Football God; Forging a Legacy

It was the Champions League, and if there was one thing that football fans enjoyed about it, it was that it didn't just end in one day.

Tuesday night chaos had come to an end, the likes of FC Barcelona and PSG savoring their first leg victories, but nah, there were still games scheduled for Wednesday.

Heck, the continent had barely cooled from Tuesday's inferno.

Paris still smoldered, Munich still roared, and yet, Wednesday came.

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

(Real Madrid vs AC Milan)

(Venue: Santiago Bernabeu)

…

(Manchester City vs Atletico Madrid)

(Venue: Etihad Stadium)

…

(Chelsea vs Napoli)

(Venue: Stamford Bridge)

…

(Sporting CP vs Ajax)

(Venue: Estadio Jose Alvalade)

The chaos of Tuesday night barely cooled when the floodlights once again flickered to life across Europe, slicing through the winter mist like a sword aura.

Again… eight clubs, four arenas, but one storm, the storm of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.

…

Spain…

[Santiago Bernabéu — Real Madrid vs AC Milan]

The Bernabéu trembled under white scarves as the UEFA Champions League anthem played in the background, Madrid fans singing at the top of their lungs like it was their heritage. The infamous stadium was a cauldron tonight.

Real Madrid's superstars stretched and warmed up in the stadium under the spotlight as AC Milan's superstars struggled to adjust to the noise and pressure.

Mbappé tugged at his sleeves, rubbing his palms together in anticipation, while Bellingham adjusted his armband. Tonight, he was the captain. Beside him, Vinicius jumped up and down, warming his legs as the home fans sang exuberantly.

Across the halfway line, AC Milan's Rafael Leão bounced on his toes, Christian Pulisic muttering a prayer beside him.

The atmosphere was electric, then…

FWEEEE!

The whistle cut the air.

The game started and for twenty minutes the two titans fenced. Under the roar of their fans, Madrid pressed, but Milan weathered the storm in calm triangles, until the silence shattered.

In the 43rd minute of the game, against the run of play, Theo Hernández flew down the flank in a flash of red and black, before playing in a precise cross.

BAM!

Rafael Leão met the cross with a volley that bent past Courtois.

0–1 Milan.

Silence.

The Bernabéu blinked in disbelief.

But Los Blancos didn't panic, they simply reloaded with quite fury.

They couldn't do it in the first half though as against all expectations, the first half ended with AC Milan leading despite the Los Blancos pressure.

The second half started and AC Milan became more defensive, suffocating Real Madrid's attacking patterns and preventing their superstars from shining.

But Real Madrid in the Champions league is inevitable.

In the 66th minute, Valverde thundered forward before lashing a piledriver from distance; Maignan's fingertips kept it out.

But just moments later, Jude Bellingham ghosted into the box, cushioning a cross with his chest before stabbing home with venom..

1–1.

BOOM!

The Bernabeu exploded, flares of white light springing everywhere.

That… shifted the momentum.

Madrid pressed and pressured the visitors like mad, and in the 78th minute came the inevitable. A corner was played; it was cleared, but the ball rolled to Valverde who was thirty yards out.

The Uruguayan didn't think.

POW!

He launched it like a missile.

The net bulged, and the crowd went ballistic.

[FULLTIME: Real Madrid 2-1 AC Milan]

It was a tight game, but like typical Madrid, their ruthlessness in the tournament gave them the victory.

…

England…

[Etihad Stadium — Manchester City vs Atlético Madrid]

Rain hissed over Manchester as the turf gleamed like a pristine coliseum.

Pep Guardiola stood in black like a statue, while Diego Simeone prowled in his trench coat, clapping, shouting, and grinning at the chaos he invited.

The game started and for most of the game, City monopolized the ball as their blue whirlpools of passes drew jeers from Atleti's ultras.

Their voices were drowned by the home fans though.

Despite City's dominance in the first half, the game ended goalless, but it exploded in the second half. In the 54th minute, Rayan Cherki's through ball sliced open a lane where Foden darted in, slotting in a calm side-foot finish.

1–0 City.

Diego Simeone looked unbothered.

He clapped once, barking orders at his players, and within minutes the red and white lines surged up the pitch in an effort to retaliate.

And somehow, they managed to do it as just 3 minutes later in the 57th minute, Griezmann slipped Alvarez through on the break who sliced a shot across into the bottom right corner with venom.

1–1.

The away end shook like thunder.

The game boiled as City fans roared in anxiety, the tension rising to a fever pitch. City ramped up the pressure as they hammered the Spanish visitors, but Atleti were not toothless as they countered with fangs.

Right until the 87th minute.

Jeremy Doku danced down the flank with electric pace and skill before cutting back into the box… where Haaland lurked.

BAM! GOAL!

It was a simple tap in for Haaland as the Etihad exploded.

BOOM!

2–1.

Pep exhaled, clenching a fist in celebration.

Somehow, they survived but Diego Simeone didn't look distraught. This was because the second leg would be played in their own home.

…

England…

[Stamford Bridge — Chelsea vs Napoli]

Fog rolled over West London, floodlights carving tunnels of gold through it as the Bridge pulsed with the energy of tens of thousands of fans, blue banners rippling in the stands.

The game started, and Chelsea flew out like a storm.

Palmer slipped Joao Pedro in 21 minutes in, and the Brazilian was clinical as usual as one touch, then one blast was all it took to blow Napoli open.

1–0.

Before Napoli could breathe, in the 32nd minute of the game, Estevao Willian danced inside like a marionette on strings, his movement unpredictable as he the ball on a platter to Palmer.

The Englishman finished with aplomb to make it 2–0.

Two goals in a matter of twelve minutes; Chelsea looked reborn.

But Naples never die quietly.

In the 40th minute, Kevin De Bruyne rolled back the years with a vintage play and cross that teased above the defenders, landing perfectly for Rasmus Hojlund to bury into the net to half the Chelsea lead.

2–1.

The first half ended.

When the second started, it was pure adrenaline.

Pedro Neto rattled the bar, and mere minutes later, Milinkovic-Savic, Napoli's goalkeeper saved a sure goal from Palmer.

Then, the moment came in the 75th minute and it was De Bruyne again. The Belgian maestro drove forward with the ball, and just before entering the box, he pulled back and unleashed a stunner from outside the box.

POW!

2–2.

Robert Sanchez didn't see it till the net shook.

Luciano Spalletti, Napoli's coach went mad on the touchline at the equalizer, celebrating exuberantly as Enzo Maresca threw his water bottle away in anger.

From then, Chelsea swarmed Napoli. They tried but it didn't matter as they defended with their lives; the game ended level.

Chelsea got no advantage progressing to the second leg.

…

Portugal…

[Estádio José Alvalade — Sporting CP vs Ajax]

In Lisbon, Portugal was a whole different scenario.

The Estadio Jose Alvalade glowed emerald. Here, there were no billion-euro squads. Here was just youth, hunger, and noise, lots of it.

The game started, and Sporting pressed like their lives depended on it.

Hjulmand sliced through the middle with the ball, nutmegged an Ajax one and slipped it to Francisco Trincao leading to the first goal inside ten minutes. Ajax hit back through Berghuis, who stunned the stadium with a rocket equalizer.

But Sporting smelled blood, and they chased.

Just before halftime, Francisco Trincao made it 2 with a crazy solo run as he danced through three defenders before wrong-footing the goalkeeper and calmly slotting into the bottom right corner.

The finish was cold, and the roar that followed it was thunderous.

Trincao wasn't finished yet though as he exploded again late on in the 86th minute, curling a beauty in to seal the game and make it a hattrick.

Lisbon lost its mind.

Tonight would be remembered as the Francisco Trincao night.

[FULLTIME: Sporting 3-1 Ajax]

…

And with that, the storm of Wednesday Champions league night came to an end in satisfying fashion for football fans around the world.

It took place in four cities.

Four battles were fought, yet one soundtrack played, the iconic soundtrack of the UEFA Champions League.

Madrid's crowd were caught in camera singing. "Hasta el final!"

In Manchester, Pep clenched his fists in the rain as he waved at the fans for their support. While in London, De Bruyne's celebration stole the show as even Chelsea fans were forced to applaud the premier league legend.

In Lisbon, Trincao's name was sang just for one night as green flares painted the night in emerald hues.

On TV, commentators across languages overlapped into chaos as the storm of Wednesday cascaded.

"Golazo de Valverde!"

"Haaland otra vez!"

"De Bruyne magico!"

"Sporting vence, Sporting sonha!"

Drums, horns, fireworks, and sirens lit up Europe, burning bright under the Champions League anthem's echo.

And when the noise finally fell away, one image remained on every broadcast, the silver trophy gleaming under UEFA lights.

The hunt for glory was on.