Dynasty Awakening: Building My Own Football Empire-Chapter 247: Panic in the Tunnel

"As we know, our next opponent is Chelsea. While they have spent a billion pounds, we can not afford to overestimate any team at this moment. Especially since money does not buy chemistry." Michael Sterling stated, moving his intense blue gaze over his Misfit players.

"That being said, I will be sending out our bravest soldiers for this match."

He spun the digital tablet around, revealing a list of players and their positions glowing in purple next to their names.

Lorenzo Ricci felt like closing his eyes, feeling a lump of anxiety crawl up to his throat because he hadn’t checked his hair in five minutes.

GK: Jan Visser

RB: Lorenzo Ricci

CB: Vladimir Petrovic

CB: Diego Nunez

LB: Jean Luc Dubois

CM: Lukas Weber

CM: Leo Stone

CAM: Mateo Vega

RW: Kaito Tanaka

LW: Amara

ST: Victor Osimhen

Reserves: Jamie Vardy, Tom, Jax Teller, Max Webster, Sergio Ramos

Lorenzo felt his body flood with relief after seeing his name up there on the right back slot. He quickly turned to Diego Nunez who was grinning ear to ear like a maniac and the two shared a chaotic moment.

However, Lorenzo didn’t want to be rude so he kept his voice down, lest he ruin the vibe amongst his other teammates. Thankfully, Sergio didn’t seem to be too upset about being benched, or at least he didn’t show it outwardly, probably because he was too busy putting on his lucky sunglasses.

"Just because you’re on the starting line up now, doesn’t mean that you will stay there. If I see anyone fixing their hair instead of tracking back, I’ll sub you out straight away." Michael spoke up, breathing some fear into the unfortunate people who were vain.

"Alright, we’re going to work on some final mental preparation today and then a light chaos session tomorrow before our game on the following day."

"Yes Boss!"

Finally the day arrived where Barnsley would take on Chelsea in the first match of the Premier League season. Despite it being a little rainy, it was amazing weather for the game of football, mostly because the sliding tackles would be longer.

Like all the big league matches, it was a battle for three points meaning that 1 simple loss would result in the media crushing their hopes and dreams.

The Premier League or simply referred to as The War was the most prestigious event of the year in English football. Every year 20 teams would be eligible to fight in the 38-game marathon across the country.

Unfortunately, they were still underdogs. So while they would not be favored to taste the glory of the title this year, however if they could nurture a winning culture and mindset, it would set them up for success in the Champions League to come.

After all, having a win at Stamford Bridge on their resume would only help to boost their confidence and chances of attracting even more crazy players like Vladimir.

Chelsea chose to start off with the ball, sending the enthusiastic Enzo Fernandez to pass first. He stared at the Barnsley midfield with hungry eyes, ready for any press that was thrown at him.

WHOOSH

The pass was sent flying to the winger for a quick attack, coming to a stop just near the corner flag. Enzo was all smiles as he watched Mudryk sprint, sending a smug look to Lukas Weber who had just stepped up to intercept.

Lukas felt his heart beat calmly in his chest with calculation as he took in the geometry. Although he had defended thousands of times with the Zone simulation function of his brain, there was much more pressure in this situation.

After all, the moment they conceded a goal their dreams of a clean sheet would be crushed.

Mudryk threw a wild cross towards the box, resulting in a scramble. Lukas had been able to track the trajectory of the ball from start to finish, filling him with a large confidence boost.

After facing 100km/h shots in training from Diego, these floating crosses did not seem to pose him much issue. Now that he had seen the first attack, he wouldn’t hesitate.

Another cross came flying towards him, once again to the back post. Having seen the exact same pattern earlier, Lukas’s eyes narrowed before sending his boot swinging towards it with precision.

THUD

The ball whistled past the Chelsea striker’s outstretched leg and headed into the safety of the midfield. Lukas burst off of his defensive line towards the ball, tilting his body slightly and powering his way to start a counter.

"Go! Go!" The goalkeeper Jan Visser shouted loudly towards the winger Kaito Tanaka who was busy sprinting. He was around 60 meters away which would be impossible to cover with a single pass for a normal player.

Therefore Lukas threw a glance to Mateo Vega who then turned around to receive it. Unfortunately for Chelsea, Kaito had already placed his foot on the accelerator and was swaggering towards the goal with a spring in his step. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Nice run!"

Lukas flashed a rare smile at Mateo who had just called out, giving him a nod in response.

The Captain Sergio Ramos was watching from the bench. Despite being a substitute, his face was intense, showing an intense concentration as the Chelsea defense began their recovery run.

BOOM

Once again the ball was smacked by Mateo, yet this time the Chelsea defender Colwill had managed to pull off a miraculous block after diving to his right.

"Corner!"

Mateo’s face dropped and he slowly made his way to the corner flag. Lukas stifled a laugh seeing his teammate’s reaction. Mateo surely was someone who painted his emotions on his face.

It was now Vladimir Petrovic’s turn to step up into the box. His large shoulders and big frame made the Chelsea goalkeeper feel a sense of unease.

There was a certain prestige that came with being the target man on set pieces, almost as much as being the striker of a team. However, while strikers needed to consistently score well to impact a game, defenders like Vladimir needed only 1 almighty header to win.

"Mark him!"

"Hold him!"

"Push him!"

Lukas’s jaw opened wide as he saw what was happening. It turned out that Chelsea was going to triple mark Vladimir in his first proper match of the season, merely because he looked like a bear.

He didn’t know whether to curse the opponents or congratulate them for making such a decision to focus on an unknown player. However, he felt kind of stifled after seeing the confusion on Vladimir’s face.

’Jump!’

Lukas mouthed from the edge of the box, making the action of jumping like a salmon. He was hoping that Vladimir would at least get some contact with the ball thanks to his amazing height.

As long as he could hit the ball, then he’ll at least get a chance to create chaos today.

Vladimir nodded and positioned his body near the penalty spot a little. Most of the defenders had been pushing him, so he wished to be closer to the goal.

The next ball flew towards the back post, a few inches outside of the goal zone. Yet Vladimir had somehow managed to get contact on his header due to his body positioning and ingenious strength technique.

He had jumped mostly with just his legs, allowing his head to reach a further distance away from his body.

CRASH!

Vladimir began to run towards the corner flag, unsure of where the ball had traveled. It was only when he saw that not even the goalkeeper was moving that something had to be wrong.

He lifted his head and moved his gaze around, only to hear cheers from his side of the dugout.

"Nice Goal Vladimir!"

"That was a goal?" Vladimir felt confused, yet in the next moment he felt thrilled. He quickly checked that he was not still holding a flower in his hands before making his way to celebrate.

"W-What the hell was that?" The Chelsea goalkeeper muttered to himself.