NO FLOURISH WITHOUT FLAWS

KICK-OFF

The players of both teams exchanged a brief handshake with each other. Stationed beside the referee, the captains of both teams picked a side on the coin. The referee tossed the coin. Pointed at Totti, Como F.C.'s captain, and said, "Your team is going to kickstart the game."

Henrique and Lavezzi stood at the center circle with the ball in between them. The referee blasted his whistle. The game began. As usual, any encounter between them was feisty. Just ten minutes into the game, yellow cards were already flying everywhere. Both teams continued to slog it out. Neither of them gave each other any breathing space on the ball. Twenty minutes passed. No shots on target recorded. But the drab nature of the match didn't deter the Como F.C. aficionados from cheering their team. From the 25th minute, the match started to tilt in favor of Como F.C. They began to control possession and move the ball quickly among themselves. From the midfield, Totti played an amazing diagonal pass to Lavezzi. He controlled it expertly and breezed past the Venezia players. Then played a beautiful pass that put Henrique through on goal. Anticipating a goal, the Como F.C. ultras stood up on their feet. But Henrique's shot to the bottom left corner of goal was superbly stopped by the goalie.

"f**k! What an amazing save! That should have been 1-0 to us," Rosella sneered.

Como F.C. players continued piling the pressure on their opponent. At this point, Venezia F.C. players defended for their lives. 42 minutes on the clock. Henrique and Lavezzi's telepathic relationship struck once more. Henrique controlled a long pass from his goalie with his chest. Sent a back-heeled pass to Lavezzi. He dribbled past the entire backline of Venezia F.C. and found himself 1v1 with their goalie. Rounded him off. Then stabbed the ball into an empty net. The Pamplona erupted.

"Goallll! Goallll! Goallll!" The Como F.C. faithful shouted in unison.

In his trademark fashion, Lavezzi did his knee slide celebration. His team-mates huddled around him. Shared a high five amongst themselves.

Taking the lead got a smile out of Pastore. But he urged his team to get back into action. On the stroke of halftime, Totti engaged in a 50-50 battle with the terrifying-looking Zambrotta. He lost the ball to him. Zambrotta ran with the ball hurriedly. Then fed it to the deadly Chievu, who rifled a shot in the top corner of the net. Como F.C. fans went silent.

"Damn! What a shot! I wish the ball didn't end up in the back of the net. The timing of that goal irks my soul." Rosella groaned.

The few Venezia fans in Pamplona celebrated their equalizer. In his usual fashion, Chievu ran to the corner flag. Then danced around it in celebration.

"That goal shouldn't stand. I was fouled by Zambrotta. Consult the V.A.R." Totti yelled at the referee.

"I won't. Zambrotta won the ball cleanly. It's a goal."

Refusing to back down, Totti ran towards the referee and challenged him further. Without wasting time, the referee booked him for dissent.

On the sideline, Pastore re-echoed Totti's thoughts to the assistant referee. But the goal still stood. "1-1," the scoreboard read. After two minutes of added time elapsed, the referee blasted his whistle. Bringing the first half to an end. Immediately, everyone on the pitch headed straight into the tunnel.

"What a game! I've been utterly entertained thus far. We really balled in the first half. I'm very confident we'd eventually win the game," Rosella muttered.

In the dressing room, Como F.C. players looked gassed. Pastore gave them some minutes to gulp some fluids and catch their breath before addressing them.

"Don't be downbeat with the score. Everyone played a great first half. We succeeded in making them defend for large periods in the first half. They have really struggled with our switch to the 4-3-3. If we keep up with our intensity, I'm sure we are going to come out victorious at the end. Lavezzi, you have played extremely well. But you're not tracking back to provide defensive support when you lose the ball. They've tried to exploit that weakness so many times. I know you aren't the most hardworking player on the team, but ensure you always run back to help the team defend whenever we aren't with the ball. Venezia F.C. is the deadliest counter-attacking team in the league. Make sure you don't surrender possession carelessly to them in the second half. Their goalie is quite tall, so most of your shots at goal should be low ones." He concluded.

Fifteen minutes of the halftime break ended. Once more, the gladiators stepped into the pitch. The referee sounded his whistle; the second half commenced. Venezia F.C. stamped their authority on the game as early as possible. They dominated possession, forcing Como F.C. players to camp in their own half.

"We have started this half wrongly. Ten minutes have passed since the restart, and we have barely touched the ball. If we don't come out to play, they are most likely going to take the lead." Rosella angrily voiced.

On the hour mark, Totti found himself free just outside the box. A pass came to his right foot. He shifted the ball onto his stronger left foot. Rifled a shot towards the top corner of the net. But his effort was punched away by the goalie. The referee pointed to the corner flag for a corner kick to Venezia F.C. From the corner kick, Totti sent an in-swinger into the box. Chievu jumped above Lavezzi and headed the ball into the net.

"Damn! Lavezzi's laziness has made them take the lead. He could have contested that aerial ball with Chievu instead of just ball-watching," Pastore grumbled.

In celebration of his goal, Chievu ran towards the Venezia F.C. aficionados. Entered their midst. Hugged as many of them as possible. Then derided the Como F.C. aficionados by wiggling his butt at them.

"Chievu's celebration gives me the ick. I wish I could enter the pitch and give him a knock to his head. He stylishly called us bums. Such an irritant. " Rosella ranted.

When he returned back to the pitch, the referee awarded him a yellow card.

"Why did you give me a yellow card?" Chievu shockingly asked.

"Your celebration was too overzealous. Also, your action towards the Como F.C. aficionados was very disrespectful."

Very annoyed with the yellow card received, Chievu kept on barking at the referee.

"If you don't stop yelling at me now, I'll upgrade the yellow card into a red card," the referee warned."

Heeding to the referee's warning, he stopped shouting. Went back to his position on the pitch. And the game continued. To see out their slim lead, Venezia F.C. players retreated into their half. Then began to defend in a low block. Now, Como F.C. players had a lot of the ball. But they couldn't create any meaningful chances.

"This game is gradually slipping out of our hands. I have to act fast right away. Pastore said while stroking his beard.

After liaising with his assistant coach, Pastore decided to take some risks. He made two substitutions. A midfielder and a defender out. A striker and winger are in. 70 minutes approached on the clock. Como F.C. was still losing 2-1. They kept on searching for an equalizer. But Venezia resisted them. On the 79th minute, Lavezzi moved centrally. Totti found him with a sublime pass. Lavezzi left two Venezia F.C. players for dead with some step-overs. Drove into the box with the ball only to be fouled by a defender. The referee wasted no time in awarding a penalty to Como F.C.; their aficionados roared in excitement.

"Yes! This is our perfect chance to draw level. We've got to score." Rosella said, before standing up to have a clear view of the penalty kick about to be taken.

Lavezzi grabbed the ball. Placed it on the penalty spot. Went a couple of meters back. The referee blew his whistle for him to go ahead. He took a deep breath. Then ran gently toward the penalty spot.