Football singularity-Chapter 548 Cancelled

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"Adrian again! The Spaniard refuses to go quietly!" Drury exclaimed as Trent pounced on the rebound, bodying Rakim out of the way, and launched the ball out of the box. It flew up the tight flank quickly, exciting the field for a throw-in.

[92]

Sinkgraven jogged over to take the throw-in, taking his time while the Liverpool fans were urging him to hurry up. He didn’t care, though, as he took his time, milking every precious second as the referee glanced at his watch. His throw was aimed toward Rakim, who controlled it under pressure from Trent, immediately looking to shield the ball. He held it up well, using his body to keep the defenders at bay as he spun toward the byline.

Moving the ball between his legs, he kept his balance despite the slippery surface and flicked it through Trent’s legs with a cheeky nutmeg. The Anfield crowd roared in frustration as he darted past, the right-back reaching the ball before charging Van Dijk.

Not daring to take the beats of a man’s head on, he swiped his foot towards the ball, causing the latter to jump back in reaction. He held the defender off with a couple of step-overs only to jump out of the way a second later as Wijnaldum came sliding in trying to win the ball. He barely cleared Wijnaldum’s challenge, his studs scraping across the wet turf as he stumbled but stayed on his feet.

"How has he stayed up?!" Tyldesley shouted, half in disbelief, half in admiration. "Rakim Rex is playing as if his ankle was never injured—just look at the footwork!"

Rakim’s run continued, pushing down the flank without a hint of looking to break inwards. Van Dijk tried to apply pressure on him, but he didn’t bother fighting with him and merely kept him at bay. He eventually lost possession of the ball, but he had wasted enough time.

[93]

Liverpool immediately launched what would likely be their final attack. Van Dijk launched a weighted pass inwards, finding Milner just outside the centre circle. With a quick one-two touch to settle it, Milner turned and chipped a diagonal pass out wide toward Mohamed Salah, who had held his position near the right touchline.

Salah brought it down expertly on the half-turn, darting inside Sinkgraven with a snap of pace. Tapsoba stepped up, forcing the Egyptian to release the ball early. He fizzed a low pass into Oxlade-Chamberlain, who had drifted centrally just beyond the D.

Oxlade-Chamberlain flicked it on instinctively to Origi, stationed just outside the penalty arc. With his back to goal, the Belgian forward spun on a dime and unleashed a left-footed drive. A blue boot deflected it a second later, though, as Tah got in its way, flung himself in front of the shot, the ball thudding off his boot.

Tapsoba pounced on the loose ball, but Wijnaldum barged in with a crunching challenge, recovering the ball. He spotted Salah charging into the box from the opposite side and clipped a desperate through ball into the box. The pass was heavy as both the striker and keeper closed in on it.

"That might be it...!" Clive exclaimed as Hardeckey came sliding out on his knees, arms spread out wide, ready to pounce.

His timing was flawless as, despite Salah reaching the ball first, the finish keeper smothered the ball at his feet a second later before the forward could do anything. The Egyptian’s momentum carried him forward, colliding with the keeper, but Hradecky held on, his gloved hands cradling the ball like treasure.

(FWEEET! FWEEET!! FWEEEEET!!!) The shrill final whistle pierced the din of Anfield a moment later. And that is it! The final act in a dramatic night of football—Leverkusen hold on! Against all odds, in the cathedral of chaos that is Anfield, they have done it!" Peter Drury said as the moment settled in on the German side.

Players quickly rushed the field to celebrate their victory, sharing their joy with their teammates. "Liverpool threw everything at them, but Bosz’s men stood tall. What a performance that at times seemed shaky." Clive also commented that down below, the celebrations were in full swing, they had just beaten last year’s champions, and that was all the confidence they needed.

Players dropped to their knees across the pitch—some in exhaustion, others in devastation. Salah leaned back, arms on his hips, staring at the night sky in frustration and disappointment. "Full-time here at Anfield. Liverpool 2, Leverkusen 2 on the night—but 4–5 on aggregate. And the German side are through to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals!" Drury stated in finality, ending the match broadcast.

[FULL TIME: LIVERPOOL 2-2 BAYER LEVERKUSEN (Aggregate: 4–5]

~~~

[Date: 18/02/2020 | Time: 23:35 | Location: Liverpool John Lennon Airport – Business Class Lounge]

The atmosphere in the Leverkusen squad’s corner of the lounge was warm and relaxed, the tension they’d just escaped long from their memory. Laughter and muted banter bounced between plush armchairs, their voices low out of respect for other travellers, but rich with the energy of triumph.

"Yo, kid, you’re going viral for what you did to Wijnaldum, they are saying you made him look like an under-13," Diaby commented from one end of the couch before showing them the video on his screen from a fan’s angle, which had the Dutch midfielder looking goofy.

"Bro, he was looking up to god asking why me?" Sinkgraven commented, retelling the story from his perspective, as he was the closest to the action on the pitch.

Rakim chuckled, nonchalantly waving them off as if he didn’t care before proceeding to click the link on the team chat and posting a green check emoji in the comment section. From this angle, it did look bad, not career-ending bad, but nonetheless, it would haunt the layer for a few days. Wijnaldum got caught looking into the sky after his sombrero, only to skid out a second later while he nutmegged him.

The stare down a second later was just him being petty, but if you asked him, he’d claim that the midfielder got off easy. "Man, don’t do him like that," Kai laughed from behind his hoodie, shaking his head. "He’s got a family."

"Not after that clip. He’ll have to start a new one under a new name," Leon exclaimed, trying his best to channel the Jamaican side in his bloodline. The squad laughed in response, finding different topics to joke about, all of which ended in laughter, even if they weren’t particularly articulate or funny.

Most had already changed into their travel gear, showcasing their fashion sense as the club only required them to travel in suits to the game. Thus, most brought a second set of clothing that clearly showcased their personalities and fashion sense. Rakim wore a set of black Amari joggers with yellow highlights, a black T-shirt featuring 2Pac, topped off with a gold chain hanging from his neck. Bringing the look together was a pair of beige and white colourway Jordan ones.

"Bro, you need to go talk to your stylist because she got you looking like a rapper, they’re up on you," Wirtz exclaimed from the side, sliding into the empty stool next to the empty one beside him. "Fr, pick a lane and stick to it." Diaby added, looking up from his phone as he felt the need to get his lick in.

"Tsk, what would you lot know, this my ninja turtle looking friends is what we call high fashion," Rakim retorted with an indignant expression, jumping off his stool to let them appreciate the fit.

"Nah, you just look like someone laid out clothes for you, but you decided to rummage through the closet instead." Diaby mercilessly commented, shaking his head like a disappointed older brother.

"Well, at least I don’t dress like a French roadman," Rakim retorted, setting off another of their arguments that the team were already used to. Wirtz, the instigator of this scene, silently slipped away to the buffet table like nothing ever happened.

[10 minutes later]

[BEEP-BEEP]

The terminal’s PA system crackled above their heads. It sounded routine at first, but the moment it spoke, a quiet hush fell over the lounge. "Attention all passengers: Due to ongoing concerns related to the novel coronavirus, select outbound flights have been suspended pending further instructions. This includes all flights bound for Asia, as well as some European destinations. For further information, please consult your airline representative or refer to the updated departure board. We apologise for the inconvenience."

The clink of coffee cups, the shuffling of boots, even the rustle of paperbacks and snack wrappers died into complete silence. Rakim slowly turned in his seat, his brows furrowed. "Did they just say—Europe?" he asked, his thoughts racing, deliberating whether this pandemic is worse in this life than it was in his last life.

Despite dying from it, he also knew that most people who got treated early with a few basic preventive measures survived. However, he never considered how frightening the initial outbreak of the virus would have been for people unaware of it. Now that he thought about it, the herd mentality behind the Toilet paper buying spree made sense.

"It says right there, flight DB-2584 to Dusseldorf (Cancelled)," One of the players asked, setting off a chain of events with players rushing to the info screen to get a better look. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

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To Be Continued...