CHAPTER 622: CHAPTER 622 STRIKE

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[51’]

Leipzig tried to respond immediately, finally showing the urgency their situation demanded. Nagelsmann was animated on the touchline, gesturing frantically for his wing-backs to push higher. Sabitzer collected the ball in midfield and played it wide to Nkunku, who had dropped deeper to receive.

The Frenchman turned quickly, nutmegging Wendell with an audacious flick, and suddenly, Leipzig had numbers forward. Nkunku drove into space, his pace causing Leverkusen’s defence to backpedal frantically. Before Bender could close him down, he looked up and slid a pass through to Poulsen, who had peeled off Tah’s shoulder.

The Danish striker took one touch to set himself at the edge of the box, but Hradecky was already rushing out, making himself big. Poulsen tried to dink it over him, but the Finnish goalkeeper, who had been low sprung up like the wind and got a hand to it, tipping it over the bar.

"Another crucial intervention from Hradecky!" Drury exclaimed. "That’s three times now he’s denied Leipzig clear chances. This could quickly become a trend once he gets hot."

"Peter, if Leverkusen go through, Hradecky deserves a statue," Beglin added with genuine admiration. "He’s keeping them in this game almost single-handedly."

During the corner-kick preparations, Drury shifted the topic. "Jim, we were talking before about the transfer market. One player who’s generated enormous interest this summer is Kai Havertz. Chelsea are reportedly willing to pay upwards of seventy million pounds for him."

"And you can see why," Beglin replied as Leipzig’s corner was cleared. "He’s got everything—technical ability, tactical intelligence, composure under pressure. At twenty-one, he’s already one of the most complete attacking midfielders/ Forwards in Europe. If Chelsea gets him, they’re building something special alongside Werner and Ziyech."

"But that’s the challenge for clubs like Leverkusen," Drury continued. "They develop these incredible talents, but eventually, the bigger clubs come calling. How do you build sustained success when your best players keep leaving?"

"It’s the eternal problem," Beglin agreed. "But look at what they’ve done—they’ve got Wirtz coming through, who looks equally special. The system works, even if individual players move on."

[58’]

The match was opening up now, both teams sensing that the next goal would likely be decisive. Leipzig committed more bodies forward, leaving gaps at the back that Leverkusen tried to exploit on the counter. In the fifty-eighth minute, one such opportunity nearly resulted in a second goal.

Aránguiz intercepted a loose pass from Kampl and immediately looked up. Rakim had already started his run, timing it perfectly to stay onside. The Chilean’s pass was weighted beautifully, splitting Leipzig’s defensive line and finding Rakim in stride.

The seventeen-year-old was through, with some space to carry the ball forward before the defence could catch up. He dribbled well into the final third, reaching the side of the 18-yard box before Tasende caught up with him. He stopped slightly, his right foot flashing over the ball, faking a cutback before sending his marker skidding.

Exploding to the side of the box, he scanned inside, finding a few of his teammates charging in with their markers in tow. Picking out Wirtz on the other end, he dinked across the mess around the penalty spot, dropping it into his teammate’s stride. The German Wunderkind trapped the ball, sweeping it along with his momentum as he kept Klostermann at bay.

"Florian Wirtz is ready to open up the scoring," Drury exclaimed as he hit the ball with his left foot, fully leaning on his marker, as he swept it toward the far corner. "Gulacsi, jumps he reaches, is it enough though... Oh, saved by the post."

Gulacsi, who had been charging out of his goal, managed to react fast enough to get a palm to the ball. "What a save from the Leipzig number 1. He really went and put it all on the line there." Beglin noted as the ball sprang out of the pitch for a corner kick.

Wirtz swung in the resulting corner with speed, hitting it low and hard toward the edge of the box. Aranguiz managed to lose Laimer, hitting the ball first time, catapulting it goalward. His volley flew forward at speed, arrowing through a forest of legs, like a heatseeker missile.

Gulácsi glued to his line saw it late but reacted with feline reflexes, dropping low to his right, managing to parry it away with a strong wrist. The rebound fell awkwardly to the other side of the box, where Demirbay tried to adjust his body and strike again, but Sabitzer came flying in with a lunging block. The ball ricocheted shin high into the air and was finally hoofed clear by Upamecano.

"Leipzig hanging on by their fingernails here!" Drury shouted over the rising noise in the stadium. "Leverkusen could easily be up by two, maybe three ahead by now."

Beglin added with his usual cool tone, "They’re gonna have to respond and soon otherwise this could very well turn into an exhibition of Leverkusen attacking prowres."

[62’]

Nagelsmann made his first change, signalling for Emil Forsberg to warm up. The Swedish midfielder had been warming up for a while now, but it looked like he would finally get his chance. In the sixty-third minute, Forsberg replaced Kampl, who trudged off exhausted and frustrated.

"Interesting substitution from Nagelsmann," Drury noted. "Forsberg brings more attacking threat than Kampl, but it leaves Leipzig a bit more exposed in midfield."

"At some point you have to go all in, and if that means going all out on attack, then I’m all for it," Beglin said. "They’re a goal down with less than thirty minutes to play. Sometimes you have to take risks."

The substitution changed the Leipzig midfield as Forsberg’s first involvement was a clever flick that released Sabitzer down the left. The Austrian drove forward, cut inside, and unleashed a fierce drive from twenty-five yards that Hradecky had to push over the bar.

[67’]

The corner came to nothing, as Sven Bender headed it out of the box, but Leipzig kept pouring forward. The match had taken on a frantic quality now, with both teams committing numbers in attack and leaving gaps at the back. In the sixty-seventh minute, that nearly cost Leverkusen dearly.

Forsberg collected the ball in midfield and played a brilliant reverse pass into Nkunku’s run. The Frenchman was through blasting by Wendell with a drop of the shoulder, racing toward the goal with only Hradecky to beat. The Finnish keeper rushed out, trying to close the angle, with Tah closing in from the middle, but before either could get close, Nkunku took it early, striking with his right foot.

The shot was curved toward the bottom near the corner, slipping past the keeper’s outstretched leg. But he couldn’t bend it enough, and it slammed into the side netting, flying out for a goal kick. "Oh my days saved by mere inches, they almost had the equaliser." Drury bellowed, mirroring the rollercoaster of emotion the RB fans were feeling.

"That was surely a goal, hell be gutted not being able to squeeze that one in," Beglin said, his voice full of disappointment. The Leipzig bench had their hands over their heads again after yet another goal was denied, and the frustration was evident in every player’s body language.

None of that mattered to Bosz, though, as he quickly made a series of substitutions. Aranguiz came off for Baumgartlinger, and Wirtz left the stage for Diaby, injecting some needed energy into the Leverkusen side. The substitutes changed their playing style, as they sat much higher up the field.

Bamgartlinger acted as the sole pivot, pushing Demirbay to join Havertz further up the field in the creative role. Their chemistry allowed them to ping together a string of passes that gave the German playmaker room to create something. Skipping past Laimer’s tackle, he sent a through ball up the right flank for Diaby to chase, and the Frenchman exploded forward.

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To be Continued...