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Chapter 209: Taca de Portugal Finals 2020 I

{The players have finished the pre-match pleasantries and are now waiting for the referee’s whistle to start the game}

*Fweeeeeeeee*

The shrill sound of the referee’s whistle filled the stadium and the Benfica team kicked off the game.

{The string has been released and the arrow has been let loose…}

{Porto vs Benfica, the Dragons vs the Eagles, Which one of them is the master of the sky?}

{We’re 90 minutes from finding out?} The commentator put his poetry skills to work in this game that promised to be nothing less than exciting.

There was no one involved in the football world who did not know that Porto and Benfica were rivals and that sparks always flew whenever they clashed and irrespective of the results of the game, it was definitely going to be nowhere near boring.

But now that they faced each other in a match that would decide who would lift one of the domestic cups in the Portuguese hemisphere, it was blasphemy to even think that it wouldn’t be a match worth watching.

Thus, at the moment, the fans of both clubs were keeping their eyes on the game from their phones, TVs, and other electronics.

The players back at the stadium weren’t thinking about this however and had already started doing their best to get the ball past the opponent’s goalkeeper.

It didn’t take long for the first goal-scoring opportunity to arrive, it was from Porto just three minutes after the match started.

Wilson Manafa had sent a long through ball down the right side of the field that Jason had latched onto and pushed past his marker before finally sending a cross into Benfica’s 18-yard box.

Tiquinho Soares had pushed past everyone and leaped high into the air to get his head to the ball, but the ball skewed off his head and flew directly at the goalkeeper.

Despite the ball coming directly at him, the Benfica goalkeeper couldn’t grab onto the ball and only pushed it to the side, but the next moment his heart almost leaped out of his throat as he saw the ball moving towards Luis Diaz who was jumping at the ball.

Still, just as he reached the ball with his outstretched foot, another leg appeared in the path of the ball to deflect it out of play.

{Oh, what a chance! What a chance!}

{The goalkeeper should have held onto the ball there to prevent what was almost a punishment for his mistake, but luckily for him, his defenders were there to cover his blushes} The commentator’s voice could be heard describing the situation as the two teams began getting ready for the corner.

With that attempt at goal being almost like a dam cracker, the two teams began playing harder against each other and soon another goal-scoring chance appeared for Porto.

In the 16th minute, Otavio sent a pass towards the right wing.

The ball curved in between the Benfica defenders and fell into Jason’s path on the right.

Jason was already running for the ball the moment the pass was made, but the Benfica left-back somehow matched his pace and stayed on him, and even after Jason got to the ball, most of his focus was on keeping the Benfica left back from pushing him off the ball.

In such terrible running conditions, Jason somehow pushed his way into the Benfica 18-yard box, cutting in from the right wing before finally trying to take the shot when he could no longer keep the defender at bay.

However as he swung at the ball, the defender slammed into him from behind once again and caused him to lose his balance, causing him to miskick the ball, sending it flying across the entire face of the goal before going out of play on the left side of the goal.

Some Porto players immediately called for a penalty, but the referee was unconvinced and his whistle stayed silent while Jason brushed himself as he stood back up and ran his hand through his hair in disappointment after missing a chance at goal.

Soon the ball was sent flying back into the field with a goal kick and both teams once again rushed for the ball.

It was not much longer before the match crossed the half-hour mark and Porto soon got another goal-scoring chance with Otavio once again finding Jason just in front of two Benfica defenders.

On receiving the ball, Jason paused for a short moment to allow the first defender to attempt a tackle, and as soon as the player’s leg was outstretched, Jason coolly slotted the ball in between his legs before going behind him and immediately smashing the ball with his right foot at goal, not bothering to try and dribble through the second defender.

The Benfica goalkeeper immediately lunged for the ball and managed to reach it after fully extending himself to get to the ball, but he wasn’t able to hold the ball due to the power behind the shot and the ball ended up bouncing back into play, and towards the direction of Moussa Marega, but before the ball reached Marega, a nearby Benfica player came rushing at the ball and managed to clear the ball just before it reached Marega.

{Cleared!}

{Porto are once again left empty-handed after so nearly making it past the goalkeeper!}

{They have had the upper hand so far and have kept their foot on the throttle, but so far have nothing to show for it}

{If they don’t end up winning this, they will rue their missed chances!} the commentator spoke as the ball flew out of play after being cleared by the Benfica player who got to the ball first.

At this point, however, the fans didn’t need the commentator to tell them the obvious.

It was obvious that Porto was currently on the front foot and it was best that they converted their chances earlier rather than later as one could never tell when the situation would be flipped especially against a team like Benfica.

The Porto fans were happy that their team was the one playing better, but they were still very wary of their opponents and wished their team could convert soon.