Both teams lined up in the tunnel at 8:55 PM. The Olympique Lyonnais players were in their white home kits, while the Rosenborg players had donned their black away jerseys.
Zachary stood at the back of the Rosenborg line. His tall physique looked imposing and sleek in his number eight jersey, while his untamed and somewhat messy Afro-hairstyle fanned out from the top of his head to add wild charm to his entire being. He seemed like a warrior about to head out to war in his black attire paired with his electric green Nike Mercurial Superfly football boots.
He wasn't idle as he stood there at the back of the line but observing the Lyon players. He'd already taken note of some famous footballers from his previous life, like Samuel Umtiti, Alexandre Lacazette, and Bafétimbi Gomis, within their ranks. They were obviously the ruggedest obstacles Rosenborg had to overcome in Lyon in order to win the game and qualify for the semi-finals.
"Let's move out."
The voice of one of the officials resounded through the tunnel a minute later. Rhythmic tapping sounds of footfalls upon the floor soon echoed as the referees and players commenced their short march towards the pitch. They soon exited the tunnel and lined up before the fans as the catchy Europa League anthem reverberated across the entire stadium.
The excitement was in the air as the kick-off was near. The supporters of both teams seemed to start competing among themselves to find out who was louder. One moment, a Lyon chant would reverberate across the entire stadium — but the next second, it would be the Rosenborg chant resonating from the stands like an explosion of celebratory fireworks.
Zachary was a bit stunned when he noticed the numbers of the Rosenborg fans in the stands. Even though it was an away game, they had traveled all the way from Trondheim to Lyon in droves to support the team. It was quite the improvement, especially when compared to the attendance during the previous Europa League matches, whereby there would only be hundreds of fans when Rosenborg played at an away ground.
The proceedings moved forward, and the customary handshakes soon followed before the players took their positions on the pitch. The referee then concluded the coin toss ceremony with the captains before positioning himself close to the center circle.
*FWEEEEEEE*
The whistle sounded at 9:05 PM, and the match started with Lyon's kick-off. The highly-anticipated quarter-final game between the French giants and that season's Europa League underdogs from Norway had finally commenced.
The Lyon players immediately settled into their 4-3-1-2 formation and started passing the ball around in the midfield. They narrowed down the spaces in the middle and ensured that Zachary and the rest of the Rosenborg players could not break through their ranks in the midfield.
Moreover, their formation with three holding midfielders allowed them many passing options, especially within the middle and defensive third. Thus, they outplayed Rosenborg by relying on stable and fluid short passes during the first eleven minutes of gameplay.
The game moved forward, and Maxime Gonalons received the ball close to the boundary of the middle third during the 15th minute. He immediately turned around and flicked it to Arnold Mvuemba, his counterpart in midfield.
Arnold Mvuemba immediately took a single touch on the ball to skip past Takumi Minamino, who had just closed him down. Then, he twisted and spun around to get further away from the opponent before passing the ball towards the backfield. He was probably hoping to find Bakary Koné, the Lyon center-back.
However, Nicki Nielsen, the Rosenborg center-forward lurking in the space between the defenders, glided in swiftly to intercept the pass. He managed to get to the ball on the stretch and then shoved it towards Tobias Mikkelsen with the tip of his boot.
The steal was successful in the 16th minute of gameplay, and the Lyon players clearly showed signs of panicking as Tobias controlled the ball on the right side of the box.
The left-back, Henri Bedimo, was in an even more agitated state. He closed in on Tobias swiftly before sliding in wholesale to tackle the ball. But he mistimed his tackle and swept the Rosenborg right-winger off his feet before getting to the ball.
"Aaahhh!"
Tobias let out a sharp cry as he rolled around several times after tumbling to the ground. His eyes misted a bit as he held on to his ankle. He was clearly in a lot of pain.
*FWEEEEEEE*
The referee blew the whistle and rushed to the scene. He immediately summoned the physicians, who started tending to the Rosenborg winger. However, all their efforts were fruitless, and Tobias couldn't get back on his feet. The medics even had to carry the winger off the pitch on a stretcher a few minutes later.
"Ref! That was clearly a high boot," Mikael Dorsin complained while facing the referee.
"Moreover, it seemed intentional," Tore Reginiussen, the Rosenborg captain, chimed in. "Instead of going for the ball, he obviously grazed Tobias' ankle with his studs."
More Rosenborg players, including Zachary, soon encircled the referee and voiced their complaints. Their intent was, of course, to push him to show a straight red card to the defender.
However, the referee didn't do as they hoped. After calmly listening to their complaints, he only showed a yellow card to Henri Bedimo, the defender who'd committed the foul. He then signaled the Rosenborg players to start preparing for the free-kick before marching off to organize the wall.
"Zachary, it's up to you now," Mikael said as he placed the ball in his hands. "Do as usual and try to hit the target. Don't let the pressure get to you."
"Don't worry. I'll do my best."
Zachary nodded and received the ball before positioning it on the spot marked out by the referee. All the while, he was already assessing and deducing how to place the set piece.
He wondered whether he should go for the inside of the near or the far post. As both options seemed appealing, he couldn't decide immediately.
The set-piece spot was on the right side of the box and about 21 yards away from the goal. It was also at a very acute angle, making the chances of converting the free-kick extremely slim. But Zachary didn't panic as he'd already figured that he could overcome all obstacles with a curling ball over the defense. So, he confidently stepped back from the ball while watching the referee arranging the defensive wall.
But just then, his ears picked up some unsettling loud noises emerging from the stands behind the goal. On glancing up, he realized that the die-hard supporters of Lyon had started booing him with all their hearts. They paired demeaning curses with his name and showed him their middle fingers. They probably wished to spook him and disturb his confidence so that he would miss the set-piece.
"Just ignore them," Mikael said, patting his shoulder. "Focus on the task at hand and shut out everything else. We believe in you."
"Don't worry. Such cheap tricks won't work on me."
A confident smile outlined Zachary's face as he activated the Dead-Ball-Specialist Juju. The next instant, he felt a refreshing sensation flooding his entire being, and the curses and boos became like background noise. His spirits brightened, and his mind grew calmer and sharper.
*FWEEEEEEE*
The referee blew the whistle a few seconds later after arranging the players in the box. The curses and boos grew louder as Zachary took an angled run towards the ball. However, all that didn't matter to him one bit. His attention was on the ball, the defensive wall, and a few spots between the goalposts.
Without losing composure, he drew back his left leg before whacking the ball with the instep part of his boot. His technique was as perfect as usual, and he made sure to hit the ball slightly towards its side.
Whoosh!
The ball rose from the ground with an abnormal spin. It cut through the air fast and darted around the wall, seemingly on a trajectory that was a few meters away from the far post. But then, at the last moment, it dipped and curled weirdly before grazing the far post and nestling into the back of the net.
The keeper had tried to save the situation with a despairing dive. But his fingertips couldn't even graze the ball. He was too late to react — and as a result, had allowed Rosenborg to score the first goal in the 19th minute.
Silence!
The rowdy Lyon fans immediately fell silent as they tried to process the new circumstances. But all that didn't concern Zachary.
He didn't stay in the same spot when he saw the ball in the back of the net. He ran to the sidelines before bending in front of the camera and placing a finger on his lips. His simple celebration was the only response to the Lyon fans, who had tried to disturb his confidence right before the set-piece.
"BOOO! BOOO..."
But his actions seemed to have stirred up a hornets' nest in the stadium, and the fans started booing him again. They forgot their sorrow of conceding the goal and cursed and demeaned him with renewed vigor. The atmosphere became that crazy in those few minutes after the goal. Going by the way things were proceeding, he was in for a hellish night with the Lyon fans.
