Chapter 360: First Half (ko-fi Readerdude1069) 2/2
For a split second, it looked certain to creep inside the far corner.
But Sánchez reacted brilliantly.
The Chelsea goalkeeper planted his foot awkwardly before springing backward across goal, stretching both fists to punch the ball away for another corner.
"Excellent reflexes from Sánchez there," the commentator said. "That deflection could have killed him completely."
On the Manchester City bench, Lukas sat leaning forward now, elbows on his knees, eyes locked onto the pitch. Every missed chance was starting to build tension across the entire stadium.
Then came the biggest opportunity of the half.
43rd minute.
Reijnders received the ball centrally and immediately spotted Haaland making a sharp movement between Tosin and Chalobah. The Dutchman threaded the pass through perfectly toward the edge of the area.
Haaland’s first touch was not clean.
But it was enough.
The Norwegian used it to push the ball away from Tosin’s immediate reach before adjusting his body quickly. Then, with his stronger left foot, he whipped a curling effort toward the far corner.
Sánchez dove.
Did not reach it.
But the post did.
The shot smashed against the outside of the upright before bouncing back across the face of goal and away from danger.
"Haaland cannot believe it!" the commentator shouted over the crowd noise. "Manchester City have hit the woodwork twice!"
And before City could even reorganize themselves properly, Chelsea exploded forward again.
Nkunku collected the loose clearance near the halfway line and immediately drove into open space. Bernardo Silva tried to recover from behind while Nico González sprinted desperately through the middle, but Chelsea’s counterattack had momentum now.
Pedro Neto pulled wide right.
João Pedro drifted centrally.
Nkunku kept going himself.
The Frenchman burst toward the edge of the penalty area before cutting sharply inside onto his right foot. Aït-Nouri lunged in to challenge, trying to poke the ball away cleanly.
But Nkunku anticipated it perfectly.
At the very last second, he nudged the ball slightly away and left his trailing leg in the path of the challenge.
Contact.
Nkunku went down instantly inside the box.
The referee pointed to the spot without hesitation.
Chelsea players immediately surrounded Nkunku while Manchester City players threw their arms up in frustration.
"He’s awarded a penalty!! Oh, this is getting disastrous for City," the co-commentator said. "They’ve dominated large parts of this half, but Chelsea are devastating in transition."
On the touchline, Pep Guardiola placed both hands on top of his head for a moment before slowly walking back toward his seat.
Pep Guardiola slowly lowered himself into his seat as the VAR review played across the stadium screens.
Behind the Manchester City technical area, several analysts were already replaying the sequence frame by frame on their monitors. Pep leaned slightly forward to look over their shoulders while Lukas, standing nearby near the bench area, glanced toward the same replay.
Aït-Nouri’s leg caught Nkunku cleanly.
The moment they saw the contact properly, everybody already knew.
Penalty.
Pep exhaled sharply through his nose before dragging a hand slowly over his bald head, eyes fixed on the screen for another second before looking back toward the pitch.
On the opposite touchline, however, Enzo Maresca reacted very differently.
The Chelsea manager clenched both fists tightly the moment VAR confirmed the referee’s original decision before turning toward his bench in celebration.
MetLife Stadium buzzed with noise as Cole Palmer picked up the ball and calmly walked toward the penalty spot.
James Trafford stood on his line waiting.
Palmer placed the ball down carefully, took several steps backward, then stood completely still for a moment, eyes fixed on the goalkeeper.
Trafford stared back at him.
The entire stadium seemed to hold its breath.
FWEEEEE
Palmer began his run-up with that awkward calmness he always seemed to carry, almost casual, almost lazy, before opening his body at the very last second.
Trafford guessed correctly.
The Manchester City goalkeeper exploded low toward his right side.
But Palmer’s placement was perfect.
The shot slid just beyond Trafford’s fingertips and tucked itself neatly into the bottom corner beside the post.
2-0 Chelsea.
The Chelsea fans behind the goal erupted instantly.
And unlike many former academy players facing Manchester City, Palmer did not hold back his celebration.
He sprinted away immediately before stopping near the corner flag to perform his now-famous cold celebration while blue shirts rushed toward him from every direction.
Back near the halfway line, Haaland simply shook his head in frustration before turning away. Reijnders stood with both hands resting on his hips, staring down briefly at the grass.
They all knew it.
Manchester City should have scored already.
Instead, they were now 2-0 down.
A few minutes later, the referee finally blew for halftime.
The noise around MetLife Stadium remained deafening as the Chelsea players disappeared down the tunnel full of energy while Manchester City walked off in silence.
As Lukas stood up from the bench area to head toward the tunnel with the rest of the substitutes, one of Pep Ljinders suddenly called toward him.
"Lukas."
He turned immediately.
"You warm up. You go in second half."
Lukas nodded once.
But his heartbeat quickened instantly as he jogged onto the pitch to begin his warm-up.
Pep Guardiola had already disappeared into the dressing room by then.
The dressing room atmosphere was very tense. Inside, the Manchester City manager did not scream, throw nor smash anything.
He simply stood there looking at his players for several long seconds before finally speaking.
"We played good," Pep said calmly, his accent thickening slightly as frustration crept into his voice. "We play very good football. But why we give them these chances? Why?"
Nobody answered.
Pep looked toward Aït-Nouri briefly.
"Why you make this tackle in the box, Rayan? Why? He go nowhere. No danger. You make problem for yourself."
Aït-Nouri kept his head lowered.
Then Pep turned toward Haaland.
"And Erling... this chance, how you no score? This position, every day in training, boom, goal. Every day. Today, crossbar."
Haaland rubbed the back of his neck but stayed silent.
Pep pointed toward the tactical board.
"We lose ball, immediately they run. Immediately. Too easy. Too easy for them."
The room remained quiet except for the sound of players breathing heavily and tape being ripped from shin pads.
Then Pep finally looked toward Savinho.
"Savinho, you come off. Lukas go in."
Savinho nodded immediately without complaint.
Meanwhile, back out on the pitch, Lukas was already warming up along the touchline in front of the remaining supporters still inside the stadium. Some fans had left briefly for halftime refreshments, but many stayed behind, watching him carefully as he stretched and jogged along the sideline.
When several supporters started chanting his name, Lukas briefly raised his hand toward them and applauded softly back.
The reaction from the crowd immediately grew louder.
"It seems Lukas Brandt will be making his introduction in the second half. However, City is 2-0 down, it feels like it’s too late?"
*********
This Chapter is also sponsored by Readerdude1069. Thanks so much for the dono.
You can support the work by buying me a biscuit @ ko-fi(.)com/writ1 where 1 biscuit = 1 extra Chapter sponsored by you.
Love, Writ.
Comments