Chapter 719: Biggest Night in Club Football XV
{It is a shame about that run from Jason though. He really looked like he was on to something and ready to finesse his way through, but the German giants proved to be a bit too much for him to handle} Martin added with disappointment in his voice.
{Yeah, the Germans were not having it and quickly put a stop to it before he could go any further or pick out anyone in a dangerous spot} Trevor laughed a little.
{I think we can put some of the blame on his teammates who didn’t get closer to support him. They let him get completely surrounded and he ended up being taken down}
{But at the same time, I think some of them were trying to get into dangerous positions so that when he sent the ball through, they’d be able to get a shot away and simply forgot to go up to support him} Martin tried to analyse the play.
{Well, there’s that and also the fact that they might have been trying to give him some space as he has proven many times that he can normally get the ball out of tight positions}
{Just this time, Bayern proved to be too strong and they were not afraid to play a bit more roughly this late in the game, especially considering that they’re minutes from lifting the Champions League trophy as long as nothing unexpected happens} Trevor pointed out as well.
Thirty three yards away, and in front of the right side of the penalty area, Jason stood behind the ball with Danilo and Dybala.
Ronaldo had come by earlier, but had gone back to the penalty box and grouped up with the other players, expecting the ball to be crossed into the penalty area.
Brushing his hair back over his head as he waited for the referee to finish arranging the wall because the Bayern players were stylishly waiting out of position to waste a bit of time.
*PAPAPA PA!*
*Forza Uve!*
*PAPAPA PA!*
*Forza Uve!*
*PAPAPA PA!*
*Forza Uve!*
As he waited, he heard the Uventus fans clapping and cheering loudly, trying to motivate the players to push hard in the last few minutes left of the game… or more specifically, just barely over two minutes.
Turning his eyes away from the players and toward the goal, he suddenly had an intrusive thought.
‘Why don’t you shoot?’
Jason instantly shook his head, smiling wryly as he tried to get that thought out of his head, but now that it had been said, the thought kept coming back and bouncing all across the inner walls of his mind.
‘Shoot. Shoot. ShoOT. SHOOT. SHOOT! SHOOT! SHOOT!’ Turning from a whisper to a full-blown scream inside his head.
All he could think was the word, ‘Shoot!’
*Fweeeeeeeeeeee!!!* Menedo’s whistle broke all his thoughts instantly, but they had taken their effect.
“They’re so going to hate me for this,” he barely whispered as he changed the angle of his run and began his run-up.
Seeing him change his run-up, Danilo instantly shouted,
“No! Jason! Don’t shoot!” but it was already too late as Jason hit the ball as powerfully as he could with the side of his right foot, sending the ball flying straight ahead.
{Who will he cross it to- Oh he’s shot it direct!}
Since the free kick position was on the right side of the goal, at first it looked like the ball was going out, but soon it began curving inside like looking like it would barely make it to the right side of the goal, but Neuer could already feel the alarms ringing as he began shifting his position from the left side of the goal.
Before anyone could realize what was happening, Neuer was already jumping as hard as he could, trying to reach the top right side of his goal that the ball was curling into and the next moment, the net was sent flying as the ball smashed past Neuer’s gloved hands, barely skimming inside the top and right bars.
{OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!}
{What was that!? What was thatttttt!!!}
{Right side freekick and a right foot! Most people would think to cross the ball in, but he’s taken his chances and made good on them!}
{Uventus equalize with two minutes to go!}
{They tried to stop him by fouling him, only to find out that he is inevitable!}
{What a strike!}
The noise that filled the stadium as the ball went in was deafening.
Even the Uventus fans in their homes who hadn’t been able to afford the trip to Porto didn’t hesitate to scream themselves hoarse as they watched the game be saved by a beautifully unusual free kick.
Jason didn’t even remember to run to the sidelines as even he couldn’t even believe that the ball actually went in.
“By the gods, what the actual fuu-uuuhhhh!” The rest of his beautiful words were lost when his teammates jumped on him right there.
Pirlo’s mouth dropped open as the other staff and the substitute players celebrated, running around the technical area with excitement and relief plastered across their faces.
Making a mental note to mention to his players not to make taking freekicks like that a regular occurrence, Pirlo finally smiled and allowed relief to wash over him.
The atmosphere in Bayern’s technical area could not be said to be the opposite, but it was not to far from it as frustration and shock were the main themes on the faces of the Bayern substitute players and the staff.
Hansi did not even bother trying to berate his players as he knew there was almost nothing anyone could have done to stop that goal.
He couldn’t exactly blame Gnabry who had committed the foul either as the man had simply been doing his best to stop Jason from creating problems for them… problems that ended up being created anyway.
The Uventus players made sure to take a big chunk of the remaining two minutes with their celebrations and the Bayern players were not even in the mood to hurry them up.
When the game finally resumed again, the Bayern players tried to push forward on the attack and it was the Uventus team’s turn to play defensive, fending off attack after attack until the final whistle was blown by the referee.
*Fweeeeeeeeeeeee!*
{There it is! The end of extra time!}
{Ninety minutes weren’t enough so an extra thirt were added, but even after managing to double their scoreline within thirty minutes, neither side was able to come out on top and we’re moving on to penalties}
{Jason with a last minute rescue for Uventus with that fantastic free kick that still amazes me whenever I think about it} Trevor commented as the players headed to their team’s technical area for some last arrangements before the penalties.
{Of course. No one expected him to shoot from there, but he did and he scored, proving that the manager’s decision to bring him on was the right one}
{I mentioned that he was the sort of magic that Uventus needed and he didn’t betray my expectations, he didn’t betray the manager’s expectations, he didn’t betray the fans’ expectations and he didn’t betray himself}
{If they end up winning this trophy, this will be day he will remember fondly for years to come!} Martin said, not mentioning what would happen if Uventus ended up losing the penalty shootout.