Football singularity

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[16]

Kerem Demirbay planted the ball on a tuft that suited him and took five neat steps back, eyes sweeping the penalty area beyond the four-man wall. Taking a deep breath, he debated whether to take it on himself or deliver a cross into the box. Personally, he would rather go for the goal, but upon spotting a hand raised amid the chaos, he knew what to do.

Following the referee's whistle, he raised his right hand, showing a two, letting his teammates know what he was about to do. Demirbay's run-up was almost lazy as he closed in on the stationary ball, but the strike carried so much whip he cleanly shaved a chunk of grass.

He wrapped his left foot around the ball and sent it screaming into the air on an arced trajectory. The ball curled in the air, sailing above the leaping crowd that had sprinted towards the near post. With the reds attacking the nearpost, they dragged all their markers with them, so when Weiser spun off towards the back post, no one was there.

His marker was too busy watching the sailing ball to notice, and by the time he realised it was too late. Pavlenka, on his line, scrambled across his line trying to get in the ball's way, but it was too late. Weiser took the ball on the volley, needing to do nothing more than redirect the ball towards the goal.

The net bulged with a satisfying thud that echoed around the empty stadium like a gunshot. Weiser's arms shot skyward instinctively as he jumped up from the ground, but the wild shouts from the crowd never came. That only dampened his mood slightly as he raced off to the side to celebrate at the camera at the corner flag. His teammates quickly joined him, making sure to maintain the protocol distance as they joined in his celebration.

[Bremen 0 Vs 1 Leverkusen]

"Clinical from Weiser!" Derek Rae's voice carried a hint of admiration. "The set-piece routine worked to perfection, and Bremen are punished for their lapse in concentration."

"They studied it during tactical sessions, they practised it during training, and now they have utilised it in the game," Robson added, his analyst's mind already dissecting the goal. "Draw the defenders to the near post, then exploit the space at the back stick. It sounds easy, but it's much harder to do in a real game. Kohfeldt won't be happy with how easily his players switched off."

[20]

The goal seemed to deflate Bremen momentarily. They kicked off with renewed urgency, but their passing lacked the crispness of the opening exchanges. Selke dropped deep, trying to link play, but found himself isolated as Leverkusen's midfield trio closed down space efficiently.

Bargfrede attempted to break the lines with a long diagonal pass to Rashica, but Aranguiz read it perfectly, intercepting with a well-placed slide tackle. The Chilean's received a hasty return pass from Demirbay, who was sent tumbling from Eggestein's shoulder tackle. His first touch was sublime despite having just jumped up from the ground, cushioning the ball away from pressure before pivoting to find Amiri.

[21']

Amiri's movement in the middle third was becoming increasingly problematic for Bremen. The playmaker drifted between pockets of space, linking both midfield and attack as he connected passes between his teammates. The moment he received the ball from Aranguiz, he had already spotted the run.

Havertz timed his run perfectly as he peeled away from Moisander, leaving the Bremen captain a step behind. The pass split Bremen's defensive line, rolling perfectly into Havertz's path as he bore down on goal. Pavlenka rushed off his line, arms spread wide to narrow the angle, but Havertz remained composed.

The young German lifted his head for a split second, spotted the keeper's positioning, then delicately chipped the ball with the outside of his right boot. The ball arced gracefully over and around the keeper's desperate dive, spinning toward the empty net with cruel precision. The ball bounced on the goal line, piercing the net with a dramatic thud as Havertz raced off to he sidelines in jubilation.

Havertz's celebration stopped immediately as he turned to see the linesman with his flag pointing toward the Bremen goal. The away side tried to protest the call, but referee Tobias simply double-checked with the VAR team through his earpiece. The verdict came moments later; Officer and he did not need any convincing.

"Offside," Derek Rae confirmed, his voice carrying a hint of disappointment. "Marginal, but the assistant got it right. Havertz was just a fraction ahead of Veljkovic when Amiri played the pass."

"That's the beauty and cruelty of VAR," Stewart Robson added. "In the old days, goals like that might have stood. Now, there's nowhere to hide from the technology."

[30]

The near-miss seemed to spark something in the Bremen side, causing them to become more aggressive. Kohfeldt's voice carried clearly across the pitch, urging his players forward with animated gestures from the touchline. The home side began to press higher, forcing Leverkusen to play quicker passes and build up play from the back.

This noticeably put more pressure on Tapsoba and Bender, who had to act as the link between defence and midfield. Hradecky rolled the ball to Bender, but Selke was already charging forward, looking to lock him down. The Bremen striker's pressing forced a hurried pass out wide that Eggestein managed to intercept with a well-timed lunge. The ball bobbled loose in the Leverkusen half, and suddenly Bremen had a chance.

Bittencourt pounced on the loose ball, his first touch taking him away from Demirbay's desperate slide tackle. The former Bayern man had space to run at the Leverkusen defence, and he used it ruthlessly. This forced Tapsoba to step out to meet him, but Bittencourt had already spotted the movement of Rashica on the left wing.

The pass was weighted perfectly, threading between Weiser and the retreating Aranguiz as Rashica collected it in full stride. The Kosovo international's pace was electric as he ate up the ground, leaving Weiser trailing in his wake. This time, there was no hesitation – Rashica cut inside sharply, his left foot whipping across the ball with vicious intent.

The shot cannoned off the inside of the near post with a metallic clang that echoed around the empty stadium. The rebound fell kindly for Bremen, but Selke's follow-up was blocked brilliantly by Bender's outstretched leg on the six line. The ball ricocheted back toward the penalty spot where Eggestein was lurking, but Hradecky had recovered quickly, smothering the loose ball with both hands.

"Oh my goodness, that was quick, vicious, and dangerous," Robson commented as he could already imagine the Leverkusen fans behind the screen breathing a sigh of relief. "Now this is the Bremen side we came to see."

"That's more like it from Bremen," Rae observed. "They're starting to find their rhythm now, creating chances through their pace and movement."

[37]

Bremen rode the adrenaline of that double-chance, pressing in waves that directly crashed with Leverkusen's for every yard. It quickly became a midfield battle with Vogt and Demirbay becoming the protagonists. The two took control of the flow of the match, jumping into tackles after tackles with no hesitation.

At one point, Demirbay even shoved Amiri aside just to shoulder-tackle Bargfrede aside at the edge of the centre circle. For a few moments, the match seemed like a street fight as neither side could focus on executing their tactics. Vogt thundered through Demirbay in the centre circle, the thud of shoulder on sternum ringing in the rafters.

This earned him a yellow card, but the former did not even flinch at that as he stared his opponent down. Minutes later, a rough slide tackle from Aranguiz sent Rashica flying to the ground, but the tackle was clean. This did not matter to the home side, though, who went on to intensify their pressing.

Referee Tobias Stieler became the busiest man on the field as he worked his lungs to capacity. His whistle and cradles became more pronounced as he booked six different players in a matter of 7 minutes, and plenty of players were warned. When Diaby was fouled at the edge of the box in the 44th minute, he finally had enough, calling both teams' captains for a talk.

"Ruhe genug ist genug, wir spielen Fußball, nicht Kampfsport. (Calm down, enough is enough, we're playing football, not a combat sport.)" He told the two captains without even letting them get a rod in warning that he would no longer be lenient if they continued pushing the needle.

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To Be Continued...