Football God; Forging a Legacy

Just a few days later, and D-day arrived like a thief in the night.

4th March, 2027…

Tuesday.

[UEFA Champions League Round of 16- Tuesday Fixtures:]

(PSG vs Inter Milan)

(Venue: Parc des Princes)

…

(Liverpool vs Borussia Dortmund)

(Venue: Anfield)

…

(Bayern Munich vs Arsenal)

(Venue: Allianz Arena)

…

(Barcelona vs Juventus)

(Venue: Spotify Camp Nou)

Not just the European continent, the whole world held its breath.

Floodlights bathed Europe's greatest arenas in a celestial glow as 8 of the best teams in the world came at each other in a season-defining moment.

Three stadiums, three battles, and one symphony of chaos.

The Champions League knockouts had begun.

…

France…

[Parc des Princes – PSG VS Inter Milan]

The Parisian night pulsed like a living heart.

The Parc des Princes was no mere stadium. Tonight, it was a volcano of spewing smoke, fire, and song as red flares turned the air crimson.

"Allez Paris!" Chants echoed into the dark sky like echoes of war.

On the pitch, two gladiators squared off.

On one side was PSG, the princes of Paris, clad in blue, last season's finalists. On the other side was Inter Milan, the Nerazzurri wall, stoic and immovable.

The atmosphere was electric in the stadium.

FWEEE!

The referee's whistle set the gladiators on fire.

And right from kickoff, PSG attacked like a storm.

Dembele darted in behind the Inter with staggering regularity and ease, while Kvaratskhelia twisted his marker into knots on the left, even as Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes surged like hurricane winds down the flank.

PSG was imperious. Inter were bent, but they didn't break as every slide tackle from them was thunderous, and every clearance defiant.

They kept themselves in the game.

Then in the 23rd minute, the dagger came as Lautaro Martínez, the Argentine striker who had been invisible until then suddenly erupted to life, springing free.

A cross found him in the box and with ice-cold precision, he guided the ball past Lucas Chevalier, PSG's goalkeeper.

0-1 Inter.

The stadium gasped.

But Paris didn't break due to going behind. Rather, that ignited them.

The noise in the stadium rose to a scream as PSG ultras belted out chants at the top of their lungs, and it finally bore fruit in the 39th minute of the game when Kvaratskhelia carved through two defenders, dropped a shoulder, and curled a shot into the far corner with deadly precision.

Magic!

The goalkeeper stood no chance as the ball nestled into the net.

1-1.

BOOM!

The stadium erupted.

The first half came to an end level.

When the second half started, Inter tried to suffocate the game, but the Parisian giants pressed harder, faster, and louder in a bid to tear them open.

Inter Milan defended valiantly, but then late on in the 81st minute, the new King of Paris delivered. Ousmane Dembele exploded into the box and ripped a shot that thundered into the roof of the net with venom.

2-1 PSG.

BOOM!

The cauldron boiled over as the Parc des Princes trembled.

PSG were winning at home, and while this happened, in other parts of Europe, the other epic clashes were also playing out…

…

England…

[Anfield – Liverpool vs Borussia Dortmund]

In London, Anfield came under the lights.

The Kop roared like a red sea of fire as fans held scarves aloft, their voices thunderous as they sang.

"You'll Never Walk Alone!"

But Borussia Dortmund were unafraid.

In yellow, they flew forward with reckless abandon. Anfield was silenced as early as the 6th minute of the game as Karim Adeyemi burned down the wing, leaving red shirts in his wake.

A square pass to Guirassy, and… goal!

Dortmund stunned the Kop. 1-0.

Liverpool bit back. Not immediately, but it seemed inevitable.

In the 30th minute of the game, the new Liverpool striker, Alexander Isak announced himself to Europe as he clawed them level with a scrappy finish in the chaos of the box.

1-1.

BOOM!

The Kop's roar was so loud it rattled the cameras.

After that, the match spiraled into chaos, becoming end to end as tackles flew and shots thundered from both sides.

The first half ended level.

But in the second, Liverpool finally turned the tide as the story wrote itself in the 61st minute of the game.

Florian Wirtz, the little German wizard did the trick against his old rival club as he threaded a pass to Salah who curled a beauty past the goalkeeper to make it

2-1 Liverpool.

BOOM!

Anfield's roof nearly came off from the roars of the fans.

But Dortmund refused to die.

Late in the game, they threw men forward, hunting, pressing, and chasing ghosts. Then in the 91st minute, the visitors in yellow stunned Anfield.

Guirrassy, the Dortmund striker got his second of the night, striking from the edge of the box to make it 2-2!

"…!"

Shock and silence was the reaction as Anfield froze.

The ball was in… Dortmund equalized!

The fulltime whistle rang not long after.

[FULLTIME: Liverpool 2-2 Borussia Dortmund]

A shocker in Europe.

Whole Dortmund wrote a stunning underdog first leg story in Anfield, fade to black and white Germany and Munich loomed in the background…

…

Germany…

[Allianz Arena – Bayern Munich vs Arsenal]

Munich was a battlefield of ghosts.

Arsenal had come here before; always humbled, always humiliated. The media remembered, the fans remembered, and the scars ran deep.

But this was a different Arsenal under Mikel Arteta. With the likes of Saka, Gyokeres, Eze, and Odegaard, they were young, bold, and fearless.

Despite this and the expectations of Arsenal fans, having the home advantage, the game began with Bayern's iron grip.

Musiala stole the show, skipping past defenders like a dancer, while Joshua Kimmich thundered into tackles, and in the 19th minute, Harry Kane who was facing his childhood rivals struck first to open up the game.

One touch, and one sumptuous finish, which was quickly followed by one roar at the Allianz Arena as Bayern went ahead.

1-0 Bayern.

Bayern led, but the Gunners didn't fold.

They sharpened their steel.

Martin Odegaard dictated tempo with elegance, while Eberechi Eze tore down the flank like a green flame, and in the 41st minute, Saka silenced the Allianz with a curling finish that left the commentator screaming like a mad man.

1-1.

The Gunners had arrived.

The first half ended in a draw, but the second half was war.

It was end to end with chances flying everywhere, Bayern's goalkeeper denying Gyokeres from point black range, while on the other side Raya tipping away Musiala's drive.

Every tackle shook the turf, and every pass felt like a blade drawn.

Yes, it during stoppage time when the Allianz Arena was on edge was when chaos struck like a law.

Jamal Musiala, the boy who'd suffered from injury problems for the past few years finally stole the stage as he played like a king, danced through Arsenal's lines.

He went through one, two, and three Arsenal defenders before driving into the box. The stadium held its breath as without even looking up, Musiala sneaked a shot between Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, lashing it into the net.

2-1 Bayern!

BOOM!

The Allianz Arena exploded.

Arsenal's players collapsed to the ground, hearts broken at the last minute.

It was almost as if the script was written in heaven; of the 4 Tuesday games, 3 of them ended in a 2-1 score line.

But it was not over yet.

The lights dimmed, and the screen faded to black as the spotlight left France, England, and Germany, transitioning to Spain.

The final Tuesday game...