The Greatest of all Time

Chapter 397 Tense Moments

　　Within the stands, Emily watched with bated breath as Zachary stepped forward to take the free-kick. Her heart was racing fast with anxiety as she dreaded the minute possibility of Zachary missing a free kick for the first time in his career. But despite her unease, Emily still didn’t want to miss out on witnessing a crucial moment that could define the final. So, she still hardened her resolve and kept her eyes glued on the field of play.

”It’s Zachary Bemba on the set-piece,” the voice of Peter Drury, the commentator, reverberated across the abnormally silent stadium. “Zachary Bemba steps forward to take the free-kick. Will he score and bring the proceedings back to level terms…”

At that moment, all of Emily’s focus was already on the pitch. She breathed in deeply, and her pretty blue eyes flickered with a trace of apprehension. “Please go in… Please go in…” She mumbled to herself as she watched Zachary starting to make the angled run towards the ball.

Finally, the moment to take the set-piece arrived, and Zachary made the last jump-step towards the ball. The boy wonder angled his body slightly before swinging his leg down hard and fast to smash the ball towards the direction of the goal.

Before Emily could even blink, the ball rose, spun, and curled over the wall, rocketing towards the top right corner like a guided ballistic missile. And before Sevilla’s keeper could react, the ball grazed the inside of the right post before homing into the back of the net.

”GOAALLL….” A chorus of excited voices shook the stadium as Emily joined the rest of the supporters to celebrate the goal. The voices immediately hit a thunderous zenith and drowned out every other sound in the stadium for a few seconds.

”Zachary Bemba is at it again,” Peter Drury’s mellifluous voice resounded across the stadium when the loud cheers began lowering. “Zachary Bemba has buried the ball into the top right corner to score Rosenborg’s second goal in today’s Europa League final. Stunning! Just Stunning! How many times have we seen this guy take free-kicks this season? But he has never missed! He hasn’t missed even once! His precision is like that of a machine when taking set-pieces. What a spectacular player!”

”Indeed, what a spectacular player!” Roy Hamilton, the co-commentator, chimed in. “Listen to the loud cheers of the Rosenborg fans around the stadium. They are all for Zachary Bemba. He has scored his 22nd goal in this Europa League tournament and once again helped Rosenborg escape a precarious situation. He’s now the undisputed top scorer of the tournament.”

”But I’m surprised by Sevilla conceding a free-kick in such a position,” Roy Hamilton continued. “If I were Unai Emery, I would have warned my players to beware of conceding free-kicks, especially within the final third. I would strongly caution them against gifting Zachary opportunities to score set-pieces by committing fouls close to the box.”

Peter Drury chuckled. “My friend, everything changes on the pitch due to the game’s intensity. You might tell yourself a thousand times that I shouldn’t commit a foul, but then you find yourself already reacting when an opponent is in front of you. The reflexes kick in, and by the time you come back to your senses, you’ve already slid in and committed a foul. Moreover, you don’t have an option sometimes. It’s either you stop the opponent or concede the goal. For instance, Zachary Bemba might have still scored if Stéphane Mbia didn’t take him down. So, he chose to commit the foul, hoping Zachary might miss the resulting free-kick.”

”What wishful thinking!” Roy Hamilton chuckled. “Zachary has a hundred percent conversion rate. The chances of him missing are always minimal. So, any set-pieces near the box give him clear opportunities to score goals.”

”That’s true,” Peter Drury remarked. “Anyways, back to the match. The dynamic has once again changed. After Zachary’s 76th-minute equalizer, we’re back to square one. Two goals to two, it is. We can expect an exciting final few minutes as both teams will be doing their utmost to score the third goal and win the game. Will it be Sevilla that comes out on top? Or will it be Rosenborg, the dark horses from Norway? Let’s take you back to the proceedings on the pitch to find out.”

—–

On the sidelines, Coach Johansen was still anxious. He couldn’t calm down before his team bagged another goal that could seal the deal. So, his mind was still working in overdrive mode to devise strategies for his team to score as he watched the referee blow the whistle to restart the game.

”Ekambi and Kasongo!” He said, turning towards his bench players after a few more seconds. “Hurry up and warm up. I need you on the pitch in less than five minutes.”

”Aye, coach,” the two players replied with zest as they jumped up from their seats. They then changed into their training bibs and started warming up on the sidelines.

Coach Johansen watched them for a few seconds before returning his focus to the pitch. Sevilla had outplayed his team on the flanks over the past thirty minutes. And that was why he’d decided to introduce the two fast-paced wingers – Karl Toko Ekambi and Paul Kasongo. He wished for the two to work hard on the flanks and provide more options for Rosenborg on both the defensive and attacking fronts. That way, they would contain Sevilla’s wing play tactics that had repeatedly brought him a lot of trouble throughout the game.

—–

The referee finally signaled for the substitutions to commence when the ball went out of play during the 79th minute. Karl Toko Ekambi came on in place of Alexander Söderlund, Rosenborg’s starting left-winger, while Paul Kasongo replaced Tobias Mikkelsen, the starting right-winger. On the side of Sevilla, Coach Unai Emery also reacted immediately and brought on Marko Marin in place of Antonio Reyes, the right-winger.

The substitutes quickly took up their respective positions, and the game continued. The minutes flashed by quickly, and the duels on the field, especially in the middle of the pitch, became more heated.

Sliding tackles, dangerous fouls, and yellow cards became more common as the players of both teams tried to outwit their opponents. By the 80th minute, three players on Rosenborg’s side had already received yellow cards, while four on Sevilla’s side had also gotten similar cautions.

The battle for Europa League glory was that feverish, and by the 84th minute, with only six minutes remaining to the 90-minute mark, the game had already turned into a series of physical battles. The Sevilla players, who were more physically able, shined in great splendor as they outmuscled the opponents more often. They slowly turned the tides and helped Sevilla to dictate the tempo and dominate the proceedings again.

With the momentum on their side, it wasn’t long before they launched a dangerous attack on Rosenborg’s goal. Daniel Carriço, Sevilla’s midfielder, intercepted a loose pass from Thomas Partey during the 86th minute. Before the nearby Rosenborg players could close him down, he passed the ball to Ivan Rakitić, Sevilla’s captain and attacking midfielder.

Ivan Rakitić was as composed as ever as he received the ball. With a skillful touch, he skipped past Takumi Minamino, his marker, before threading a through-pass to find Marko Marin on the right flank.

Marko Marin, the substitute right-winger, controlled the ball deftly close to the touchline on the right flank. He turned and twisted his entire frame to bypass Mikael Dorsin, Rosenborg’s left-back. He then exploded with speed along the touchline before unleashing a curling cross towards the penalty area.

At the edge of the box, Carlos Bacca, the Sevilla center-forward, went into action. He outmuscled Yerry Mina before controlling the ball with his chest. When the shooting angle opened up, he unleashed a hell of a shot towards the inside of the left post.

TENSION!

It was a tense moment for the Rosenborg fans as Carlos Bacca had placed his shot perfectly to beat the keeper. The ball skimmed over the green grass like a snake traversing the jungle before flashing past the keeper’s outstretched fingertips. It was obviously on a straight course towards the back of the net.

But just then, a silhouette slid in wholesale to intercept the ball. It was Zachary Bemba, who had rushed all the way from defensive midfield to defend after noticing the danger. Fortunately, he’d gotten to the goal line on time and prevented the ball from continuing on into the back of the net. He’d used an outstretched boot to kick it back from whence it had come.

However, the danger was still at large as the intercepted ball bounced back into the box, heading straight towards the approaching Sevilla midfielder – Ivan Rakitić. The Sevilla captain wasted no time firing the ball back towards Rosenborg’s goal with the intent to score Sevilla’s 3rd goal.

”Damn it!”

Adrenaline flooded Zachary’s bodily systems, and he cursed out loud. By reflex, he pushed himself off the ground and threw his tall frame in the way of the approaching ball. And as luck would have it, his acrobatic move enabled him to intercept Rakitić’s shot with his stomach. Everything worked out perfectly, and as if on cue, Daniel Örlund, Rosenborg’s goalkeeper, sprung forth and snatched the ball out of the air before it could bounce back into the box.