Chapter 252: [252] "MATCHDAY d’Azur 12"

He outpaced Gabriel Assis in the first five yards, sprinting down the touchline to meet the dropping ball.

Aubert backpedaled furiously, recognizing the immediate threat. He squared his hips, preparing to engage the winger near the edge of the defensive third.

The winger trapped the ball flawlessly in stride, pushing it forward with his chest. He didn’t slow down to assess the defender. He drove directly at Aubert, utilizing a flurry of rapid step-overs to mask his intended direction.

Behind him, the massive new left-back initiated his run. He charged down the touchline like a freight train, demanding the ball.

Gabriel Assis tracked back, his legs and also hid lungs burning as he forced his tired muscles to close the gap. He arrived just as the winger dropped his shoulder, preparing to slip the pass down the line.

Gabriel stepped in, throwing his body into the passing lane, successfully blocking the initial attempt. The ball ricocheted off Gabriel’s shin, rolling a few yards backward.

The home crowd roared, sensing something. The fresh legs of the Côte d’Azur players allowed them to recover the loose ball instantly. The veteran playmaker stepped up, collecting the deflection and immediately recycling the possession back out wide.

The assault was relentless.

For the next ten minutes, FC Côte d’Azur hammered the Valois right flank. They utilized the fresh personnel to sustain a continuous, high-speed overlapping routine. Gabriel and Aubert were stretched to their physical limits. They successfully blocked three crosses, deflected two passes out for throw-ins, and forced one goal kick, but the pressure was compounding.

Luc remained high, isolated between the center-backs. He watched the right channel absorb the punishment. For now, the asymmetrical system was holding, but the seam was beginning to loosen under the athletic disparity between the exhausted Valois players and the fresh Côte d’Azur players.

Minute fifty-eight.

The home side switched their point of attack.

Realizing that Gabriel and Aubert, despite their fatigue, were refusing to concede to their onslaught, the veteran playmaker received the ball in the center circle and rotated his hips. He ignored that flank and drove a blistering pass out to the left side of the Valois defense...his right side.

Targeting Zack Florez.

The Côte d’Azur right-winger, who had been relatively quiet for the last ten minutes, trapped the ball near the touchline. He looked up, assessing the eighteen-year-old.

Zack maintained his solo defensive posture. Dário Ferrão hovered high up the pitch, offering an outlet but providing zero defensive support. Zack was isolated as the structure had demanded of him.

The right-winger did not attempt to beat Zack with pace. He held the ball, waiting for his fullback to initiate the overlap.

The Côte d’Azur right-back charged down the outside, creating the exact two-versus-one overload that Zack had neutralized in the first half.

But this time, the dynamic was different. The veteran playmaker had drifted over from the center, inserting himself into the right half-space. He positioned himself perfectly between Klaus Becker and Zack Florez, offering a central passing option.

It was no longer a two-versus-one. It was a rapid three-versus-two overload, designed specifically to overwhelm the young defender.

Zack recognized the numerical disadvantage instantly. He could not employ his standard jockeying technique against three dedicated attackers. If he backed off, the playmaker would receive the ball in the pocket and drive into the penalty area. If he stepped up to engage the winger, the overlap was wide open.

Zack made a calculated decision. He opted for aggression.

He didn’t wait for the winger to make the first move. As the right-back blew past on the overlap, demanding the pass, Zack exploded forward. He closed the distance to the winger in three rapid strides, dropping his center of gravity.

The winger, startled by the sudden pressure, panicked. He attempted to force the pass down the line to the overlapping fullback before Zack could arrive.

Zack launched his body across the turf.

He executed a sweeping slide tackle, leading with his right leg. His timing was immaculate. His cleats connected solidly with the exterior of the ball just seconds after it left the winger’s boot.

The impact killed the forward momentum of the pass instantly. The ball stopped dead in its tracks, trapped between Zack’s shin and the turf, while the winger stumbled forward, his passing motion interrupted.

It was a brilliant defensive intervention. Zack had successfully killed the primary overlap.

But as Zack rolled through the tackle, attempting to hook the ball out of bounds to kill the play, the trailing momentum of the winger’s boot clipped the top of the ball. The accidental contact generated an unpredictable spin.

The ball squirted out from beneath Zack’s shin.

It did not roll out for a throw-in or do him a favor and bounce safely into the Valois penalty area for Amadou to clear.

It deflected sharply inward, rolling directly into the path of the veteran Côte d’Azur playmaker who had drifted into the half-space.

The stadium collectively inhaled.

The playmaker did not require a touch to settle the ball. He read the deflection perfectly, adjusting his stride without breaking his forward momentum.

Zack was flat on his back, his momentum carrying him out of the play entirely. He scrambled desperately, trying to push himself up from the grass, but gravity and friction held him down. He was out of the picture.

The playmaker reached the loose ball. He did not shoot because he recognized that the overlapping right-back was now completely unmarked, sprinting freely toward the corner of the penalty area.

The veteran midfielder opened his hips and slipped a perfectly weighted, first-time pass into the path of the overlapping fullback.

The right-back collected the ball in stride. He breached the edge of the eighteen-yard box.

He had time. He had space.

There was no Valois defender within five yards of him to block the delivery.

Inside the penalty area, the two massive Côte d’Azur strikers recognized the golden opportunity. They initiated their runs, driving aggressively toward the six-yard box, preparing to attack the incoming cross.

Amadou Fall and Leo Hernandez scrambled backward, their eyes tracking the play, desperately trying to establish physical dominance over the attackers.

And on the goal line, Pinto froze. The backup goalkeeper bent his knees, his gloves raised, completely anchored to the white chalk as the overlapping fullback drew his leg back to whip the ball into the heart of the danger zone.