Become A Football Legend Chapter 386: Goalkeeper Hates Him

The game settled after that.

City continued monopolizing possession, Wolves dropping deeper and deeper into a compact back five as they desperately tried to avoid further damage. Bernardo Silva and Nico González dictated the tempo from midfield while Lukas constantly drifted between the lines, always available, always demanding the ball, forcing the Wolves midfield to make uncomfortable decisions every time possession entered the final third.

The home side barely crossed the halfway line.

When they finally did, it almost produced something

It happened in the 85th minute.

Bernardo Silva attempted an ambitious pass through midfield that João Gomes anticipated perfectly, stepping in to intercept before immediately releasing Marshall Munetsi into open grass.

"Wolves have numbers here..."

Munetsi charged forward with Strand Larsen making a supporting run through the middle.

Lukas reacted instantly.

Rather than jogging back, he exploded into a full sprint, chasing Munetsi for nearly forty yards. Just as the Zimbabwean prepared to slip the decisive through ball into Strand Larsen’s path, Lukas launched himself into a perfectly timed slide.

His leading foot nicked the ball cleanly away.

The follow-through clipped Munetsi’s shin.

The referee waved play on.

"Excellent tackle!"

Lukas was already back on his feet.

One glance.

Cherki was free.

He fired the pass into the Frenchman’s stride and Manchester City were suddenly flying the other way with four blue shirts flooding forward.

Cherki drove straight through the middle before sliding possession wide to Marmoush on the left.

Marmoush attacked the box, waited for the defender to commit, then drilled a low cut-back toward Haaland near the penalty spot.

The Norwegian shaped to shoot...

Then heard a shout behind him.

"Leave!"

Without even looking, Haaland stepped over the ball.

It rolled perfectly toward the edge of the D.

Lukas arrived at full speed.

First time.

Right foot.

The strike curled beautifully toward the top corner, so perfectly placed that Lukas barely moved after hitting it.

He knew.

Everyone knew.

Except José Sá apparently had other ideas.

The goalkeeper launched himself one final time, stretching every inch of his frame to fingertip the ball onto the crossbar.

The stadium collectively gasped.

"No way!"

"José Sá has done it again! That is another extraordinary save!"

The rebound bounced toward the right side of the area where Cherki calmly cushioned it with his chest. Matt Doherty rushed out to close him down, but the Frenchman shifted the ball onto his left foot with one sharp touch, opened his body and bent a glorious finish into the far bottom corner beyond the stranded goalkeeper.

GOAL!

Wolves 0-4 Manchester City.

Cherki wheeled away grinning as Lukas was the first to reach him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders before Haaland, Bernardo Silva and the rest of the City players joined the celebration.

As they jogged back toward the halfway line, Haaland couldn’t help laughing.

"I swear José Sá has something against you. Are you sure you didn’t steal his lunch before the game?"

Lukas laughed, shaking his head.

"I honestly have no idea. At this point I think he just enjoys ruining my highlights."

Even Cherki chuckled.

"If he keeps saving your shots like that," the Frenchman said, "I’m happy to keep scoring the rebounds."

90+3’

Manchester City weren’t interested in simply seeing the game out.

Five minutes of stoppage time had been added, yet Guardiola’s side continued circulating possession with the same patience and hunger they had shown from the opening whistle. Wolves had long since accepted defeat, their defensive block camped around the edge of their own penalty area, but City kept probing for one final opening.

It eventually came down the right.

Cherki received possession wide against Hugo Bueno, immediately squaring the full-back up. One stepover. Then another. His shoulders dipped one way before the ball disappeared the other, and with a sudden burst of acceleration he knocked it down the touchline, forcing Bueno into a desperate chase. Just as the defender expected the cross, Cherki shaped his entire body toward the penalty area...

...then stopped.

Bueno committed.

Cherki calmly rolled the ball backward instead, finding Lukas arriving just outside the D.

The pass travelled perfectly into his stride.

Lukas raised his left foot as though he intended to cushion the ball before shooting, and André took the bait completely, launching himself toward the anticipated first touch.

Only...

There wasn’t one.

At the very last moment Lukas pulled his foot away, opening his body and allowing the ball to roll untouched straight across his path.

André slid harmlessly past him.

Behind Lukas, Omar Marmoush had timed his run to perfection.

The Egyptian didn’t hesitate.

First time.

Low.

Precise.

Bottom-left corner.

José Sá finally had no answer.

GOAL!

"Manchester City put a 5th past Wolves."

"A beautiful dummy! Absolute genius from Lukas Brandt!"

"The awareness! He never even touches the football! Every defender in orange bites on the fake touch, and Marmoush has the simplest finish he’ll score all season. Manchester City have completely dismantled Wolves this afternoon."

Marmoush sprinted toward the travelling supporters before turning back to point both hands at Lukas, who simply smiled and applauded his teammate as the rest of the squad crowded around them.

"You finally got one," Cherki laughed, wrapping an arm around Lukas’s shoulders.

Lukas grinned.

"Half of one."

"I’ll give you the whole assist."

A few moments later, the final whistle echoed around Molineux.

Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-5 Manchester City.

A statement victory.

Haaland’s brace had set the tone, Reijnders had added another before halftime, Cherki had marked his Premier League debut with a goal, Marmoush completed the rout in stoppage time, and although Lukas left the pitch officially with just one assist, everyone who had watched the match knew he could easily have walked away with a goal and three or four assists had it not been for José Sá’s extraordinary afternoon.

Pep Guardiola waited near the touchline as his players walked off.

When Lukas approached, the manager smiled before pulling him briefly into a hug.

"Don’t worry," Pep said quietly. "Next time you’ll get your goal. Today you were excellent."

Lukas smiled back.

"I’ll keep working."

"I know you will."

Erling Haaland was announced as the official Man of the Match after scoring twice, earning warm applause from both sets of supporters as he accepted the award before jogging over to join his teammates in front of the away end.

The Manchester City players lined up shoulder to shoulder, clapping the travelling fans who had made the journey to Wolverhampton, scarves waving proudly above their heads after watching their team open the league campaign in emphatic fashion.

On the commentary gantry, Peter Drury leaned back in his chair as the cameras followed Lukas applauding the supporters alongside Cherki.

"Cherki leaves his Premier League debut with a goal and an assist to his name and another brilliant performance to remember. Lukas Brandt didn’t get a goal contribution today, but statistics don’t always tell the full story. Twice José Sá denied him spectacularly, once from his own curling effort and once from a sublime chipped pass that deserved a finish. If today is any indication, Manchester City have acquired a wonderfully gifted footballer. The numbers may not have arrived yet, but I suspect they won’t be waiting much longer."

Beside him, his co-commentator nodded.

"Tottenham at the Etihad next, then Brighton away before the international break. There’ll be plenty more opportunities."