The game restarted immediately after the goal celebrations. The Red Bull Salzburg players went straight into a relentless attacking mode like a pack of hungry predators that had just caught the scent of their favorite prey. They even compelled all the Rosenborg players to return to their own half, save for Nicki Nielsen, the center-forward. Their wing play was phenomenal, with both the uncanny Sadio Mane and the resourceful Kevin Kampl constantly darting on the flanks and floating teasing crosses into the box. They were a tricky side for sure.
Coach Boyd Johansen, Rosenborg's head coach, was standing on the sidelines — in Rosenborg's technical area watching the goings-on on the pitch with utmost concentration. A slight frown framed his face as he observed the game situation leaning more and more in favor of Red Bull Salzburg with every passing minute. Be that as it may, he didn't adjust his tactics even though his team was constantly on the back foot as the match progressed.
He'd opted to play a defensive game, employing a 4-2-3-1 formation from the very start to weather Salzburg's relentless attacks. He was confident in the abilities of his four defenders — Mikael Dorsin, Tore Reginiussen, Yerry Mina, and Eric Bailly.
With support from two holding midfielders, he believed the four defenders would keep the troublesome Salzburg attackers at bay at least until Zachary and company got a chance to counterattack. That was even more so, especially considering their consistent form and solid performances during Rosenborg's past few matches.
*FWEEEEEEE*
It was at that moment the referee's whistle sounded, breaking his thought process. Coach Johansen's frown deepened after realizing that Jonathan Soriano, one of Red Bull Salzburg's center-forwards, had committed yet another foul. He was a bit frustrated.
A moment ago, it had been one of the rare occasions when Rosenborg had managed to snatch possession from the Austrian giants. Mikael Dorsin, the Rosenborg left-back, had managed to jump high and block a teasing cross from Kevin Kampl, Salzburg's right-winger. The left-back had followed that up with a pretty fast reaction to control the ball before passing it to Mike Jensen, who was in defensive midfield. However, before Mike could settle down with the ball, Jonathan Soriano came rushing in, sending the holding midfielder tumbling to the ground with a sliding tackle. In so doing, the Red Bull Salzburg center-forward had denied Rosenborg the perfect chance to counterattack yet again.
"Their high-pressing is causing us a lot of trouble," Trond Henriksen, the assistant head coach of Rosenborg, commented from beside him. He also seemed quite concerned with the goings-on on the field of play.
"It's already the 20th minute, but their attackers aren't even giving us a single minute to settle down with the ball in the backfield," the assistant continued. "They are always upon our players like hungry beasts whenever we win it back. That's why we're losing out in ball possession and failing to mount effective attacks on their goal. We have to do something about this, or else we'll concede sooner or later."
Coach Johansen nodded in affirmation, his eyes never leaving the field of play. It was frustrating to play against an attack-minded team like Red Bull Salzburg. Ever since the restart of the game, the Austrian giants had not allowed the Rosenborg players even a moment to breathe on the field of play. Whenever Red Bull Salzburg would lose possession, the whole team would try to recover it as quickly as possible. The nearest three, or sometimes even four, players would immediately counter-press the Rosenborg player in possession. They would either get the ball or commit a foul — but would not let the opponent escape.
But that was not all that made them a very tricky side. Most of the Red Bull Salzburg players, including the attackers — Sadio Mané, Kevin Kampl, Jonathan Soriano, and Alan, were very swift and highly agile. They were a highly efficient bunch both when high-pressing and counter-pressing.
Even more embittering was that the defensive full-backs and the two midfielders were also highly aggressive in their style. They tended to leave their positions to partake in the press high up the pitch. They had unceasingly overwhelmed the Norwegian side as a result.
All in all, the Red Bull Salzburg team was like a well-oiled machine that continuously forced the Rosenborg defenders and holding-midfielders to play long balls. The Norwegian giants hadn't even gotten an opportunity to play a series of the more efficient short passes through the middle ever since the commencement of the game. That was because such a short build-up was too dangerous against Red Bull Salzburg's high pressing.
"Let's not rush to make any changes for the moment since our defense is doing fine," Coach Johansen said to his assistant after a few seconds of deliberation. "I'm sure that our players will get used to the quick tempo as the game progresses. After that, they will be able to react accordingly to the high-pressing and counter-pressing tactics of Salzburg. We might even manage to score a second goal if that happens."
"Ohhh! Okay," Trond Henriksen, the assistant, replied, seemingly still concerned. "But just in case things go south, we should maybe prep some substitutes. In such a high-tempo game, there's a high likelihood that a few of our players might suffer injuries or run out of stamina. So, I'm suggesting we make some contingencies against such situations."
"That's just fine," Coach Johansen replied offhandedly. "You can go ahead and inform John Chibuike, Jonas Svensson, and Ole Selnaes to start warming up on the sidelines. Maybe, their warming up will motivate our players to put in more effort to adapt to the game quickly."
"Good," Trond Henriksen replied, nodding. "I will do that right away."
Coach Johansen returned his full attention to the match immediately after Trond Henriksen had stepped away to prep the substitutes. His players had opted to take the free kick short only a while ago. But they had lost possession to the relentless Red Bull Salzburg players after a minute or so of trying to hold the ball in the backfield. From then on, the game situation was back to the Austrian giants dictating the tempo on the field of play.
Nonetheless, the Rosenborg players continued defending as if their lives depended on the game, without allowing the Red Bull Salzburg attackers to make any shots on goal. Both Yerry Mina and Eric Bailly, Rosenborg's latest additions, were instrumental in keeping the score level. Time and time again, the two defenders managed to explode with incredible displays to frustrate the agile Red Bull Salzburg attackers. Anyone could tell that they were budding world-class defenders for sure.
However, as a fact, it was difficult for any player to maintain a high level of concentration throughout a long duration of a high-tempo match. That was especially so for a young and inexperienced player like Eric Bailly, Rosenborg's right-back. In the 42nd minute of the game, he was out of position for a brief moment. In so doing, he allowed Sadio Mané, the troublesome Red Bull Salzburg left-winger, to receive the ball without any pressure on the flanks.
"Close him down, quick!" Coach Johansen hollered out to his players right after noticing the defensive blunder. His heart was pounding hard like it wanted to jump out of his chest as he watched the Salzburg winger set off on a mazy run along the touchline on the left flank.
Trouble was on the way for Rosenborg, thus bringing unprecedented excitement to the Salzburg fans. The cheers of the home fans hit yet another thunderous zenith.
"SADIO! *clap*clap* MANÉ! *clap*clap* SADIO..."
They sang at the top of their voices, cheering on their star winger to move the ball forward. What passion! What intensity! Their enthusiasm was out of this world, and their chants filled with palpable emotions, depicting their love for their team. At that moment, it was like the Red Bull Arena was experiencing a mega-earthquake.
Encouraged by the cheers of the fans, Sadio Mané was like a resourceful and experienced formula-one driver. He raced with the ball along the touchline on the left flank, slithering past a couple of Rosenborg players like a slippery snake navigating the jungle. In a matter of seconds, he started cutting into the pitch and was soon one-on-one with Yerry Mina, Rosenborg's center-back.
Coach Johansen's heartbeat accelerated, despite himself. It was the most dangerous moment for Rosenborg — one which caused beads of sweat to start rolling down along the outlines of his face. Nonetheless, he watched intently without even blinking as the tricky winger played a one-two with Alan, the Red Bull center-forward, to rush past Yerry Mina and step into the box.
Without losing his composure, the tricky Senegalese received a return pass from Alan before unleashing a right-footed attempt towards the bottom left corner, just inside the near post. His accuracy was so precise that he placed the curling shot barely a few centimeters away from the reach of the diving keeper.
A moment of silence seemed to descend all over the Red Bull Arena since the keeper was absolutely already beaten. The cheers stopped in those few moments when the ball was hurtling towards the goal. Tension was in the air since Red Bull Salzburg was moments away from scoring their first goal and bringing matters back to level.
STIFFNESS!! PRESSURE!! TENSION!!
Time seemed to have come to a standstill as a few more beads of sweat made their way down along Coach Johansen's face. But he didn't dare blink as he continued following the route of the ball. It was then that a swift silhouette rushed in from who knows where. With an uncanny acrobatic flair, the shape in the white and black Rosenborg jersey dived in with the head — first — and then blocked the ball just as it was about to make its way past the goal line.
"OHHH, NO!!!"
A collective sigh rang throughout the stands of the Red Bull Arena. Eric Bailly, the Rosenborg defender, had managed to rush back in time to save the situation. He had jumped in without fear and relied on his head to bar Sadio Mane's shot from making it into the back of the net at the very last moment. What a courageous play! What decisiveness! The fans could only let out sighs filled with desolation as they watched the ball rolling out of the field.
*FWEEEEEEE*
The referee blew the whistle soon after. He stopped in one position and then pointed towards the corner flag.
"Corner kick!"
Coach Johansen sighed with unmasked relief. At that moment, he felt like he'd just jumped out of hell and descended back on earth.
"Guys!" He started shouting at the top of his voice while clapping his hands. "Stay focused! Don't leave any opponent unmarked when you defend the corner. Don't allow them even an inch of space..."
**** ****
