Chapter 804: Chapter 804 Punch In The Face
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[15-06-2021 |Allianz Arena, Germany| 20:10 CET]
[France 1-0 Germany]
[38’]
Ilkay Gündoğan didn’t curl it, choosing instead to drill it low, hard, beneath the jumping wall, sending the ball skipping off the turf like a stone across water, arrowing toward the bottom left. Lloris, between the sticks, had been fooled, half committing to defending the curl that never came, his feet already shifting to push off toward the top corner. But the Tottenham keeper wasn’t considered one of the best goalkeepers of his time for nothing, as he could be seen twisting his body mid-motion and flinging himself low to his left.
His fingertips reached for the ball as it skidded past, brushing leather, but not enough to alter its path. The ball cracked against the inside of the post, ricocheting across the goal line. For one horrifying second, Lloris twisted on the turf, scrambling, but Müller had already broken from the cluster, anticipating the rebound. The Bayern veteran arrived a heartbeat before Kimpembe and stabbed it in from three yards.
"MÜLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEER!!!" Mowbray’s voice cracked. "Off the post and in! Germany is level, and it’s the Raumdeuter, of course it is!"
"That’s the genius of him," Jenas added as Müller raced away toward the corner flag, arms outstretched. "Everyone watches the ball while he is already moving into the space, Kimpembe never saw him coming."
[France 1-1 Germany — Müller 39’]
The Allianz roared back to life, the home fans finally finding their voice as Müller was swallowed by his teammates near the corner flag. Löw, on the touchline, allowed himself a tight-lipped smile, clapping firmly before quickly returning to barking instructions. The script had been ripped up, and his side was back in the driver’s seat.
[42’]
France restarted with intensity, as Deschamps could be seen gesturing furiously from his technical area for his side to respond immediately. Pogba dropped deeper, demanding the ball from Kimpembe, and within two touches, the Manchester United man was driving at the heart of the German midfield. He fed it to Griezmann up a head, and the little Frenchman spun away from Kroos with a neat piece of footwork.
Griezmann threaded it forward to Mbappé, who had drifted central, dragging Rüdiger with him. The PSG forward took one touch to set himself, unleashing a curling effort from twenty-five yards out before his marker could make a defensive effort. Neuer in goal scrambled to the side, throwing himself full-stretch, fingertips just grazing the ball as it whistled past the post and out for a corner.
"Inches away from a French response!" Mowbray exclaimed. "Mbappé, testing Neuer from distance."
The remaining minutes of the first half saw both sides trade blows without finding the killer touch. Kanté broke up a promising German counter just inside the French half, his interception triggering another Mbappé sprint that ended with Hummels hacking the ball into the stands. Gnabry, quiet for much of the half, finally found a pocket on the right and fizzed in a low cross that Lloris claimed under pressure from Havertz.
In the second minute of added time, France carved one final opening. Pogba spun away from Müller and Kimmich, who tried to pincer him, and slid a pass in behind the German line. Benzema raced into space, taking it on the bounce, but Hummels was there, muscling him off the ball before he could control it.
"Mats Hummels! What a recovery!" Mowbray cried. "He’s earned every minute of his recall tonight!"
(FWEEET! FWEEET!)
"And what a half of football we’ve just witnessed in Munich," Mowbray declared. "France struck first through the returning Benzema, but Germany found a way back through, who else, Thomas Müller. All levels at the break, and you sense this one is far from settled."
"Forty-five minutes of pure tournament football," Jenas added. "Both sides have shown why they’re here. And Jürgen, back in the studio, will be a happy man at the break, his nation right in this match against the world champions."
[France 1-1 Germany — HT]
~~~
[46’]
The second half opened with both sides emerging unchanged from the tunnel, though the body language told its own story. Rakim on the bench watched with bated breath as his team lined up. They had spent the better part of 10 minutes listening to Jogi try to pass across his tactical intentions for the second half.
On the defensive side, the focus was mainly on Kimmich and Ginter, who were tasked with keeping Mbappé at bay. With how Balanced the match has been so far, keeping the forwards at bay was their best bet. On the attacking front, he wanted more control, especially making use of the flanks more.
The plan was to give Havertz and Müller freedom to attack the flanks while the midfield suffocated the middle. But as the saying goes, everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face, and the reigning world champs had no intention of maintaining the status quo. From the restart, Benzema played the ball back as the French line dropped back, absorbing the German wave.
Gnabry chased down Varane, forcing him to quickly empty it wide to Pavard. The Munich full-back faced his club teammate charging at him and calmly dribbled by him, moving the ball to Rabiot. The French side strung a couple of passes together, keeping the home side at arm’s length until Pogba got on the ball.
A chain reaction occurred simultaneously with the French front three, who had been hovering just past the halfway line, springing into action. Pogba met Kross’s tackle with his shoulder, creating separation as he scanned the field ahead. A second later, his right foot snapped forward, sending a raking ball over the top flying toward the sideline.
The leather hung in the Munich night for a long beat, but Mbappé had already exploded off Kimmich’s shoulder the moment Pogba’s boot connected. The Parisian ate up ground in three strides, leaving the German wing-back grasping at air, as the ball dropped neatly into his path. He slowed down just enough to chest it down just as Ginter came side-stepping, trying to get in his path.
Not bothering with any fancy trick, he took a long touch, sending the ball up the flank as he exploded after him. Despite the Germans having the positional advantage in the chase by the time he had turned and taken a step, Mbappé was next to him. Before he could reach out for the ball, the Frenchman knocked it forward, bursting past him with force.
"There goes Mbappé," Mowbray’s voice climbed in time with the run. "That is a frightening pace, and Ginter is left in his wake!"
Mbappé carried the ball forward, eating up the left channel as Hummels peeled across to cover, and Rüdiger collapsed inside, trying to seal the angle if he were to cut in. The Parisian glanced up once, twice as he reached the side of the box, checking his options as the German defence scrambled into shape. Nudging the ball beyond Hummels, who tried to step in his way, he sent a grounded ball across the face of the goal.
Neuer, who had been off his lines, stepped up to meet it but quickly retreated as it curved away. Both Benzema and Rüdiger lunged forward, trying to get a boot to it for opposing reasons, but neither managed to glimpse its shadow. The ball sliced past them to the far side of the box, where Antoine Griezmann had blown past Gosens completely unguarded.
He didn’t even need to break stride, sending a first-time strike low across his body with the inside of his right boot, sending it skidding back toward the near post, the angle so tight it looked impossible. Neuer tried to kick out his leg as he threw himself back toward the post he’d abandoned.
He was too late, though, as the ball thudded against the inside post, cracking off the metal before nestling into the side netting. The Allianz Arena seemed shell-shocked, but the French contingent burst into jubilation, eagerly greeting the celebrating Griezmann.
"GRIEZMANN!" Mowbray’s voice cut through the stunned home crowd. "France retakes the lead!! And it was a brilliant move from start to finish, Pogba the architect, Mbappé the engineer, and Griezmann the commissioner!"
"Look at the run, Guy," Jenas added, almost reverent. "Mbappé is showing us exactly why he is one of the best forwards in the world."
[France 2-1 Germany — Griezmann 48’]
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TO BE CONTINUED...
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