Eventually, the ball made its way to Zachary, who had just run into an unmarked pocket of space close to the center circle. He brought it under control with a simple touch as he glanced around.

In a flash, he assessed the situation around him and managed to form a mental map of all the opponents and teammates around him. The next moment, he unleashed a lofted pass towards the flanks to find Karl Toko Ekambi, Rosenborg’s right-winger for the day.

The flanks were relatively uncrowded as Benfica had already switched to a narrow 4-3-2-1 formation to avail more numbers in the middle to tight mark their most deadly opponent – Zachary Bemba. So, there wasn’t any contender marking Karl Toko Ekambi when he connected with Zachary’s pass on the right flank.

Ekambi remained composed as he brought the ball under control with his chest close to the touchline. Then, he started feeding it in front of himself as he exploded with speed, dashing towards the other side of the pitch like a bullet train.

In a few seconds, Ekambi made it past the border of the final third and ran into the first blockade in the form of Guilherme Siqueira, Benfica’s left-back. He chose not to tango with the approaching Benfica defender but instead slowed down before quickly unleashing a curling cross towards Benfica’s box.

In the box: Nicki Nielsen escaped the pestering of Luisão, Benfica’s center-back, to connect with the ball. He timed his run perfectly and leaped high to plant a deadly header towards the top right corner.

The effort was promising, and Zachary’s heartbeat quickened as he watched the ball zooming towards the goal like an arrow. It floated over the outstretched fingertips of Benfica’s keeper before continuing onwards—towards the top right corner.

But the next moment, the ball seemed to veer off its course slightly before smashing off the goal post and rebounding into the box. Zachary’s mood soured as Nicki’s effort was off target by mere centimeters.

”Damn it!” Zachary cursed inwardly. Adrenaline flooded his systems as he prepared to resume his sprint into Benfica’s box—to chase after the rebounded ball. But at that moment, he noticed Ezequiel Garay, the other Benfica center-back, pouncing on the ball and quickly clearing it out of the box.

Zachary’s spirits soared again. He realized that Ezequiel’s clearance wasn’t the best, and his sharp mind deduced that the just-cleared ball’s trajectory was straight towards him. So, he relaxed his posture and waited motionlessly in his position, just a few yards away from the arc of the 18-yard box.

All the distracting thoughts faded from his mind, and the time seemed to come to a standstill. As expected, the just-cleared ball descended towards his position and grew more pronounced in his vision. He pounced forward and drew his left leg all the way back before swinging it down like a whip. His timing was immaculate, and he met the incoming ball with a ferocious kick on a volley.

”BAM!”

A sense of contentment filled his heart as the sweet sound of his boot connecting with the ball reverberated in his ears. And the next instant, the ball whooshed back from whence it had come like a surface-to-surface missile. It tore through the air like a lightning bolt before ricocheting off the crossbar and bouncing into the back of the net. Due to the sheer velocity of the shot, the keeper hadn’t reacted and could only turn back to watch the ball nestle in the back of the net.

—–

SL Benfica 2 : Rosenborg BK 1

——

For a moment, a wave of silence swept across the stadium. It was as if the fans were still processing what had just transpired. Then, the next instant, thunderous cheers emerged from the section of the stands allocated to the away team’s supporters. More than 20,000 voices soon blended into a booming chorus as the traveling Rosenborg fans chanted Zachary’s name.

On the sidelines, Coach Jorge Jesus was frowning deeply. His mood turned sour as he watched the Rosenborg players celebrating their goal. Before the game, he had warned his midfielders to mark Zachary during every moment of the game. But they had relaxed a bit and left the young playmaker unmarked for a moment during the opening minutes of the second half. In so doing, they’d allowed him to score Rosenborg’s first goal during the 48th minute.

Moreover, an even more worrying fact was that Rosenborg was back into the game due to their away goal. Thus, as long as the Norwegian giants could score another goal, they would tie the game and place themselves in an advantageous position before the second leg of the Europa League’s semi-final battle scheduled for the following week. Then, the Rosenborg players would most likely put up a better display while playing in front of their supporters on their home ground in Trondheim. In the end, they would eliminate Benfica and qualify for the finals.

Coach Jorge Jesus shuddered despite himself as he thought about the possibility. He immediately decided to introduce a more defensive-minded midfielder into the game. His intent was to contain Zachary Bemba and the rest of the Rosenborg attackers during the remaining minutes of the second half.

”Fejsa!” The coach called out as he turned towards the bench. “Come here for a moment.”

”Yes, coach.” The defensive midfielder immediately rose from his seat before stepping toward the coach. His eyes were brimming with expectation as he awaited the coach’s instructions.

Coach Jorge Jesus placed a hand on the midfielder’s shoulder before saying, “In a bit, I’ll substitute you in for Cardozo. Your only role for the rest of the game is to mark Zachary, Rosenborg’s playmaker. Stay on him for every moment of the game, and don’t allow him to shoot or create goal-scoring opportunities. Can you manage that?”

Ljubomir Fejsa narrowed his eyes as he stole a peek towards the pitch, where gameplay had just restarted. “Coach,” he said. “Zachary is a difficult opponent to mark. However, I’ll give my all to keep him in check during the rest of the game. That’s what I can promise.”

”Great,” the coach said, patting Fejsa’s shoulder. “As long as you try your best and make sure that he doesn’t score again, you’ll have done a great service for the team. Go and prepare quickly. I want you on the pitch in five minutes.”

”Aye, coach,” Fejsa replied before stepping away to start his warm-up.

—–

On the pitch, the game continued, and the Benfica players seemed to become more proactive in their style of play after conceding a goal. They started utilizing quick short passes around the pitch as they advanced towards Rosenborg’s box. Before long, the ball found its way to Enzo Pérez, one of Benfica’s midfielders, and he immediately flicked it to Rodrigo Machado.

Rodrigo Machado, Benfica’s right-winger, brought the ball under control close to the touchline on the right flank. He whirled around to skip past his marker before exploding with speed. He sprinted with the ball along the touchline — and before long; he unleashed a cross towards Rosenborg’s box.

It was a dangerous cross, especially since it was curling and on course towards Óscar Cardozo, Benfica’s center-forward. Fortunately for Rosenborg, Yerry Mina leaped high and battled Cardozo for aerial superiority before heading the ball away from the box.

The tall Colombian’s clearance had saved Rosenborg from conceding another goal in the 52nd minute. As a result, the Benfica fans around the stadium could only let out bitter sighs as the ball zoomed back towards the border of the final third, where Thomas Partey was lurking.

Thomas Partey chested the ball to the ground while exhibiting a sense of urgency. He turned and twisted away from an opponent before squaring a pass to Takumi Minamino. The latter took one touch before glancing up briefly and passing the ball to Zachary.

Zachary ran away from his bodyguards and met the ball close to the center circle. Before any other opponent could close him down, he flicked it to the left wing to find Alexander Söderlund, Rosenborg’s left-winger. He then circumvented his opponents and continued sprinting towards the other side of the pitch.

Just as he was about to step past the border of the final third, he received a return pass from Alexander Söderlund. He controlled the ball mid-sprint and executed side steps to skip past Rúben Amorim, Benfica’s defensive midfielder. But the next moment, just as Zachary was beginning to accelerate, Rúben stretched out a boot and tripped him. And before Zachary could realize what was happening, he was already tumbling to the ground.

*FWEEEEEEE*

The referee blew the whistle even before Zachary or any other Rosenborg player could complain. He rushed to the scene and showed Rúben the second yellow card for the night. But he didn’t just stop at that. He also showed a red card to the defensive midfielder before awarding Rosenborg a free-kick.

The Benfica players immediately surrounded the referee and argued against the decision. But the referee shook his head and turned a deaf ear to their complaints. He remained expressionless as he motioned for Rúben to march out of the pitch.

Zachary smiled as he picked himself up from the ground. Many Benfica players had been fouling him ever since the start of the game. He’d been frustrated since they had gotten away with committing the fouls on several occasions. But after seeing one of them receive a red card, he felt a wave of relief wash over him. He was really in the best of moods, especially since the red-carded opponent was Rúben Amorim — a player who had harassed him verbally on several occasions.

—–

A minute later, Benfica’s coach made a substitution and brought on Ljubomir Fejsa in place of Óscar Cardozo. After that, the game recommenced with Rosenborg’s set-piece.

Zachary took the free-kick and unleashed a lofted pass behind the defensive line. However, it resulted in nothing as none of his teammates managed to connect with the ball. In the end, the keeper saved the ball, and the gameplay continued.

For the remaining minutes of the second half, the Rosenborg players launched endless waves of offensives on Benfica’s box. They utilized their numerical advantage to dictate the tempo and dominate proceedings on the pitch. And whenever opportunities arose, they would even unleash heavy shots towards the goal as they searched for the equalizer against Benfica.

However, the ten Benfica players remaining on the pitch parked the bus in front of their goal to frustrate Rosenborg’s efforts. They focused only on defense and thwarted all Rosenborg’s chances for the remainder of the second half. As a result, the score remained 2:1 in favor of Benfica when the final whistle sounded after five minutes of injury time.

—–