Greatest Of All Legends

Chapter 77  A Debut to Remember III

Otavio was the first player to run for the loose ball and managed to bring it under control before it bounced out of play.

After a quick glance to check his teammates' positions, Otavio didn't hesitate to send a pass back to the front of the post.

Moussa Marega quickly connected with the pass and sent a first-time shot at the goal but yet again Hradecky managed to get his hand to it and pushed it downward.

The ball bounced on the ground in front of the goal and rose up but before it could come down, Jonathan Tah lunged for it, got his head to it, and directed it to the side of the goal, trying to send it out of play for a corner kick.

As the ball directed by Jonathan Tah flew out of play all but one player gave up on stopping the ball and that player our young debutant.

Jason knew that even after the ball went out, his team would still gain a corner but something told him that he could not allow this attack to just end like this as the team's chances of scoring a corner against the Bayer Leverkusen team were almost close to none.

With the height advantage of the German team, Jason knew that it would be a miracle if the team could beat them in the air and their current situation didn't allow for them to leave their goal-scoring chances to something as unreliable as a corner.

With these thoughts in mind, Jason ran as fast as he could, just barely managing to get close enough before sliding and just barely getting his foot under the ball to kick it back into play before it crossed the line.

The ball flew back into the center of the penalty to an awaiting Otavio who didn't let the ball land before volleying toward the Leverkusen goalpost.

Like usual Hradecky dived for the ball but his luck seemed to have finally run out as the ball smashed past his outstretched gloved palm and sent the net flying.

{GOAL!!!] The commentator shouted the words as the visiting Porto fans erupted in cheers.

{It's here! It's finally here! After so many attempts, Porto have drawn level in the 85th minute of the game!}

{Ever since going two behind, they've dug deep, thrown the opposing team into the back seat, and finally, they have found their equalizer} The commentator's words sounded as a background to Otavio who had run to the sidelines before jumping into a power slide with his arms spread wide in celebration but he didn't stay in that position for long as he was brought down by his teammates who had rushed over.

{They tried again and again to get past the goalkeeper and just when it felt like the game would slip away they have finally gotten an equalizer, and I can say without doubt that the Porto team owes this goal to the young debuting player} Jason who had just stood up from where he lay and went to celebrate with the team had a wide smile on his face as he was happy that his gamble had paid off.

It wasn't exactly as he envisioned it as he wasn't expecting Otavio to directly volley the ball into the back of the net, earning him his first assist stat in professional football, but he had no issues with the current development.

His teammates rubbed his hair and gave him high fives as he arrived at where the team was gathered in celebration with the traveling Porto fans.

As Jason glanced at the fans with a smile he immediately noticed a pair of familiar faces after which he smiled and waved at them.

Surprisingly it was little Selina and her father who Jason had met and given an autograph before the Vitoria de Guimares match a few days ago. It seemed they had travelled to Leverkusen to watch the Europa League game and Jason could not help but respect their love for the club.

The celebrations did not take too long as the Porto players still retained a hunger and belief that they could not just equalize but could even manage to turn the tables completely so they were soon back in their half of the field, waiting for the match to kick off once again.

*Fweeeeeee* Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The referee's whistle signified the continuation of the game and the Leverkusen team quickly kicked off, but unlike before when they made keeping possession of the ball their focus, they had changed their objectives and were now sending players forward, very intent on taking back the lead.

The Porto team had already proven that they were no soft persimmon and they reacted in kind, quickly going on a high press and doing their best to retrieve possession of the ball.

The next five minutes was a back-and-forth exchange of the ball between both teams as both teams tried to break through each other's defense.

At this point there were only a few more minutes until the 90th-minute mark would be crossed and on the sidelines, the assistant referee held up a board that showed that there would be an additional four minutes of injury time.

Perhaps due to that, the Bayer Leverkusen team suddenly burst with ferocity and finally broke through the Porto's back line with a sudden attack.

Moussa Diaby, a newly substituted player accelerated past Wilson Manafa in a spectacular display of speedy dribbling and cut into the Porto penalty box.

Pepe quickly blocked his path and Moussa Diaby didn't hesitate to send the ball towards Kai Havertz who was standing just outside the box beside him.

Kai Havertz didn't bother to control the ball and sent the ball into the penalty area with a chip pass.

The ball flew into the right side of the Porto penalty area and landed in Lucas Alario's path.

Alario quickly trapped the ball and cut back immediately much to the dismay of Alex Telles who tried to tackle him and ended up missing.

Due to Telles losing his footing because of his mistimed tackle, Alario suddenly had some space to shoot and without wasting a split second, he let the shot fly.