost shouting over the crowd.

"WHAT A MOVE FROM WIGAN! AND WHAT A CONTRIBUTION FROM LEO CALDERON! HE HAS CHANGED THIS GAME SINCE COMING ON!"

The first players, Carlo, Reyes and then Ezra, all reached Jake, jumping on the latter, but he didn’t go down.

Not until the rest of the players came, finally sending the Wigan striking giant down.

Leo was swallowed into the celebration as bodies piled around the goalscorer.

The Wigan bench had emptied towards the touchline.

The supporters were no longer content to celebrate from their seats.

A few climbed over the advertising boards and ran towards the players, arms raised as stewards hurried across to keep the situation under control.

On the pitch, Jake was buried beneath his teammates.

With the deadlock broken, it was now looking grim for the Citizens!