Chapter 487: A Bad Game
A few more days passed, and Jason was finally cleared. The medical team guaranteed his full recovery to the manager, which Jason thought was just in time as the day after was a match against Napoli.
The list of the players who would be heading to Naples with the team was released shortly after and Jason was pleased to find his name on the list.
It was a sight for sore eyes for sure and it served as the best form of motivation for Jason who went crazy in the training sessions following.
That same night, the Uventus players left for Naples where they would be having the game the next day.
***13th February 2024***
The Uventus players stepped on the field, their bodies tensed up in anticipation for the ninety minutes to come.
The pre-match formalities didn’t reduce their tension and the match soon started, with the Napoli team kicking off the game.
The Uventus players immediately surged forward, aiming to retrieve possession and begin playing the game on their own terms, but the Napoli players didn’t intend to let them have their way with the ball and they fought back how they knew to, keeping the ball moving and evading pressure.
Jason watched as the match raged on from the bench as the manager hadn’t picked him to be a member of the starting line-up for reasons unknown to him.
He had hopes that he would get some game time in the second half though and he wasn’t too disheartened by the shrug from the manager.
The game had been raging on for quite a while, but a sudden occurrence had caused a pause in the match and the Napoli fans to shout out, cheering excitedly.
In the Uventus penalty box, the ball had smashed off of De Ligt’s hand when Mertens took a shot at goal and the ball had been deflected out of play.
The Napoli players had swiftly held up their hands and called out to the referee, calling for a penalty.
The referee had run over while consulting the video review team and it was clear that the ball had met De Ligt’s hand in an unfavorable position for the Uventus team.
Without a doubt, it was a penalty and the referee made his decision known.
The Napoli fans let out a wave of excited cheers even though the penalty hadn’t been taken yet and they couldn’t be sure if the ball would end up in the back of the net.
Lorenzo Insigne who stepped up to take the penalty didn’t disappoint the Napoli fans’ expectations and put the ball past Sczesny without much suspense in the 31st minute of the game.
The stadium had immediately burst out with an even louder wave of excited cheers as the fans clapped and cheered excitedly while their players celebrated their goal.
The Uventus players could only look on as the Napoli celebrated their goal, but they were only a little shaken by the goal and hadn’t given up on the game.
Quite the contrary, in fact, they were now resolved to play even more attacking football and quickly equalize the game before it got out of their hand.
As soon as the game kicked off once more, the Uventus players immediately got down to business, sending the ball into their opponent’s half as well as following after it, threatening to overload their opponents’ defense and make an impact before they could resist, however, the Napoli team fought them off and forced the ball out of play, putting an end to the Uventus team’s attack.
The Uventus team didn’t give up however and time after time, they continuously looked for chances to burst forward and get themselves an equalizer, but the Napoli team stayed strong and kept them from achieving their goal until the referee blew the whistle to end the first half.
In the Uventus locker room, Pirlo didn’t waste any time getting into the events of the first half with his players and they quickly started analyzing the best way to break past their opposition’s defense.
Pirlo did his best, giving suggestions, adjusting the gameplan, and motivating the players before sending them back out to the field, making it clear that he wanted the match to end in at least a draw, otherwise their title run would become more difficult.
That was all the motivation the Uventus players needed and they headed back out to the field, ready to demolish their opponents, but try as they may, even by the seventieth minute, they still didn’t have the equalizer they dearly wanted and had been working for.
At this point, Jason was already warming up on the sidelines after being given the heads up by the manager and soon, he was running onto the field after Chiesa had been taken off.
The ball had gone out for a Uventus corner so Jason had quickly made his way to Napoli’s penalty box after stepping on the field.
Hastily reaching the penalty box, he nodded to a few teammates and took position in the box, pushing off Napoli players as he awaited the cross.
At the referee’s whistle, Cuadrado sent the ball into the penalty box from the left corner.
The players in Napoli’s penalty box pushed off against each other and jumped at the ball, but it was Ronaldo who reached the ball first and quickly directed it at goal. However, the Napoli goalkeeper made a spectacular save to punch the ball over the crossbar, keeping Uventus behind on the scoreboard.
{What a chance! What a save! It’s another corner!} the commentator spoke as Alex Sandro took the ball and headed to the right corner flag.
Once again, the players began arranging themselves in Napoli’s penalty box, pushing off against each other as they tried to get into a good position to head the ball once it was flying in.
At the referee’s whistle, the ball was sent flying into Napoli’s penalty box again, causing the players of both teams to once again rise into the air to reach it first.
This time, it was Chiellini who reached the ball first and he did not hesitate to send the ball at goal, causing the Napoli players to react immediately.
The Napoli goalkeeper once again sprung into action, jumping at the ball, barely managing to reach it and slap it back into play.
The ball flew back into play thanks to the goalkeeper’s efforts, but in a bid to stop the goal, he had sent the ball flying in Jason’s direction.