However, Mikael Dorsin, Rosenborg’s assistant captain, refused to follow his example. The left-back excused himself from the group of celebrating players before rushing towards the stands behind the Lyon goal. Then, he grinned and spread out his hands before pressing them behind his ears.

The defender’s message was obviously, ‘I’m celebrating the goal. So, please, I can’t hear you.’

The Lyon fans were immediately enraged. They booed and hurled out insults with renewed intensity for the next few seconds. Some even started throwing firecrackers onto the pitch to let out their anger until stadium security stepped in to calm the situation down.

It was only after a whole five minutes that the chaos ended. But before the game could restart, the referee summoned Mikael and showed him a yellow card for his unsportsmanlike behavior of agitating the fans.

”You shouldn’t have taunted the fans,” Zachary said to Mikael. “What if the ref decided to show you a red card instead? We would have been in deep **.”

”Don’t worry,” Mikael said, patting his shoulder. “I know what I’m doing. And, of course, I couldn’t allow the fans to keep cursing at you without hitting back.”

”Thanks for looking out for me.” Zachary smiled. “But seriously, it doesn’t matter whether they boo me or not. What matters is that we win the game and move a step closer to the semi-finals.”

”I understand,” Mikael said, nodding. “Gameplay is about to restart. Let’s head back to our positions.”

—–

Due to the chaos in the stands, the game only restarted after a six-minute break. The Lyon players immediately relied on their 4-3-1-2 formation to overpower Rosenborg in the middle of the field. Before long, they dictated the tempo and hoarded more than 70% percent of the ball possession. And as the proceedings headed into the late stages of the 1st half, they even switched from defensive to attacking tactics.

Team Lyon soon started launching fierce attacks on Rosenborg’s goal by relying on long through-balls to Alexandre Lacazette and Bafétimbi Gomis. The momentum was clearly on Lyon’s side as the two impressive forwards tested Rosenborg’s defense repeatedly, searching for that crucial opening goal.

However, all the Rosenborg players defended with one heart. They parked the team bus in front of their goal and thwarted all the goal-scoring opportunities created by the Lyon players. It was as if they had given up on attacking for the rest of the game to concentrate only on defense.

But during the 42nd minute, when the Lyon players had just stepped up a gear to become more aggressive with their attacks, a swift change transpired on the pitch.

A poor cross from Corentin Tolisso, the Lyon right-back, gave Eric Bailly a chance to battle Alexandre Lacazette for aerial superiority within the box. The Ivorian leaped high to meet the incoming ball with his head before clearing it to safety. And fortunately, his clearance happened to find its way to Nicki Nielsen, the Rosenborg striker lurking close to the touchline on the right flank.

Nicki brought the ball under control with his chest. He then zipped past a challenge from Henri Bedimo, the Lyon left-back, before squaring a pass to Thomas Partey. With that swift and smooth transition, he’d managed to initiate a counterattack.

Thomas Partey’s gaze swept past Zachary’s position as he controlled the ball from Nicki. But he immediately noticed that three opponents were surrounding the young playmaker. So, he could only choose to pass the ball to Takumi Minamino, the other attack-minded midfielder.

Takumi took a single touch on the ball before unleashing a raking pass towards the right-wing. The Japanese midfielder’s vision was impressive, and he managed to seek out Paul Kasongo, who had just made a daring run through the right-wing.

Kasongo seemed confident as he brought the ball under control close to the touchline. And since no opponent was marking him, he immediately took off towards Lyon’s box like the wind.

The short guy was abnormally swift and managed to cover a distance of more than seven yards in a couple of seconds. But just as he was approaching the box from the right side, he ran into a fierce tackle from Bakary Koné. The Lyon center-back slid in wholesale to sweep the short guy off his feet.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle and rushed to the scene. He immediately showed Bakary Koné a yellow card before awarding a free-kick to Rosenborg only a few yards away from the box.

—–

A wave of silence soon descended upon the stadium as Zachary picked up the ball and positioned it on the spot marked out by the referee. Surprisingly, the Lyon fans were no longer booing or cursing at him. Instead, most had already placed their hands behind their heads while others were biting on their lips. They were obviously worried about the situation on the pitch.

”Do you think he will score?” A young man in the stands behind Lyon’s goal asked his friend.

”I don’t know,” his friend replied while massaging his temples. “Damn it! What are the players doing? Why are they conceding free-kicks close to our box?”

His friend didn’t reply. He only shook his head silently before returning all his attention to the field of play.

—–

On the pitch, the referee had finished arranging the defensive wall. It was a long wall comprising seven Lyon players who had lined up a yard or two inside their box, hoping to stop Zachary from scoring another free-kick against them.

Zachary assessed the wall for a few seconds before stepping back from the ball and activating the Dead-Ball-Specialist Juju. When the referee blew the whistle and gave the go-ahead, he nodded and proceeded forward like usual.

He made a short angled run towards the ball before making the last jump-step to position his support foot beside the ball. He then swung his foot down hard and fast to hit the ball with the instep part of his boot.

His technique, honed over thousands of repetitions during training, was as immaculate as ever. He managed to wrap his foot around the ball before sending it on a curling trajectory above the wall. Before the keeper could react, it dipped fast and homed into the top left corner of the net.

—–

Olympique Lyonnais 0 : Rosenborg BK 3

—–

The cheers of the Rosenborg fans in the stadium hit a thunderous crescendo when Zachary raised his arms to celebrate the goal. They jumped around in their seats and sang Rosenborg’s victory chants for the next few seconds. They could hardly contain their excitement as their team was already leading by three goals during the first half of the Europa League quarter-finals.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle after the celebrations, and the game restarted. The Lyon players couldn’t seem to focus after conceding the third goal. They misplaced a few passes and even gifted another counterattacking opportunity to Rosenborg after a few more minutes of gameplay.

However, just as the Rosenborg players had initiated another fierce counter-offensive against Lyon, the referee blew the half-time whistle. The Rosenborg players could only sigh with disappointment before trekking off the pitch and marching towards the tunnel.

**** ****

Emilia Vasquez, the ESPN sports presenter, breathed deeply and smiled at the cameras. Her heart was still palpitating with excitement as her mind recalled the action during the first half.

”Welcome back from the Olympique Lyonnais versus Rosenborg first-half action,” she said. “Only three chances! Three free-kicks! Three shots on target! Three goals from Zachary Bemba during the first half! Gentlemen, what is your take on the first half?” She turned towards the two pundits in the studio.

Juninho immediately shook his head and smiled wryly. “I’m at a loss for words,” he said with an audible sigh. “The proceedings on the pitch are simply a shocker to me. I don’t even understand how Rosenborg is three goals ahead before half-time.”

Emilia smiled. “What about you, Ole? What’s your take on the first half?”

”I’m obviously shocked and stunned,” Ole said with a smile. “But I think I’m a bit more accepting towards the results of the first half than my friend here.” He patted Juninho’s shoulder.

Emilia chuckled. “Tell us about the first half. Why do you think Lyon is behind by three goals even after dominating possession for a large part of the game?”

Ole sighed. “As Conte said in his previous interview after Rosenborg’s match against Juventus, the difference between the two sides is only Zachary Bemba. Whenever he gets an opportunity during the game, he converts it to give Rosenborg an edge against their opponents. As we all noticed during the first half, Lyon is behind by three goals because they didn’t manage to contain him.”