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[2021-04-28 | Parc des Princes, Paris | 20:40 CET]

[UEFA Champions League Semi-Final - 1st Leg | Paris Saint-Germain vs Bayer 04 Leverkusen]

[40’]

The Finnish keeper didn’t hesitate, charging out aggressively, making himself big, closing down the angle. Icardi didn’t have time to set himself, then struck it with his right foot toward the near post. But Hradecky had read it, throwing himself down low, getting a strong hand to it. The ball deflected wide of the goal, flying out for a corner.

"HRADECKY!" Drury roared. "Once again! That’s the fourth or fifth world-class save he’s made tonight! Leverkusen’s guardian angel!"

"PSG must be wondering what they have to do to score," Tyldesley said, shaking his head. "They’ve been utterly dominant, created chance after chance, and they’re still level."

The corner was delivered by Neymar, who swung in a nasty curve, arcing toward the penalty spot. Bodies jostled for position—Marquinhos trying to get ahead of Tah, Kimpembe wrestling with Tapsoba. The ball dropped into the chaos, and for a moment it seemed destined for the net, but Baumgartlinger got his head to it, clearing it desperately out to the edge of the box.

Verratti was waiting there, completely unguarded as he controlled the loose ball on his chest. He let it drop, then struck it on the volley from eighteen yards. Amirir tried to slide in with his foot fully outstretched, but he was a second late, not even getting a shadow of the ball.

The shot was rising, dipping late, heading for the top left corner, but his aim seemed to have been too good. (BAAANG) The loud clang of the ball hitting the bar and flying out resounded throughout the arena. It was quickly followed by the Parc des Princes, which groaned collectively.

"PSG are laying siege to this goal," Drury’s voice carried the weight of inevitability. "Leverkusen are defending with everything they have, but you feel it’s only a matter of time."

On the touchline, Peter Bosz turned to Fredrick Bauer, his expression grim. "We need to get to halftime," he muttered in Dutch, though his assistant could barely hear him over the roar of the crowd. "They look lost out there."

[44’]

The goal kick from Hradecky was aimed long toward Schick, but Marquinhos read it easily, rising highest to head it back toward midfield. Paredes collected it on the half-bounce, cushioning it expertly, on the turn. He spotted Neymar dropping into space ahead of Leverkusen’s defence just behind Baumgartlinger.

He fancied himself a surgeon and threaded through the ball, splitting Baumgartlinger and Demirbay. Neymar received it on the turn, his first touch taking him away from both midfielders in one fluid motion. Forced to make a move, Tah stepped up from the defensive line, and he was quickly closing him down.

"Here comes Neymar," Tyldesley said, his voice rising. "This is dangerous..."

The Brazilian didn’t need much space. Five yards from the edge of the box, he shaped to shoot, drawing Tah fully toward him. At the last second, he rolled it left with the outside of his boot, finding Mbappé with a disguised pass. The French winger cut in from the left flank, exploiting the gap between Frimpong and Tapsoba.

The ball arrived at his feet just as he entered the box, and the linesman’s flag stayed down. For a heartbeat, everything seemed to slow down, and all eyes focused on the box. Tapsoba lunged desperately, trying to close him down with a slide tackle. Hradecky came off his line, making himself big, arms spread wide.

But Mbappé didn’t give them a chance to interfere and struck decisively without a hint of doubt. His right foot connected with the ball cleanly, striking it low and hard across the keeper’s dive. The shot arrowed toward the far post, skipping over Hradecky’s outstretched leg and nestled into the bottom right corner.

"GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAL!!!!."

The Parc des Princes exploded. Twenty thousand voices erupted as one, the sound crashing down with the force of a tsunami. Mbappé peeled away toward the corner flag, arms outstretched, joy fully visible on his face. Neymar was the first to reach him, leaping onto his back, screaming into his ear. Shortly, the rest of the players joined them, sharing in their celebrations.

"GOOOAAAAAL!" Drury’s voice cut through the chaos. "KYLIAN MBAPPÉ! PSG HAVE THEIR BREAKTHROUGH! And it’s come at the cruellest possible time for Leverkusen!"

"Forty-four minutes of resistance," Tyldesley added, his tone almost sympathetic. "Hradecky has been phenomenal, but he’s finally been beaten. What a finish from Mbappé."

[Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 Bayer 04 Leverkusen — Kylian Mbappé 44’]

In the away section, a small pocket of Leverkusen fans stood in stunned silence, their flags hanging limp. They seemed to remember last season on a similar night in Lisbon, where their cinderella journey came to a bitter end. Tears began to well up in their eyes as they once again watched PSG celebrate against them in the Champions League semi-finals.

The odds of a game being replicated across two Champions League seasons were so low. So the odds of this match were already a fairy-tale revenge story for them, but it was quickly turning into another nightmare. Tapsoba had his hands on his knees, head down, chest heaving, reflecting their tiered emotions.

With a season they were having, they should have been grateful for getting this far, especially considering they were a mid-table team. Unlike Dortmund,d who have firmly established themselves as a contender,r they were stuck in the grey area between mediocre and great. But this season, they had hope after all; they had Rakim and Wirtz, two youngsters who played like world beaters on a regular day.

However, as if a higher power wanted to remind them what happened when one flew too close to the sun, Wirtz got injured during the crucial end sprint of the season. {In our city, there is much to see and much to discover...Not in Cologne and Düsseldorf, no, here is our home.} No one knew who started it, but like an infection more potent than Covid it spread among the away section who all rose to their feet.

A second person joined in. {In our city, sports is a big thingWe produced champions...But our true love lives at our stadium.} More voices joined in as the players below got set to restart the chant, finally reaching them. {Between the Bayer factory and the Water Tower...That is where our heart beats for our club.}

As if a dam had broken, the roughly five thousand souls supporting Leverkusen gained the strength of ten times their numbers. Their voices reached every part of the stadium, echoing in the bowl and stunning the jubilant home fans. The chorus resounded loudly, as if it were being hammered into the Leverkusen players’ hearts, stoking the embers of resolve.

{Leverkusen, we are the power at the Rhine. Leverkusen, and this will always be like that. Wearing the Cross on the chest, with heart and passion. Their voices were so loud that the. Referee’s whistle was barely audible, signalling the restart. {Because you carry our name into the world, you symbolise everything that holds us together... Football makes us hope, cry or cheer. Give everything you have, and we will be faithful forever}

The away side, which had looked sluggish, seemed to awaken from its daze and saw only what was before it. {From Plastic Club to "Werkself" that’s been no easy path, but we hold together what never will go down, what will live forever.} The transformation was so drastic that for the next two minutes the home side was firmly pressed into their own third.

Even when the singing had stopped and the fourth official had signalled an extra 3 minutes, the pressure did not relent. Attempts by the home side to slow the game were met with ruthless physical retaliation on the legal boundary. Baumgartlinger and Demirbay seemed to remember all the star players they had shut down all season.

"If it bleeds, we can kill it" seemed to be the team’s mentality, and like sharks smelling blood in the water, they attacked. Gone was the respect for a player of Neymar’s stature as he, too, was only mortal, and he was put into as many physical confrontations as he no longer dared to hold onto the ball around the two twin towers.

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TO BE CONTINUED...