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[70]

"Rakim Rex enters the fray," Drury announced, his voice carrying renewed interest. "The seventeen-year-old superstar from the States is ready to make his mark, coming on with Leverkusen trailing by just one goal now. They have come to expect big things from him, and now he has twenty minutes to find an equaliser and keep this fairy tale alive."

Rakim took up his position on the left wing, exchanging a quick word with Havertz, sharing Bosz's instructions. The momentum had shifted after Havertz's earlier goal, and you could feel it in how PSG moved the ball in their ranks. They tried to regain control by keeping possession, but Leverkusen's press was relentless now.

The front quartet did not stop running in their pursuit of the ball, quickly pressuring the Paris backfield. Havertz managed to win the loose ball from Kehrer after he was pressured by Rakim's charge. The German turned brilliantly, shrugging off Marquinhos before threading a pass to Rakim, who made a run down the left channel.

Kehrer latched onto their shoulders, clashing as they raced to the side of the box. Rakim got there first, his long legs giving him the edge. He controlled the ball with his left foot, immediately shifting it inside as Kehrer lunged in.

The defender's challenge was heavy, clipping Rakim's shin as he tried to escape, and both players went down in a tangle of limbs. The referee's whistle pierced the air, awarding a Free kick to Leverkusen, and Kehrer received a stern talking-to. The PSG right-back protested his innocence, but the official was having none of it, seeing it as a clear tactical foul to stop a dangerous counter.

"That's smart from Kehrer; he knew what he was doing," Drury observed. "He knew if Rakim got past him there, Leverkusen had numbers forward."

Rakim picked himself up, testing his ankle gingerly, and luckily, there wasn't any pain. The physio came on briefly but waved him back after a quick assessment. The free kick was in an awkward position, just past the left edge of the box, good for a cross, hard to go at the goal directly

Demirbay stood over the ball, but Havertz jogged over to discuss options. After a brief conversation, Havertz took a few steps back, scanning the chaotic box. The delivery was whipped in with pace, curling toward the penalty spot where Tah had made a run.

The German centre-back rose above Silva, getting solid contact with his header. The ball arrowed toward the bottom corner, but Bernat, watching the post, reacted quickly, booting the ball out. "Bernat to the rescue on the line!" Beglin exclaimed. "Tah's header was exceptional, but just couldn't beat Bernat."

[78]

A corner from Rakim saw Wirtz peel away to take it short. He played it back to Rakim, who overlapped, skipping past Wirtz and Kehrer with a quick one-two. A burst to the edge of the box, and he whipped in a curling effort toward the far right corner of the goal. Rico sprang, straining his finger tips to reach it and managed to graze it onto the crossbar, but it wasn't enough as it ricocheted into the back of the net.

"GOAL! GOAL! GOALLL!," Peter Drury exclaimed, jumping up from his seat as Rakim sprinted to the corner flag, pulling Wirtz into his celebration. "Well, my friend, they brought him on to look for an equaliser and he has delivered eight minutes later."

"And what a beauty of a goal it is, he placed it exactly where the keeper could only hope for a miracle," Beglin responded. "PSG look shocked and rightly so, they were up by two just moments ago and now they are levelled again."

[PSG 2–2 Leverkusen – Rakim 78']

[85]

PSG immediately moved to reassert themselves from the kickoff, attacking on the flanks. They moved the ball swiftly as the midfielder linked up with Dimaria and Mbappe to break down the Leverkusen defence. But that proved harder than they imagined, as they seemed to have hunkered down, unwilling to let anyone pass.

In the 85th minute, Di María went on a tangent, cutting inside from the right wing with a drop of the shoulder. He skipped past Wendell's challenge with a quick feint, then drove toward the edge of the box. Baumgartlinger stepped up to meet him, but the Argentine was in full flow now, executing a beautiful roulette spin that left the German midfielder and the chasing defender grasping at air.

"Di María dancing through!" Drury's voice rose. "This is dangerous!"

With space opening up, Di María shaped to shoot, drawing Tah toward him. At the last second, he slipped a disguised pass through to Neymar, who had peeled away from Sven Bender's shoulder. The Brazilian was through, just him and Hradecky, ten yards out.

Neymar took one touch to set himself, then moved to strike with his right foot, but Sven caught up, sliding in to deflect the shot. "Sven Bender to the rescue!" Beglin roared. "What a recovery, Neymar, though he was through, but the Leverkusen defender had other plans."

The corner was whipped in by Di María, curling toward the near post. Marquinhos rose highest, but his header was too close to Hradecky, who caught it comfortably. The goalkeeper immediately launched it long, looking for the counter.

[87']

The ball sailed toward Rakim, who had dropped deeper to receive it with his chest, holding off Kehrer. Before the ball even dropped, he whipped his right foot at it, sending it inwards to Kai, who was moving back up the field. The German playmaker tapped it down with his knee, continuing his run as Herrera latched onto him.

Shaking him off just as they crossed the halfway line, he smacked the ball with the outside of his right boot. The trivella pass sent the ball curving along the ground, curving up the ground as it slid between Kimpembe and Bernat. Wirtz got on his bike, beating Barnat on the initial reaction as he chased after the ball.

He managed to catch it before it could leave the pitch on the cusp of the final third, continuing his run. Cutting inwards before his marker could catch up, he cut inwards, drawing Kimpembetoward him. Before the French defender could get close, he slipped the ball behind him, sending Volland into the box.

"He's one on one with the keeper, surely he'll bury this one," Drudy exclaimed as the German striker shaped to shoot just ahead of the penalty spot. "Rico dives

but he can't reach this one GOAL! Leverkusen."

Slotting the ball around the Keeper, Volland took off to the corner flag, emotions running high. (Fweeet) "Oh, wait a minute, the referee is calling that one back for an offside." Beglin analysed amid the bewildered glances of Leverkusen players who had been mid-celebrating the robbery they had just pulled off.

Hands to ears, the referee waited. "VAR check," Drury confirmed. "Was Volland behind the last man when Wirtz released it?"

The replay rolled showcasing Kimpembe stepping up to block Wirtz's with Silva mirroring his actions, moving the offside line up. A freeze-frame showed that Everything but the right boot was caught beyond the last line when the pass was played.

"Well, Drury, I don't know whether to praise Silva's defensive brain or ask the German striker why he was so far in no man's land." Beglin sarcastically questioned as the replay showed that the striker had been watching Wirtz instead of his man. "The Germans will be kicking themselves and the Parisians will be thanking their stars after surviving that."

The referee returned to the pitch from the replay booth and blew his whistle loudly. (FWEET) raised an arm to signal no goal and awarded a free kick, giving no heed to the complaints of the Germans.

[90]

The fourth official raised his board, signalling four added minutes of regular time. Leverkusen won a throw-in deep in PSG's half. Wendell took it quickly to Rakim, who controlled it with his chest before turning away from Kehrer's challenge. He played it inside to Havertz, who immediately returned it with a clever backheel.

Rakim was now driving into the box from the left, forcing Silva to come to close him down, but a quick stepover and change of direction left the Brazilian wrong-footed as he cut back outwards. With space opening up, Rakim pulled the trigger, striking it low and hard toward the near post.

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To Be Continued...