The Greatest of all Time

Chapter 359 Overwhelming Victory

Emilia raised a brow after hearing Ole’s response. “Are you implying that the opponents were not marking him? From what I saw, three Lyon players were constantly circling around his position during the entire game.”

Ole shook his head. “They obviously didn’t do enough to contain him. Or maybe, he was too much for them, and they couldn’t handle him. Emilia! You have to understand that incredible players only need a couple of seconds to create and finish off goal-scoring chances on the pitch. If you blunder even once or turn your attention away from an incredible player like Zachary for even a few seconds, he will punish you.”

”Lyon obviously played good football during the first half,” Ole continued. “They hoarded all the possession while also containing Zachary with their tactics. However, they lost their focus on a few occasions and conceded those free-kicks, and that’s why Rosenborg is ahead by three goals during the first half.”

”Thanks, Ole,” Emilia said before turning towards Juninho. “Juninho! All Zachary’s three goals were a result of free-kicks. Two of them were direct set-pieces a few yards away from the box, and he managed to convert them without losing his composure. You’re the expert. What can you tell us about his technique?”

”His technique is flawless and reminds me of David Beckham’s curveballs,” Juninho replied. “His motions while taking the set-pieces are textbook perfect, and he always manages to place the ball where he wants without losing his composure.”

”I also realized that his mental ability is quite high. The fans were booing him and giving him hell, but he didn’t flinch while converting the set-pieces. Such a feat takes nerves of steel — which is an attribute that also makes him a cold-blooded assassin whenever he’s about to take a set-piece. If he can maintain his consistency over the next few years, he’ll surely become one of the greatest free-kick takers in history.”

”Thanks, Juninho,” Emilia said, smiling. “I’m still confused about one thing, though. Coach Rémi Garde insisted that he would treat Rosenborg as a strong opponent. And from his set-up of the squad, I expected Lyon to employ ultra-defensive tactics to contain Zachary and the rest of the Rosenborg players. But just after 45 minutes, Lyon is already trailing by three goals. Juninho! Where did Lyon go wrong? Are the players not doing enough? Or were Coach Rémi Garde’s tactics not suitable for the game?”

Juninho smiled slightly. “I don’t think there is anything wrong with Coach Rémi Garde’s tactics. His game plan has enabled Lyon to keep Zachary quiet for most of the first half. That’s except for those three chances, of course. The issue should be with the Lyon players, instead.”

”As Ole said,” Juninho continued, “the players lost focus a few times during the first half and conceded free-kicks close to their box. In so doing, they gifted the on-form Zachary clear chances to score those three goals. If I were a Lyon defender, I would have allowed either Tobias or Kasongo to have a go at goal rather than committing a foul and gifting Zachary a chance to convert a set-piece near the box.”

”Thanks, Juninho,” Emilia said. “But first, let’s head into a commercial break before returning with more analyses and the preview of the second half. Stay tuned, and don’t touch that dial. We’ll be back shortly.”

****    ****

Olympique Lyonnais was like a totally different team after half-time. From the first minute of the second half, the men in white attacked fiercely and dominated proceedings on the field of play with more than 75% ball possession. It was as if their lives were on the line as they exerted themselves, trying to create an opportunity to score the first goal. And eventually, their efforts almost paid off during the 70th minute.

Steed Malbranque, the Lyon attacking midfielder, connected with a pass from Samuel Umtiti at the border of the final third. He brought the ball under control with his chest before whirling around to escape the harassment of Thomas Partey, Rosenborg’s defensive midfielder.

The Lyon attacking midfielder then unleashed a lofted ball over the defense to find Alexandre Lacazette. His well-timed pass caught the Rosenborg backline unawares and released the striker on a straight course towards the goal.

Alexandre Lacazette brought the ball under control without any pressure and immediately took another touch before stepping into Rosenborg’s box. The next moment, he glanced up once before drawing his leg back and unleashing a curling shot over the keeper, who’d come out from between the posts to meet him.

The cheers all around the stadium hit a thunderous crescendo as the ball made its way past the outstretched fingertips of Daniel Örlund, the Rosenborg keeper. But the next moment, sighs and curses, tinged with disappointment, emerged from the stands as the ball smashed off the post before heading out of play for a goal kick.

What a missed opportunity!!

Alexandre Lacazette, the often clinical danger-man of Lyon, had gotten a clear chance to score Lyon’s first goal during the 71st minute. But he’d narrowly missed by hitting the post. The frustration seemed to be killing him, and he punched the grass a couple of times in anguish.

—–

On the sidelines, Coach Johansen was tense. His entire being was still palpitating with anxiety as he recalled Alexandre Lacazette’s missed opportunity.

If the striker had angled his shot just an inch to the left, the French giants would have narrowed the goal difference to only two goals. Then, if they happened to score another goal before the 90 minutes elapsed, Rosenborg would be in for a tough time during the second leg.

”No, I have to play it safe during the remaining minutes,” Coach Johansen decided before pivoting his gaze onto the substitutes’ bench. He immediately summoned Ole Selnæs and Mike Jensen and started giving them instructions.

”You two will be subbing on for Alexander Söderlund and Nicki Nielsen,” he said. “I want you to help out in defensive midfield so as to prevent the Lyon attackers from creating more chances. Your only role on the pitch will be to protect our defense. There’s no need for you two to leave your positions to attack during the remaining 18 minutes of gameplay. Are we clear?”

”Yes, coach,” the two players replied in unison.

”Good,” Coach Johansen nodded. “When you enter the pitch, pass on my instructions to the rest of the players. Inform them that everyone is to sit tight in defense during the remaining minutes. Our only objective is to avoid conceding a goal during this game.”

”What about Zachary?” Mike Jensen asked. “He usually has a free role on the team. Should we also tell him to sit tight in defense for the remaining few minutes?”

Coach Johansen’s eyes narrowed as he said, “Zachary will be our only attacker on the field for the rest of the game. So, if there’s an opportunity, he can still have a go at Lyon’s defense. But all the other players must remain defensive-minded to ensure that we don’t concede. That means that we’ll play nine or ten men in-between the ball and our goal. Are we clear?”

”Yes, coach,” the two players replied.

”Good,” Coach Johansen said. “Get ready. I want you on the pitch in less than five minutes.”

—–

The two Rosenborg substitutes entered the pitch when the ball went out of play for a Lyon throw-in four minutes later. After the switch, the Rosenborg players immediately arrayed themselves in a sort of 4:6:0 formation.

It was soon clear to all that Rosenborg had given up all their attackers, including their star striker – Nicki Nielsen, to focus only on defending. But of course, Zachary was the only player allowed by the coach to leave his defensive role in midfield and launch an attack when he saw an opportunity.

The game continued, and the Lyon players utilized short passes to continue hoarding more than 70% of the possession. And since there were no Rosenborg attackers to threaten their backline, they grew more confident and sent more numbers forward. Their two wing-backs made bold runs through the flanks while the holding midfielders attacked through the middle, searching for that opening goal.

However, the Rosenborg players remained steadfast in defense. They packed a massive double-decker bus before their goal and resisted Lyon’s barrage of attacks as if their lives depended on the game. Thanks to their efforts, the game remained 3:0 in favor of Rosenborg even as the proceedings headed into injury time.

The Lyon players became more frustrated as the end of the game drew closer. They became more hurried in their attempts to search for a goal and started committing some amateur mistakes. And finally, their impatience cost them during the 93rd minute, with only two minutes of injury time remaining to the end of the game.

Henri Bedimo, the Lyon left-back who had pushed forward, tried to break into Rosenborg’s box through the left flank. But in the end, he ran into Eric Bailly’s blockade and lost the ball at the edge of the box.

Mike Jensen, the substitute midfielder, picked up the loose ball and immediately passed it to Takumi Minamino. The latter whirled around to escape Steed Malbranque’s harassment before squaring a pass to Zachary, who’d just run into an unmarked pocket of space on the left flank.

Zachary received the ball close to the touchline and whirled around to face Lyon’s goal. His incredible spatial awareness worked wonders — and in nothing but an instant, he noticed a rare open highway from his position to the other side of the pitch. The Lyon players seemed to have ignored the space on the flanks when they became frustrated and started attacking in droves. So, it was totally unobstructed without anyone to block his way.

”Chance!”

Adrenaline flooded Zachary’s bodily systems as he took off like a rocket flying into outer space. He accelerated to his apex velocity within a few seconds as he continued feeding the ball in front of him. Before long, he stepped past the centerline and continued bearing on Lyon’s goal like a raging cyclone.

For that counterattack, he didn’t utilize any fancy tricks. He didn’t even perform a single sidestep as no opponents were blocking his path. He just exploded with pure speed as his long strides ate up yards of space like an incarnation of Usain bolt on a one-hundred-meter racing track.

His breathing became more labored as he pumped his legs like the pistons of a race car. But he held on with sheer willpower before cutting into the pitch and heading straight towards Lyon’s goal like a predator on the hunt.

Anthony Lopes, the Lyon keeper, came out of goal to meet him. The goalie rushed forward, all guns blazing as if he wanted to murder someone. His expression at that moment could have scared a young kid into having nightmares for the next few months.

However, Zachary wasn’t unnerved in the slightest. He slowed down before stepping over the ball once. When the keeper bought his dummy and leaned to the left, Zachary immediately exploded with speed once again. He rushed past the keeper’s right side and finally stepped into Lyon’s box.

But just then, he noticed that two Lyon players had managed to insert themselves in front of the goal. They seemed to have rushed straight through the middle and caught up when he’d slowed down to draw in the keeper.

Zachary remained composed and drew his leg back as if he was about to take a shot. Bakary Koné, one of the defenders, immediately reacted to his feint and slid in wholesale with the intent to block his effort.

Zachary relaxed his leg and merely took a simple touch on the ball to push it an inch further forward.

Samuel Umtiti, the second defender, also seemed to think that Zachary was about to take the shot. He flew in, trying his utmost to prevent Zachary from scoring. In the end, he also landed on his butt after falling for the feint.

”That was easy.”

Zachary smiled and chipped a simple ball into the back of the net to score Rosenborg’s fourth goal without any pressure. He then sped towards the corner flag before sliding on his knees for a few yards to celebrate the goal.

His teammates joined him a few seconds later. They gave him bear hugs and soon started singing a Rosenborg victory chant. They could hardly contain their excitement as they were on the cusp of accomplishing an overwhelming victory against Lyon in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.