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 : /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!!!}
[Home Deluxe Arena, Paderborn | 19/01/2020 | Game week 18 | Time: 17:10 | Minute: 10']
The game had settled into a rhythm, but tension still remained below the surface as both teams' fans chanted their player on. Paderborn in particular seemed to want to start of the new year with momentum as their high-energy 4-2-2-2 formation pressed in waves. Srbeny and Michel alternated who stepped forward to hurry Leverkusen's build-up play, while Vasiliadis and Gjasula plugged lanes.
The hunger to win this game was clearly present, earning bouts of applause at every successful tackle. They did not have the bulk of possession but each time they managed to win it they immediately charged forward in a Blitz Krieg like counter.
Havertz received a short pass back from Volland near the halfway line, but before he could even receive it, the Albanian Gjasula was upon him. The young German forward nudged the ball with the outside of his boot, trying to turn away from danger. It was too late, though, as the season midfielder expertly moved his body between the ball and the player.
Using his body to hold off Havertz's, he took control of the ball, and in the next moment, he sent a weighted ball towards the right flank into the path of Pröger. The Paderborn right mid deftly took hold of it at the edge of the final third, doing his best to hold off Sinkgraven, who stuck to him like glue. A quick hesitation, and he faked a cut inward only to knock the ball down the line powerfully.
"And we're off to the races," Derek Rae exclaimed as both players surged down the flank, quickly reaching the side of the box. Pröger had the advantage of moving first and quickly closed down on the ball.
Without trying to take an extra touch, he used his momentum to send in an arced cross before Sinkgraven could interfere. The cross curled wickedly toward the penalty spot, a teasing delivery begging for someone to get on the end of it. Michel surged in from the blind side of Lars Bender, leaping just ahead of his marker—but he couldn't generate the power. The ball glanced off his forehead and spun wide of the far post.
Gasps erupted from the Paderborn end, followed by generous applause from the home fans who loved what they saw from their team. "Paderborn certainly doesn't look like a team fighting relegation tonight," Stewart Robson noted, his tone level. "Their transitions have real venom to them. Michel did well to attack that near post, but he'll have wished for an extra inch of height."
Leverkusen were quick to regain their composure. Hrádecký rolled the ball short to Jonathan Tah, who took a steady touch and looked up, scanning Paderborn's aggressive front line. The hosts had already pulled back into their own half, with the two strikers hovering in the passing lanes between the holding midfielders.
Tah ignored the temptation of a long ball and instead played it right to Lars Bender, who kept it moving toward Sven, the elder twin. The ball rotated across Leverkusen's defensive shell in rhythmic triangles. It was a calm build-up designed to bait the Paderborn players forward. Srbeny hovered in a half-press, while Michel shadowed Baumgartlinger, preventing any easy escape into midfield.
After three passes, Demirbay dropped deeper to receive, pulling Vasiliadis with him. A clever little give-and-go with Tah allowed him to turn and find space in the left interior channel. He shifted the ball wide to Sinkgraven, who was already beginning his run down the left third. Diaby stayed high and wide, pinned to the chalk, giving Dräger something to think about.
Sinkgraven played Diaby short, but before the Frenchman could even shift his weight to face the goal, Dräger was at his hip—one hand on the small of his back, the other extended for balance. Diaby had no choice but to bounce it back to Demirbay, who swung it across to Sven Bender on the other side of the pitch.
The German fullback confidently chested the ball down, bringing it under control before Antwi-Adjei could get close. Sven Bender took one touch forward and scanned the horizon, ignoring the bait of a long diagonal. Instead, he clipped a clean pass into Bellarabi's feet, who had just checked short near the right edge of the middle third. The winger cushioned it perfectly and pivoted toward Jans, who backed off instinctively.
Bellarabi didn't hesitate. A quick drop of the shoulder and a lunge forward, he exploded into the gap down the right touchline. Havertz floated into the inside channel, acting as a shadow runner, dragging Gjasula and Schonlau with him. With the angle narrowing, Bellarabi fired a cross into the corridor, which came low and fast, skipping across the six-yard box.
Volland had darted to the near post, but he couldn't quite wrap his foot around it. The ball raced harmlessly through the area, curling away from danger and out the other side. "That's a wicked delivery," Derek Rae muttered. "All it needed was a boot—or even a shin."
"He did everything right from his approach to the way he slipped his marker," Stewart Robson added. "But Volland just couldn't get his timing right."
Paderborn regrouped with a slow build from the back following the close call. Kilian rolled it to Schonlau, who returned it calmly under pressure. Gjasula dropped in to offer an option, shielding the ball from Havertz with poise. He sent a simple pass to Vasiliadis, who turned sharply and fired a ball into Srbeny's chest near the final third.
Srbeny absorbed Lars Bender's presence with a solid plant of his right foot, cushioning the ball into his path. Without even looking, he knew Michel was arcing away from Jonathan Tah on the left side of the pitch. Srbeny laid it off first time, an angled pass through the left interior third that Michel sprinted onto, shifting the tempo as the Leverkusen defence rapidly dropped back.
The forward gathered the ball on the move, nudging it with the outside of his boot past Tah towards Leverkusen's box. Tah immediately turned to give chase, but Michel had the step. Michel took another stride forward, but with the angle tightening and Lars Bender recovering toward the near post, his options narrowed. Srbeny wasn't yet in position, and Antwi-Adjei was arriving late on the opposite side.
Michel chopped inside on his right, hoping to carve out space for a shot, but Tah stayed on his feet, standing him up as he pulled across from him. The striker wound up, but it was all a feint and Tah bit, allowing him to nudge it clear of him. Without hesitation, his foot flashed towards the rolling ball, firing off a cannon of a shot to the far-right side.
Michel's strike lashed through the air like a missile, slicing low and fast toward the far post. Hrádecký had only a blink to react and dove to his left, his body fully extended. His fingertips stretched to their limit and just managed to get the faintest touches to the ball.
It was enough, though, to divert the ball's path and send it clipping the outside of the post and thudding against the advertising board. Gasps erupted from both ends of the stadium. A handful of home supporters had already started to rise in celebration, only to sit back down in disappointment.
"Would you believe it?" Derek Rae exclaimed, voice reverberating through the commentary booth. "Hrádecký gets the slightest fingertip, and it's enough!"
"A brilliant strike, an even better save," Robson added with a nod. "You can't teach those instincts; great players just rise to the occasion."