Chapter 366 The Tense First Few Minutes
The weather that night wasn't the best due to the abnormally low spring temperatures of about 4 degrees Celsius and the millions of rain droplets constantly pouring down on Trondheim City with a consistent heaven-given soundtrack.
However, the unfavorable weather conditions still couldn't hinder the over-enthusiastic Rosenborg fans from flooding into Lerkendal Stadium to watch the Europa League quarter-final clash between their home side and Olympique Lyonnais. By 8:35 PM, they had taken up all the available seats in the home and away sections of the stadium.
They braved the downpour and cheered at the top of their voices under the protection of their rain jackets. They were obviously in hyper moods as they waited for the game to begin.
What wasn't surprising was that there weren't any Lyon fans in the stadium that night. Due to their violent deeds in Lyon the previous week, the UEFA's Control, Ethics, and Disciplinary Body had banned them from attending UEFA games for the following twelve months. Thus, Olympique Lyonnais would have to play all Europa League and Champions League games without the support of their fans for a year.
"Welcome to the quarter-final clash between Rosenborg BK and Olympique Lyonnais," the commentator's voice resounded across the stadium when the clock hand pointed to the 8:55 PM mark. "In ten minutes, the two teams will commence their battle to decide who qualifies for the semi-finals of this year's Europa League. On aggregate, Rosenborg is ahead by four goals after Zachary Bemba demolished the French giants in Lyon last week. So, the Troll Kids will qualify for the semi-finals even if they only focus on defending to avoid conceding more than four goals tonight."
"Ladies and gentlemen," the commentator continued. "I'm Kjell Roar, your commentator for the day, and with me is Otto Bragstad, a former Rosenborg defender. He'll be our pundit for the night. Welcome, Otto!"
"Thank you," Otto Bragstad replied. "I'm happy to be here."
"So, Otto," Kjell Roar said. "What is your take on this game? Can Rosenborg maintain the four-goal advantage? Can they overcome Olympique Lyonnais, the French giants, to qualify for the semi-finals?"
"Qualifying for the semi-finals shouldn't be a difficult task for Rosenborg at this moment," Otto said. "They are already in a very advantageous position after scoring four goals in Lyon last week. If Coach Johansen doesn't blunder while designing the tactics, they should be able to qualify even if they field a second team."
"I can see that you're very confident in Rosenborg," Kjell Roar said. "But let's not forget that Rémi Garde, the Lyon coach, promised that he wouldn't give up until the last minute. In his pre-match interview, he said that his players and staff would do everything in their power to win the game and qualify for the semi-finals."
"Well," Otto said, "The previous week, the Lyon coach said something about treating Rosenborg as a super-strong team. He'd promised to pull out everything in his arsenal to defeat Rosenborg. But in the end, he still lost by four goals at home. I won't be surprised if something similar happens today night."
Kjell Roar chuckled. "Let's put the predictions and analyses aside as the players are already lining up in the tunnel. The Rosenborg players are in their black and white colors, while Team Lyon is in blue. The two teams will soon commence the second phase of their battle to determine who qualifies for the semi-finals. Ladies and gentlemen! Let's put our hands together to welcome the players on the field of play."
At that moment, the cheers hit a thunderous zenith as the players marched onto the pitch. The catchy Europa League anthem echoed in the background as the teams quickly lined up in front of the fans and went through their customary handshake ceremony.
The proceedings moved forward, and the excitement around the stadium shot through the roof when the referee conducted the coin toss and determined that it was the Troll Kids who would get the kick-off. Before long, all the players took their positions on the pitch, and the match was finally about to begin.
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As kick-off drew near, the intensity of the downpour increased a notch. It soaked Zachary's hair and washed over his skin so vigorously, making him feel like he was in the flow of a river rather than a rain shower. But he didn't mind as all his concentration was already on the game that was about to commence. He continued standing gallantly over the ball while waiting for the referee to blow the whistle.
*FWEEEEEEE*
The referee finally kicked off the game two minutes later, when the clock hand had just pointed to the 9:05 PM mark. Zachary raised his leg before passing the ball back into his midfield. And since he was the center-forward for that game, he immediately ran towards the other side of the pitch and positioned himself between the two Lyon center-backs.
Due to the heavy rain, the first ten minutes of the game were a boring fight between the two teams in the midfield. When the Troll Kids were on the ball, the Lyon players would quickly close them down before tackling them. When team Lyon won the ball, the Rosenborg players would also retaliate and foul them before they could advance into the other half.
Sliding tackles soon reigned supreme on the pitch due to the slippery ground. And on several occasions, the referee had to stop gameplay to caution the players and warn them against hurting their opponents.
The downpour continued relentlessly, and the game proceeded to the fifteenth minute. The Rosenborg players soon settled into their defensive formation and parked the bus before their goal. They played with ten men behind the ball and only left Zachary on the striking line to sustain pressure on the opponents. They were obviously following Coach Johansen's ultra-defensive game plan to the letter.
However, Rosenborg's ultra-defensive strategy exposed its weakness not long after. The Lyon players took advantage of the few opponents upfront and launched endless waves of attacks against Rosenborg's goal. Before long, they arrayed themselves in a 4-3-3 formation and hoarded more than 70% of possession. Long passes and crosses became the order of the night as the Lyon midfielders and wingers unleashed dangerous balls into Rosenborg's box, seeking their two strikers.
The pressure on Rosenborg's defense became immense with every passing second. By the twentieth minute, the game situation seemed dire as the Rosenborg defenders struggled to clear the ball out of their defensive third due to the limited visibility caused by the rain. It looked as if Lyon was about to shatter 'the parked bus' of Rosenborg before scoring their first goal for the day.
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