*FWEEEEEEE*
The referee blew the whistle a few seconds later and signaled for team Rosenborg to take the set-piece.
Zachary had already decided to take the free-kick short since the position of the set-piece was quite a distance away from Benfica's goal. So, he just flicked the ball to Takumi Minamino, his counterpart in midfield, after hearing the whistle.
Takumi Minamino controlled the ball with a sense of urgency. Before the Benfica players could step forward to intercept him, he passed the ball back to Zachary, who had just run into space in the middle.
Zachary received the ball mid-sprint. He executed an elastico dribble to circumvent André Gomes, one of the Benfica midfielders, before continuing towards Benfica's goal. He pumped his legs like pistons of a race car as he rushed through the middle of the field until he ran into a blockade of two more Benfica players. They were Enzo Pérez and Rúben Amorim.
Zachary's eyes narrowed as his mind went into overdrive mode. His incredible spatial awareness worked wonders, and he picked out the position of his teammates within an instant. Before the two opponents could close him down, he passed the ball to Nicki Nielsen, Rosenborg's center-forward.
After that, Zachary continued rushing forward with the intent to open himself up at the edge of the box for the return pass from Nicki. But once again, Zachary felt another tug on his shirt as he bypassed the two opponents. He glanced to the side and noticed Enzo Pérez, another Benfica midfielder, firmly gripping his shirt.
"Ref!" Zachary shouted and stopped in his tracks. He raised his arms to gain the referee's attention. However, the referee just nodded at him and indicated for play to continue. It seemed the referee was playing the advantage since Rosenborg was still in possession of the ball.
Zachary was frustrated. He shook his head again and focused on Nicki, who was still with the ball at the left corner of the eighteen-yard box. The striker flicked the ball from one foot to the other, and when the angle opened up, he unleashed a curling shot towards the inside of the far post.
However, Artur Moraes, the Benfica keeper, was alert. He committed himself to a full-body dive before comfortably saving the ball. He had managed to intercept Rosenborg's first genuine shot on goal during the 29th minute.
Zachary could hardly contain his frustration while watching the Benfica keeper holding the ball. If Enzo Pérez hadn't pulled at his shirt, he would have managed to run into an unmarked pocket of space just before the box and received Nicki's return pass. Then, Zachary would have been in the perfect position to test Benfica's keeper. But due to the craftiness of the opponents, he'd missed the opportunity.
An even more aggravating fact was that the referee had chosen to play the advantage instead of awarding Rosenborg a free-kick. As a result, he'd once again denied Zachary a clear opportunity to have a go at Benfica's goal. Thinking about all that, Zachary grew more annoyed with the way the referee was handling the game.
The match continued, and Rosenborg grew bolder and launched more attacks on Benfica's box. All the Rosenborg players played with a sense of urgency as they utilized a combination of wing play and through passes through the middle, trying to break down Benfica's defense. They were obviously trying their hardest to score the opening goal.
However, the Benfica players remained solid defensively throughout the rest of the first half. In particular, they marked Zachary Bemba, Rosenborg's playmaker, and denied him any chance to create chances or take shots on goal. And if they couldn't stop him fair and square, they would foul him to ensure that he wouldn't break past them. They did everything possible to thwart Rosenborg's attacks — and as a result, the score remained two goals to nil in favor of Benfica as the players matched down the tunnel for halftime.
The atmosphere in Benfica's dressing room was a jolly one. The players were all smiles as they settled down around the benches in the dressing room. They were obviously in a good mood since they were already two goals ahead in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final clash against Rosenborg.
"We made some risky plays during the first half, Rúben," André Gomes, one of the Benfica midfielders, said as he settled down on one of the benches in the dressing room. "We were lucky to walk away with only a single yellow card after the first half."
"What matters is that we've already obtained a two-goal lead," Rúben replied. "And do you remember the coach's instructions before the game? He instructed us to do whatever it took to stop Zachary from picking up his rhythm and making runs into our final third."
"I understand," André said after chugging down some water. "But I still have some doubts about the incident that led to your yellow card. At that moment, I had already noticed Enzo covering us from behind. Thus, we were three people marking Zachary at the time, and Enzo would have been in the perfect position to stop Zachary's run. So, why did you commit the foul that led to your yellow card?"
Rúben's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure that Enzo would have been able to stop Zachary? Don't you think that there was a possibility of him making another of his signature runs into our box if I hadn't stopped him?"
"That, I'm not sure," André said. "I'm only worried about your yellow card. Your chances of receiving a red card are now quite high, especially since you're still up against Zachary during the second half."
"Don't worry," Rúben said with a smile. "I know what I'm doing. Since I'm already on a yellow card, I won't commit any more dangerous fouls against him. The next time he tries to break through us, it will be your turn to take one for the team and stop him by whatever means possible. Then, after that, Enzo will commit the foul if necessary. As long as we keep on rotating, all of us will be able to avoid accumulating cautions and receiving red cards."
André chuckled. "You're really sinister."
"No, I'm not," Rúben said, beaming. "I'm only trying my best to qualify for the finals."
The players continued holding discussions in small groups until Coach Jorge Jesus took center stage two minutes later.
The coach's tone was somber as he urged the players to stay on guard to ensure that Rosenborg wouldn't score any goal that day. He specifically reminded the midfielders and defenders to continue frustrating Zachary so that they would limit Rosenborg's attacking prowess. After that, he assigned a few more individual roles before sending them back to the pitch.
