Chapter 368: Victory and Realization

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Rosenborg BK 2 (6) : Olympique Lyonnais 1 (1)

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Coach Johansen smiled and nodded in appreciation as he watched Zachary celebrating the goal with his teammates near the corner flag. The boy prodigy had done it again and utilized the single chance perfectly to score Rosenborg's second goal for the night during the 76th minute. As a result, Rosenborg was ahead of Lyon by an aggregate score of five goals with less than twenty minutes remaining to the end of the game. For sure, the team was heading for the semi-finals of the Europa League.

Coach Johansen turned his gaze away from the celebrating players on the pitch before pivoting it onto the substitutes warming up on the sidelines. He'd already decided to make a few substitutions before the game restarted. His intent was to bring in a couple of fresh legs to help his team maintain the lead during the remaining few minutes.

"Kasongo and Ekambi!" The coach said while eyeing the two players. "Hurry up and prepare. I want you on the pitch in less than five minutes."

"Aye, coach," the two players replied in unison. Without further ado, they started donning their match gear in preparation to enter the game.

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After roughly a minute, the goal celebrations ended. But just before the referee could blow the whistle to restart the game, Coach Johansen made his first substitutions for the night. He brought on Paul Kasongo for Takumi Minamino and also replaced Nicki Nielsen with Karl Toko Ekambi. After that, the coach settled back on the bench and left the onfield players to do their own thing. He'd already given all the instructions to the two substitutes. So, there wasn't any need for him to remain in the chilling drizzle on the touchline.

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*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle a few seconds later, and the game continued. For the first time during the game, the Lyon players seemed to have lost all their on-pitch morale. They played half-heartedly and committed a few mistakes as the game entered its closing stages. Eventually, their lackluster attitude cost them, and they gifted Rosenborg another counterattacking opportunity during the 88th minute.

It all started when Arnold Mvuemba, one of the Lyon midfielders, tried to break past Thomas Partey close to the border of Rosenborg's defensive third on the right flank. However, the Rosenborg defensive midfielder slid in swiftly to sweep the ball off the Lyon man's feet with an outstretched boot.

Thomas Partey had timed his tackle perfectly — and as a result, the ball rolled for a few yards before finding its way to Ole Selnæs. The latter brought it under control with a simple touch, and before any opponents could close him down, he unleashed a lofted pass towards the center circle, where Zachary was lurking.

Once again, Zachary immediately took off to meet the ball. However, the Lyon defenders chased after him and harassed him as he tried to connect with the pass from Ole Selnæs. They even pulled at his shirt and ensured that he wouldn't break past them for the third time that night.

Nevertheless, Zachary didn't lose heart while bringing the ball under control. He remained composed and utilized his tall physique to keep off the Lyon defenders. Then, before they could react, he whirled around and executed an improvised version of the Cruyff turn as he tried to leave them in the dust.

However, the two defenders seemed to have already learned their lessons and were hell-bent on stopping him from launching any other counterattacks against them. They sandwiched him from two sides and even spread their arms wide to ensure he wouldn't break through the middle before the other Lyon players fell back into their positions.

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"What to do?"

Lightning-fast thoughts whirled around Zachary's mind as he tried to escape the harassment of the two defenders. He considered diving to the ground to force a free kick out of his opponents. But the next moment, he discarded the idea since he was still positioned close to the center circle and a considerable distance away from Lyon's goal. So, even if he won the set piece, he wouldn't be able to convert it. He was in a dilemma.

But just then, Zachary noticed a silhouette in black and white racing along the touchline on the left flank. Even while using his peripheral vision, he immediately figured out that the player who had made the daring off-ball run from Rosenborg's side was Kasongo. And judging by the height of the sprinting player, he couldn't be mistaken.

"Hope this works."

Zachary immediately dribbled the ball back to his own half while utilizing his physique to keep the defenders at bay. After noticing that Kasongo was about to step past the centerline, he executed an abrupt Marseille turn and escaped his opponents' pestering. The next moment, Zachary's incredible spatial awareness picked up an angle opening up. He whirled around and drew his leg back to unleash a raking pass towards the right-wing.

Whoosh!

The pass was on point, and it managed to take the entire Lyon defense out of the equation. It cut a diagonal parabola across the pitch before landing a few yards ahead of the sprinting Kasongo.

The short man didn't even slow down to control the pin-point pass from Zachary. He headed the ball onwards before continuing his mad dash towards the goal. His speed was incredible, and before long, he approached the keeper, who had come out to meet him at the edge of the box.

It was then that Kasongo showed his inexperience as a professional player. The next moment, he seemed to panic and then drew his leg back before blasting the ball towards the goal. Probably, he was hoping to propel it past the keeper with sheer force to score.

However, using pure power without applying technique was a mistake. The shot wasn't well-placed, and in the end, it shelled the approaching keeper's raised arms before rebounding away towards the left edge of the box. Soon, it bounced twice and headed out of play for a corner kick.

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"Damn!"

Coach Johansen's eyes widened as he placed his hands on the back of his head. He couldn't believe that Kasongo had missed the goal when he was one-on-one with the keeper. The situation on the pitch shocked the coach, especially since he'd already gotten used to Zachary's deeds of converting every chance that came Rosenborg's way.

Additionally, Kasongo's missed opportunity reminded him about his team's weakness. And then, he started to seriously consider how his players would fare against opponents who could manage to contain Zachary.

For instance, what would happen if a foe ignored all the other players and focused only on Zachary? Would the other players rise to the occasion and score? Would his team still win games easily?

Coach Johansen's back broke out in cold sweat as he considered the possibilities. A frown outlined his face as he continued following the game's closing stages. He couldn't feel at ease even after the referee blew the final whistle and confirmed Rosenborg's 6:1 aggregate victory over Lyon a few minutes later. He was in a somber mood, especially after realizing a problem that Rosenborg might have to face in the near future. He had to train the rest of his players to become effective on the attack, or else his team would be in deep shit if an opponent ever figured out how to contain Zachary.

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