He understood that Fiorentina was a much stronger team when compared to Rosenborg. He knew that he couldn’t let himself relax and leave the defending to his teammates. So, he worked harder than ever and was like a tireless madman in the midfield with his S-graded stamina, endurance, and agility attributes.

Moreover, since he’d studied the weakness and habits of the Fiorentina squad before the game, he was more effective on the pitch. Whenever the opponents had the ball, he was always quick to make a decision since he could easily predict their playing patterns from their previous matches. Thanks to his efforts, Rosenborg prevented the Italian side from scoring the opening goal on several occasions.

The minutes passed quickly, and the clock on the big screen soon indicated that it was the 70th minute. At that moment, Fiorentina had just initiated another attack to break down Rosenborg’s defense.

Juan Cuadrado, Fiorentina’s right-winger, exchanged a couple of one-twos with Alberto Aquilani, the midfielder, as they cut through Rosenborg’s defense. Their teamwork was incredible as they circumvented a series of opponents before making it into the final third. But they soon ran into an obstacle in the form of Eric Bailly when they continued on towards Rosenborg’s box.

Eric Bailly was like a ruthless assassin as he slid in to tackle the ball from Juan Cuadrado’s feet. With a single merciless sweep, he sent the Fiorentina man tumbling to the ground before securing the ball.

”Foul! Foul…”

The Fiorentina players started shouting at the referee, hoping to claim a free kick. However, all their efforts were fruitless. The referee ignored their complaints and waved the gameplay to continue.

Chance!

Zachary acted with all the haste he could master when he saw the opponents lose concentration for a moment. He quickly ran into space while calling out to Eric Bailly to pass the ball to him.

The Rosenborg players had practiced various counterattacking routines over the past few days in preparation for the game. So, Eric Bailly didn’t need Zachary’s reminder at that moment. He quickly flicked the ball forward towards Zachary’s position to initiate the counterattack.

Zachary’s entire being bubbled with excitement when he received the ball in the middle of the pitch close to the center circle. With a single deft touch, he brought it under control before turning around to face Fiorentina’s side of the pitch.

Within an instant, he assessed the positioning of both the opponents and his teammates while expertly stepping past an opponent that’d just closed him down. By relying on his high-level spatial awareness, he managed to form a mental map of those around him before taking the first stride towards the other half.

Zachary understood that it was then or never. So, he took off like a race car, accelerating to his top speed within a second. He was soon circumventing defenders while dashing towards Fiorentina’s box as if his life was on the line.

At one point, he came across a ruthless tackle from David Pizarro, the Fiorentina midfielder. However, Zachary played a one-two with Takumi Minamino as he skirted around the sliding tackle. Before long, he was already bearing down on Fiorentina’s box as a wave of booing descended upon the entire stadium.

The Fiorentina supporters seemed intent on disrupting his rhythm and concentration with their loud voices. However, Zachary was already an experienced old hand on the professional stage. He didn’t lose his composure as he slowed down slightly before the box to assess his options.

On his right was his counterpart in midfield – Takumi Minamino, while on his left was Nicki Nielsen, Rosenborg’s star striker. Thus, he had the option of either attempting to score himself or passing the ball to one of his two teammates.

Reason always dictated that midfielders make such choices based on the past statistics of the attacking players in the team. However, by following his instincts, Zachary decided to do the opposite. Instead of passing to the more experienced and lethal Nicki Nielsen, he flicked the ball to Takumi Minamino, who was just stepping past the last center back and into Rosenborg’s box.

Takumi received Zachary’s pin-point through-pass right before stepping into an off-side position. With a not-so-complicated graceful touch, he pushed the ball forward to stride into the box. Before any of the defenders could close him down, he unleashed a curling right-footed shot that easily skirted around the keeper and made it into the back of the net.

ACF Fiorentina 0: Rosenborg BK 1

In the 70th minute, Rosenborg had finally broken the deadlock and scored the opening goal. All the Rosenborg players, including the goal scorer -Takumi Minamino, were ecstatic while celebrating in front of Fiorentina’s goal. They sang and shouted at the top of their voices without minding the angry Fiorentina fans glaring at them from the stands behind the goal.

**** ****

Coach Johansen roared out in excitement, repeatedly punching his fist into the air when Takumi Minamino scored Rosenborg’s first goal. For the past few minutes, he’d been worried. He was fearful that his team would have to bow out of that season’s Europa League during the round of thirty-two stage.

But since his players had finally gotten the crucial opening goal, he could relax and organize targeted tactics to frustrate Fiorentina. The next few minutes would be about game management, and as a coach, he would have to pull out all his stops to ensure that his team didn’t concede even a single goal. So, without losing a minute, he introduced two more defensive-minded players to his side to increase the resistance against Fiorentina’s attacks.

The goddess of luck seemed to be on Rosenborg’s side that evening. Although the Fiorentina attackers continued trying their best to break down Rosenborg’s defense, there were no more surprises in the final minutes. The Rosenborg players held onto their 1:0 lead until the final whistle sounded by defending together as a team.