Chapter 397 The Final Nail in the Coffin　　Unai Emery, Sevi''s coach, quickly made two substitutions before the game could restart. He brought on Kevin Gameiro, a forward, in ce of Alberto Moreno, the starting left-back. Additionally, the coach subbed in Piotr Trochowski, an attacking midfielder, for Daniel Carri?o, the starting defensive midfielder.


    The Sevi Coach had obviously decided to go all out by ying with a 3-3-2-2 offensive formation during the final few minutes. And that was why he was recing defensive yers with creative and attack-minded yers. He wanted to employ all his attacking cards to create opportunities and an equalizer as soon as possible.


    On the other hand, Coach Johansen chose not to tamper with his squad. He feared that making any substitution would affect the chemistry and concentration of his field yers, especially during the crucialst minutes of the game. So, he took a leap of faith and bet on his yers'' determination to maintain the lead until the final whistle sounded.


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    *FWEEEEEEE*


    The referee blew the whistle to restart the match after the substitutes had taken their positions on the pitch. Carlos Ba, Sevi''s center-forward, didn''t dawdle in the slightest. He immediately kicked the ball back into his midfield to restart the proceedings on the field of y.


    Ivan Rakiti?, Sevi''s captain and attacking midfielder, controlled the ball close to the border of the middle third. He then nced around briefly before flicking it towards his left to find Piotr Trochowski, the substitute attacking midfielder.


    But by then, Nicki Nielsen, the Rosenborg center-forward, had already closed down the Sevi midfielder. Thus, Piotr Trochowski could only choose to pass the ball backward to find Nicolás Pareja, the center-back.


    "Push forward," Coach Unai Emery yelled from the sidelines, pacing the entire length of Sevi''s technical area. "We need a goal right away. So, y with a bit of urgency. Carlos! Gameiro! You''re ying as two center-forwards. Push forward and apply pressure on their center-backs. And be ready to receive long balls and crosses from your teammates..."


    The words of Coach Unai Emery seemed to be quite effective. The Sevi yers soon raised their ying intensity and moved the ball from one end of the pitch to the other as they tried to stretch Rosenborg''s midfield and defense. And finally, during the 92nd minute, they found a rare opening to create a goal-scoring opportunity.


    Ivan Rakiti? received the ball close to the center circle. He escaped the harassment of Takumi Minamino before unleashing a through pass towards the nks to find Vitolo, the left-winger.


    Vitolo''s ball control was incredible. He chested the ball down to the green before feeding it past Karl Toko Ekambi and beating him for pace.


    But Ekambi didn''t give up and let the Sevi winger do as he pleased. He chased after Vitolo with all the speed he could muster before sliding in to steal the ball off the winger''s feet. His tackle was spot on, and he managed to shove the ball out of y before sending the opponent tumbling to the ground.


    "Ref! Foul!" Vitolo and a few more Sevi yers yelled at the top of their voices while ncing expectantly at the referee. However, the referee ignored theirints and motioned for a Sevi throw-in.


    "That was clearly a foul," Vitolo continuedining as he picked himself up from the green. "He caught me on my ankle."


    But the referee again turned a deaf ear to his appeals and motioned for the Sevi yers to quickly take the throw-in. Vitolo could only shake his head dejectedly before readying himself for the throw-in.


    Piotr Trochowski, Sevi''s substitute midfielder, soon took the throw-in. He nted his feet close to the touchline and threw the ball toward the middle to find Stéphane Mbia, Sevi''s defensive midfielder.


    Stéphane Mbia controlled the ball well before flicking it toward the far right to find Marko Marin, the substitute right-winger. Marko Marin went into action immediately and chested the ball to the ground. Without losing a second, he unleashed a killer cross towards the box before any Rosenborg yers could close him down.


    Finally, a chance for Sevi to score an equalizing goal had arrived with the cross. So, both Carlos Ba and Kevin Gameiro, the two strikers, went into action within the box. They leaped high to connect with the iing cross while battling the Rosenborg center-backs.


    But in the end, it was Carlos Ba, the starting forward, who got thestugh. The center-forward outjumped Eric Bailly and nted a header towards the goal from the edge of the box. However, his effortcked power, and in the end, it was easily saved by Daniel ?rlund, the Rosenborg keeper.


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    "Only three minutes out of the six of added time remain to the final whistle," the voice of Peter Drury resounded across the stadium. "However, the Troll Kids, the underdogs from Norway, are still in the lead against Sevi by three goals to two. They are only moments away from achieving Europa League glory for the first time in history. Can they hold off Sevi for the remaining three minutes and win the trophy?"


    "Sevi is on the attack again," thementator continued. "Unai Emery and his men are digging in and doing everything possible to find that equalizing goal. Ivan Rakiti? is on the ball. He twists and turns and passes to Vitolo. Vitolo! Vitolo with the cross into the box. Oh! Rosenborg is in trouble..."


    At that moment, the tension was in the air as Kevin Gameiro, Sevi''s substitute center-forward, leaped up to connect with the cross at the edge of the box. He easily chested the ball backward—towards the approaching Ivan Rakiti?.


    Ivan Rakiti? was as sharp as ever in the final third. He met the ball with a first-time volley just a few yards outside the box. He hammered it with the top of his boot, sending it rocketing towards Rosenborg''s goal like a surface-to-surface missile.


    But once again, luck was on Rosenborg''s side, and the ball ran into an obstruction in the form of Eric Bailly. The young Ivorian defender threw himself in the ball''s path and deflected it out of y for a corner kick. His brilliant effort had saved Rosenborg from conceding the equalizing goal during the 94th minute.


    "Two minutes remain to the end of the added time," Peter Drury, thementator, said as the Sevi yers prepared to take the corner kick. "This might be thest chance for Sevi to score and bring proceedings back to level terms in this heated final. It is now or never, and all the Sevi yers are flooding into Rosenborg''s box, waiting to meet the corner ball. Can they bag ast-minute equalizer and push this game into extra time?"


    *FWEEEEEEE*


    The referee''s whistle soon sounded as a signal for the Sevi yers to take the corner kick. Ivan Rakiti?, the Sevi captain, immediately unleashed a teasing cross from the corner spot towards the crowded box.


    The descending corner ball induced a chaotic wave of activities within the box as the yers from both teams struggled to outwit their opponents. Some even resorted to ying rough to gain an advantage before connecting with the corner ball.


    But at the end of it all, Daniel ?rlund, the Rosenborg keeper, came out on top. He leaped high and outjumped all the yers in the box before punching the ball away from his goal.


    "Oh my, my!" Peter Drury yelled in sync with the cheers and dejected sighs around the stadium. "What a phenomenal save by Daniel ?rlund! He has punched the ball to safety. What do we have here? Sevi is in trouble as Takumi Minamino intercepts the ball a few yards outside the box. It''s a chance for a counterattack, and Takumi Minamino brilliantly turns away from Stéphane Mbia. He finds Zachary Bemba with a pass to his right..."


    The cheers of the Rosenborg fans resounded around the stadium as Zachary connected with Takumi Minamino''s pass. He spun around with the ball glued to his left foot to execute a Marseille turn and escape away from Marko Marin. He then elerated to his top speed with the intent to race towards the other end of the pitch to advance the counterattack.


    But a momentter, Zachary felt a strong tug on his shirt and figured that one of the opponents was hell-bent on stopping him, even by relying on foul means. But since it was thest minute of gamey, he didn''t relent and struggled to continue moving forward. He yearned to help his team to create one more clear goal-scoring opportunity before the final whistle.


    Zachary''s mind went into overdrive mode as he toiled to escape from the harassment of the opponent. As usual, the Zinedine-Pirlo mental Juju bloomed in great splendor, and his vision of the pitch became crystal clear. Within an instant, he spotted a couple of his teammates, who had already rushed forward to support the counterattack.


    "Here goes nothing."


    Zachary exerted all his effort and kicked the ball towards the right nk as the opponent was in the process of pulling him to the ground. His only hope was for the referee to y an advantage. That way, his teammates would continue advancing the counterattack and possibly score since there weren''t any opponents barring their way forward.


    "Oh my!" Peter Drury yelled in sync with the cheers. "Federico Fazio, the Sevi center-back, has tackled Zachary to the ground. But Zachary didn''t give up and passed the ball towards the right nk to find Paul Kasongo. What is the referee''s decision? Will he award a free-kick for the foul? Oh no! The referee has signaled for an advantage y, and the counterattack is still on. It''s Paul Kasongo on the ball. He has yards of space ahead of him. Kasongo..."


    Kasongo sprinted towards Sevi''s goal like a Ferrari on a form one race track. His short strides quickly ate up the yards of space — and before long; he stepped into the final third. He quickly approached the keeper, who''de out of goal to meet him.


    Kasongo immediately chose to y it safe instead of going head to head with the fast-approaching keeper. He slowed down slightly before passing the ball to his left to find Nicki Nielsen, who''d been running in sync with him.


    Another clear goal-scoring opportunity for Rosenborg presented itself as Nicki connected with Kasongo''s pass at the edge of Sevi''s box. Without losing a moment, the center-forward smashed the ball into the back of the empty to score Rosenborg''s 4th goal for the night. He had added a final nail in Sevi''s coffin and cemented Rosenborg''s advantage during thest minute of added time.