God Of football

Chapter 134: Attack On Madrid

As the second half approached, the players came out of their locker rooms, locking a bit refreshed.

They walked through the tunnel and were met with another wave of cheers as the fans awaited eagerly for the second half to start.

...

[In the stands]

”Wow, what a half. I knew your little boyfriend was good from all the hype and the news I saw, but this is insane,” Valerie said.

”I mean, he just scored a goal against Real Madrid at 15 years of age. It doesn’t get any younger done than that”.

”16, he’ll be 16 next week,” Olivia said with a slight blush. ”Okay, sugar mommy, hold on for a sec. Don’t try to justify your relationship as it doesn’t need that.

It’s allowed, okay. It is just a two-year gap. He’ll be 16 before you turn 18 in December” Valerie said while patting Olivia at her back.

Olivia nodded unconsciously while Valerie just stared at her with a grin. ”Oh, seems their back, let’s hope he can do more”, Valerie said, causing Olivia to lift her head.

She stared at the tunnel where the players were coming from, hoping to meet Izan’s gaze, but she was sure he couldn’t since the crowd around them was too large.

...

Izan, on the pitch, glanced at where Olivia sat and found her looking a bit sad. ”What is she thinking” he said with a slight chuckle as he walked to his position.

”As the players take their positions for the second half, the atmosphere here at the Bernabéu is electric.” The commentator spoke.

”Real Madrid and Valencia have shown flashes of brilliance in the first 45 minutes with the home side managing to get two into the opponent net and the away side managing to cross out one goal

Los Blancos will look to assert their dominance, with their midfield maestros pulling the strings, while Valencia will aim to capitalize on their counterattacking opportunities.

It’s all to play for as the referee signals the start of the second half. The next 45 minutes could be decisive in determining who walks away with the crucial three points tonight.”

As the second half began at the Santiago Bernabéu, the intensity immediately ramped up, with both Real Madrid and Valencia showing no intention of settling for the current score.

The fans, buzzing from the first half’s stalemate, roared in anticipation as the players returned to the pitch more energized than before the game began.

Madrid started aggressively, pushing forward with relentless pressure as they looked to extend their lead.

In the 47th minute, Vinícius Jr. danced through two defenders on the left wing, the crowd rising in unison with every step.

Cenk Ozkacar stepped up to intercept him but he was sent tumbling by a nice and quick change of pace by Vinícius.

The Brazilian-born winger got to the byline and spotted numbers in the opponent’s box.

His low-driven cross found Jude Bellingham as the home crowd looked on eager but his first-time shot smashed off the post, sending a ripple of disbelief through the stadium.

Gasps echoed, followed by thunderous applause for the effort. Valencia responded with fire. In the 54th minute, they launched a blistering counterattack after Marmadashvili saved a shot.

His long throw found Pietro in the middle, who eventually combined with Izan in a one-two sequence that left Izan with space.

His thoughts ran at an unimaginable speed as he tried to find marvellous passing routes. His eyes scanned for a while before he ultimately settled for one.

A precise long ball from Izan, worthy of his now 90-rated passing stat, split the Madrid defence, sending their winger-turned-striker for this match, Diego López, racing toward the goal.

The crowd’s tension was unbearable as they watched Diego López catch up to the ball and just as the Valencia forward pulled the trigger, Thibaut Courtois charged out, making a stunning save with his outstretched leg.

The stadium erupted in a mix of cheers and sighs of relief as Courtois pumped his fist, urging his teammates forward.

After this chance, Valencia began attacking proactively. This was good but, at the same time, a bit bad as Izan, the core of their attacks was soon subjected to rough treatment by the Los Blancos.

The tackles soon began flying in. Federico Valverde’s crunching challenge in the 61st minute drew furious reactions from Valencia players, who swarmed the referee demanding a card.

The referee, however, let Valverde off with a warning, earning boos from the away crowd.

The Madrid fans also booed in protests as they didn’t think their player’s tackle was found. The stadium buzzed with energy and hostility.

Moments later, Valencia’s captain returned the favour, sliding into Luka Modrić near the sideline, sparking another flare-up and loud whistles from the home crowd.

Tension hit its peak in the 72nd minute when Valencia thought they had found equalizer.

A whipped corner met the head of their towering centre-back, and the ball sailed toward the top corner.

Courtois, once again the hero, leapt at full stretch to tip the ball onto the bar.

The crowd’s collective intake of breath turned into a deafening roar of admiration as the Belgian keeper’s heroics kept Madrid alive.

Time was ticking and Valencia needed to find an equalizer. This would prove detrimental as Real Madrid capitalized on the spaces left behind by their attacking fullbacks.

Madrid responded with wave after wave of attack after this. Vinícius dazzled again in the 75th minute as he skipped past his marker.

The Valencia defense scrambled to retrieve the ball but it wasn’t to be. Lunging to the left, Vinicius suddenly flicked the ball the opposite way before going around the onrushing player.

With a clear path towards goal, Vinicius relaxed a bit and shifted his weight to his left leg before shooting with his right.

The ball, which was destined for the top spot, got blocked by an impressive foot from Mark, who had come on earlier, but the ball still found its way to the fresh legs of Brahim Diaz, who slotted the ball into the bottom right corner.

The Santiago Bernabéu exploded into life after the fans saw their team take a two-goal lead.

”I don’t remember the last time we celebrated a goal against Valencia like this,” a fan said as he ensued another in a hug.

The faces of the travelling Valencia fans were downcast after the goal. Some even stood up to leave but some stayed, hoping for a miracle.

Izan looked at the scoreboard and smiled wryly. It wasn’t over till it was over but this was really hard to do.

2 goals in less than 20 minutes against a Madrid side like this was utter bullshit.

But if they were able to score within the next seven minutes, the momentum would shift to their side, which might enable them to score another goal.

And so they did. After the restart, anyone would have thought the Valencia team would retreat to their shell, but they became more attacking.

In the 82nd minute, Izan won the ball back in the middle of the field. The Real Madrid backline was in shambles.

Like a gust of wind, Izan ran towards the opponents, his sights set on the goal. Toni Kroos, who met Izan, first tried to grab and hold Izan, but Izan nudged the ball between his legs.

”I’m getting too old for this”, Toni Kroos said as he turned to give chase to Izan, who was now a few meters from the box.

Seeing Izan galloping towards them like a horse, Rudiger and Alaba decided to meet him, with the latter going first while the former followed behind.

The stadium watched on in anticipation as Izan came face to face with Alaba. The experienced defender tried to stall, but once again, Izan was having none of it.

”Izan showing no signs of slowing down confuse Alaba effectively with a quick change of pace”.

Izan got away from Alaba but he was only free for a few seconds as Rudiger stuck his foot out. Izan dragged the ball back before shifting the ball to his left foot.

Rudiger knew Izan was ambidextrous, known from his match against him when he played against Spain.

With Izan shifting the ball to his left, Rudiger became wary and tensed. Izan saw a gap and dragged his left leg back in a shooting motion.

Rudiger tensed once again as he moved to block the shot but it never came as Izan touched the ball slightly to his right.

Rudiger’s eyes went wide suddenly remembering that Izan wasn’t playing alone. The ball found Hugo Duro who controlled it and rushed towards Courtois

The Real Madrid fans raised their hands and shots, asking for an offside, but the play continued.

Coming face to face with Courtois, Hugo Duro tried to curl the ball around Courtois but he saw no gaps.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shadow. Not checking to see whether it belonged to his man or not, Hugo Duro passed the ball to the left.

The stadium watched silently as the ball found the onrushing Diego López, who tapped the ball into the net.

”Goooaaaalllllllll. Valencia are back within one. Nice team play by Valencia. Is this the start of a comeback”

The remaining Valencia fans, who hadn’t left, cheered at the top of their lungs as they saw their team pull another goal back.

Diego López quickly sensed the urgency and picked the ball back to the kickoff spot.

The Real Madrid players dragged themselves back slowly but eventually to restart the match.

A/n: Today might be a one chapter day. Sorry guys, my throat is feeling really sore and I know it has nothing to do with me typing but its hard to do something when your throat aches.

Guess you’ll understand and as I said, ”might”.