A Game of Football, at its Finest.

1:00 A.M.

That’s the time I notice as I hold both my hands on my head as Kepa skies his penalty out of the stadium. I could’ve screamed, of course I did it in my head, chose otherwise considering the time.

Let’s rewind 3 hours.

10:00 P.M – Kick Off.

A Game of Football starts between two colours that emulate polar opposites, Red and Blue. The all guns blazing, free scoring, in form Liverpool in Red and the solid, composed, yet effervescent Chelsea in Blue.

The League Cup Final is usually one that is not given much importance, it wasn’t even broadcast on Television, but the two teams did not drop a single sliver of quality. The absolute epitome of A Game of Football.

In the backdrop of a war, this was something to take our minds off of such a horrid situation yet somehow, both on and off the pitch, this game was played for the people of Ukraine. Make of that what you will.

In a surprising twist however, it was the composed team in Blue who flew off the blocks from the start and the team in Red were playing catch up. There are some games which you know right from the start that it’ll be a boring, long, drawn out with very few chances. There are some which starts off well but fades out after a bit. There are some which will be consistent throughout and some others which will be helter skelter. And all of these I usually can feel in my heart after a few minutes on seeing the match. If it’s boring I’ll be on my phone, if it’s interesting I wouldn’t touch it. From the first minute of this game, my heart felt swell. I knew right then it was going to be a cracker.

Chelsea made Liverpool work for the first 20 minutes and had great opportunities to score first. Could not convert. Liverpool took over for the next 20 and they had an even better opportunity. Were it not for Chelsea’s keeper, Mendy, the Blues would’ve surely been picking the ball from their net. This was an all out battle between two German tacticians, two of the best coaches in the world right now, and there was absolutely nothing to separate them.

10:47 P.M – Half Time.

11:02 P.M – Second Half.

Once again, Chelsea came rapid off the blocks and looked even more menacing than before. Created so many opportunities but once again could not convert a single one. Liverpool had scored, but had it rightly ruled out. Like a boxing match, it went from one side to the other and both parties traded blows one after the other, both holding their own.

Where the attacking side was lacking, the defensive side made up for. It was exhilarating to watch, neither side cracked and it stayed 0-0 even after the full 90 minutes plus the additional time.

11:55 P.M. – Full Time.

11:58 P.M – Extra Time.

Fatigue kicked in here and the players were visibly tired. In a Game of Football, it is always short moments of high octane intense quality which is followed by some period of low octane laid back quality. This, however, was pretty much high octane throughout. Even the commentators struggled to keep up. Chelsea scored this time and was ruled out again, this time by the most infinitely small line of offside which personally felt like a terribly wrong call. (Granted, I am a Chelsea fan and I’d naturally say this. But I’m usually objective and will accept decisions when they’re right) Few more blows were traded yet it still remained 0-0 to the end. Someone, sometime ago, once said, “A perfect Game of Football will always be 0-0.” I thought to myself, can’t we just share the trophy here? It was almost a perfect game, both the sides should’ve been able to share the spoils. This is football however, there can only be one winner. On it went to penalties. The penalty expert, Kepa, substituted the No.1 Goalie in the world, Mendy, as had often been done by Chelsea in the past. It had always worked.

12:32 A.M – End of Extra Time.

12:40 A.M – Penalties.

Penalties are never fair. It’s always the luckier team that prevails. On a night where luck was at a premium for the Blues, the writing was slightly on the wall. Not a single penalty was saved. Even the penalty expert had no answer. 1-1, 3-3, 5-5, 7-7, 9-9, 10-10. Every outfield player scored their penalties and it was upto the goalies themselves to add to that tally. The young Red goalie, Kelleher, smashed his one in with finesse and had his confidence boosted. Kepa, with the weight of his entire team and the entire world of Blues fans, could not compose himself enough and blasted the football sky high. This time it didn’t work, the penalty expert had finally failed. It ended 11-10 to Liverpool and the match, with its never ending intricate twists and turns and many little narratives, the details of which would make this an essay, had ended. I was left with both my hands on my head, but I was left wanting more. A rollercoaster game which had me going through the emotions, celebrating 3 times and then had it all come crash down when it was ruled out. Perhaps the better team lost, but I was proud of my team for the mammoth shift they put in to make an absolutely beautiful Game of Football. Sure it stings, but nobody could’ve genuinely asked for anything more from the team, they gave it their all. That’s Football for you, sometimes it will hurt you, sometimes it will give you pure joy. It will always be a steady mix of this whenever, wherever. And that’s why I love this beautiful Game.

1:00 A.M – A Game of Football, at its Finest.