THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
chapter-382

Rosenborg BK 2 (3) : SL Benfica 1 (3)

"Oh! What a magnificent solo run and finish from Zachary!" Kjell Roar, the commentator for the day, yelled in sync with the thunderous cheers around the stadium. "Zachary has worked his magic again and delivered during injury time, with only a few minutes remaining to the final whistle. No one could stop Rosenborg's dangerman as he literally bulldozed his way through Benfica's midfield before shooting from outside the box and scoring Rosenborg's second goal. He has tied the aggregate score, and he has once again kept Rosenborg's Europa League dream alive. What a player!"

"That was really the sensational Zachary at his best," Harald Brattbakk, the pundit for the day, chimed in. "The run was stunning as he had taken off from near the center of the pitch before beating six opponents. After approaching the box, he was decisive enough, and he hammered the ball past Benfica's keeper and into the back of the net. All in all, the goal was really spectacular. It deserves to be the goal of the tournament."

"Speaking of goals," Kjell Roar said, "Zachary has set a new Europa League goal-scoring record tonight. He has pushed his tally to twenty-one goals — and that makes him the only player in history to ever score more than twenty goals in a single Europa League tournament. Surprisingly, he has accomplished the feat at just nineteen years of age and during his first Europa League season as a professional footballer. Truly remarkable!"

"The number of his assists is also close to the top," Harald Brattbakk remarked. "He already has four assists during this Europa League campaign, making him second-placed on the list of top assist-providers. He's only a single assist behind Bibras Natkho - the Rubin Kazan man and Kevin Kampl from Red Bull Salzburg. If he can provide another assist before the end of the tournament, he'll immediately move up to the top of the list."

"Those are some incredible statistics," Kjell Roar said. "I'm really looking forward to his future. But for now, let's focus on the proceedings on the pitch. The gameplay is about to restart, and the aggregate score for this Europa League semi-final battle between Rosenborg Ballklub and SL Benfica is still a tie of 3:3. In Lisbon, Benfica won the first leg by two goals to one. Here in Trondheim, Rosenborg Ballklub is also winning by two goals to one. If either of the teams fails to score during the remaining three minutes of injury time, we'll be heading for extra time. I'm really excited."

"Maybe," Harald Brattbakk said, "Zachary might work his magic again in those remaining two minutes, and then, we won't need to go through the hustle of extra time. I really hope that that is the case."

Kjell Roar chuckled. "I'm at odds with you on that point. Instead, I'm really hoping that we get to witness extra time today. The night is still young, and I'm looking forward to thirty more minutes of football and possibly a penalty shootout."

John Hansen, the part-time YouTuber/driver, was grinning from ear to ear as he followed the last few minutes of the game. He had placed a 150,000 NOK bet on Rosenborg winning the second leg of the Europa League semi-final against Benfica, with returns amounting to 4.4 times the original bet. So, as long as Rosenborg maintained the 2:1 lead for the remaining two minutes of injury time, Hansen would win 660,000 NOK from the betting company. And if Rosenborg could perform even better and eventually qualify for the finals at the end of the game, he would also win another 440,000 NOK from his other bet. Thus, he could hardly contain his excitement at that moment.

"It's Benfica on the attack," the booming voice of the commentator broke John Hansen out of his daydreams. "Enzo Pérez, Benfica's midfielder, controls the ball in the middle third. What wonderful ball-control from the midfielder. He twists and turns away from Takumi Minamino and squares a pass to Rodrigo Moreno Machado on the right-flank..."

John Hansen's attention was on the pitch. He watched with bated breath as Rodrigo Moreno Machado, Benfica's right-winger, controlled the ball before unleashing a teasing cross into the box. Hansen felt like time was moving so slowly, and then the ball descended into the box where Lima dos Santos, Benfica's center-forward, was lurking.

Johns Hansen's heartbeat quickened, and beads of sweat started rolling down his forehead as he watched Lima dos Santos leap over an opponent to connect with the ball. He was even more anxious as the Benfica striker planted a header towards the goal from around the edge of the box.

"Please don't go in, please don't go in..." John Hansen mumbled as he balled his fists. The tension was killing him as the ball was on target and coursing towards the goal. But the next moment, he finally let out a breath as he watched Daniel Örlund, Rosenborg's keeper, snatch the ball out of the air before holding it close to his chest. The Rosenborg shot-stopper had managed to save Rosenborg from conceding the second goal that night during the 95th minute of gameplay.

"Referee, the whistle," all the fans around John Hansen started shouting. "Referee, the five minutes of added time are over." The Rosenborg fans continued yelling at the top of their voices as Daniel Örlund prepared to take the goal kick. Their voices blended into a booming chorus that shook the stadium. They were obviously hoping for the game to end so that their team, Rosenborg, could get a small break to reorganize before extra time.

Be that as it may, the referee ignored the loud rants of the fans and let the game continue for one more minute. But still, neither team made any more attempts on the other's goal until the final whistle sounded after 97 minutes of intensive Europa League football. As a result, the game would be moving into the thirty minutes of extra time since the aggregate score was still a tie of 3:3 at the end of regular time.