Chapter 4: Again And Again

Axel believed that he would be able to get another chance to provide an assist in the first half, Wolves didn't seem to be as strong as he expected from what he had seen so far but despite that, things weren't going the way he wanted.

Manchester City were two goals up now and that was a good thing but Axel was still a bit salty about how that goal happened.

That second goal happened in the twenty-eight minute when the ball was dragged back to him by Merino after a failed attempt to get into the box.

The midfielder was just a few distance away from the edge of the box when the ball got to him and just after pushing it forward a little, he lobbed it toward the left in an attempt to find Peterson.

The winger had just one man on him so he was able to get his head on the ball but his attempt ended up hitting the post before coming back to him and this time he did not miss.

He put it into the goalpost through the goalkeeper's legs and that doubled their lead.

The fans quickly got up from their seats screaming at the top of their voices as the winger raced to the sideline pointing at Axel who had to quickly make his way to him along with his teammates.

"They're two goals up, looks like it's going to be another loss for Wolves at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester City are just dominating this game so far."

Peterson was hugging Axel near the sidelines now and although the midfielder had a bright smile on his face, something else was going on inside his mind.

'Could you have just not put that away with the header? First it was Tacky, now it's you and it's not like Merino is the most reliable player when it comes to finishing.'

"Both of Manchester City's goals came from chances created by Axel David, those could have been his assists but his teammates couldn't finish directly." Tony expressed. "He really has that Kevin De Brunye touch if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I can see it but many players have been termed the next Kevin De Brunye in the past and none of them really lived up to the expectation, is Axel any different?"

The match had to continue after all the celebration and now that Wolves were two goals down, they started to put a bit more effort in their back.

None of their players were moving that up front anymore and they were just passing the ball around in their own half but maybe it was all part of their tactics.

Either way, keeping the ball mostly in their half wasn't exactly the brightest idea because Manchester City were starting to get aggressive with the way they were chasing the ball.

The away team were starting to get overwhelmed now and that forced them to start moving the ball up front.

Fran got hold of the ball down the middle and quickly sent it rolling to his teammate down the right, Axel was close to the area at that moment and quickly moved closer to the player to try and take the ball off his feet but the player ended up putting him to the floor with a knee to the face.

"Oh, come on." The youngster groaned before crashing to the floor with both of his hands on his face. "That stings."

He was expecting the referee to blow his whistle but that sound just never came.

"Axel is on the floor but the referee allows play to continue."

"Seriously." Axel sighed inwardly but just before he could say anything out of context he saw the ball rolling toward him.

'Sweet.' He thought before quickly springing up from the floor.

He got his foot on the ball before Fran could get to him and quickly dashed forward with it.

He had a lot of space to run down the middle but he had Fran right behind him and a lot of other players coming in hot so he quickly sent the ball flying toward Merino down the right.

"Manchester City are back with the ball now and they're quickly advancing forward with it!"

Merino had a player right in front of him but he was able to get past him with a neat body feint and now he was racing down the wing with a lot of space to cover.

"Merino's through, this could be their chance to triple their lead."

The winger raced toward the box with a lot of players right behind him and some of them waiting for him near the edge of the box, but he had a plan.

He got to the edge of the box, and just before any of the defenders could try to take the ball from him, he pushed a little to the left and sent it rolling to Axel.

The midfielder was alone now because almost all the opposing players behind him had just rushed past him to get closer to the box and now he was in a good position with the ball, a good enough position to try a shot.

'Might as well just give it a try.' He sighed inwardly before he gave the ball a push with his left foot and quickly fired it toward the goalpost with his right foot.

"Axel!"

He placed the ball toward the top right-hand corner of the goalpost and that would have been the best goal of the game but the goalkeeper was able to get to it on time and punch it over the bar with both of his gloves.

"Oh, what a save from Henderson!" Tony exclaimed. "Well-placed strike from Axel but he came through for his team to make sure they didn't go three goals behind."

"And now they have a corner kick to deal with, the first corner kick of the game," Mike commented.

'Maybe I should have gone for the left with that, my accuracy would have been more on point, I guess thinking outside the box doesn't work all the time.' The youngster said inwardly before taking a step toward the edge of the box.

He had his gaze on the kick-off spot on the right where Merino was standing over the ball now.

It didn't take long before the sound of the referee's whistle pierced through the air, and as soon as the winger heard it, he quickly sent the ball flying in.

He was aiming for Tacky in the middle of the box but there were two defenders on him and one of them ended up nodding the ball back.

Axel was there to stop the ball from going back any further, he brought the ball down with his chest before quickly pushing it back with a back heel pass before the defender in front of him could get to him.

Pedro was right behind him to get his foot on the ball and without hesitation, the midfielder fired the ball toward the right side of the goalpost with a little bit of elevation.

"Pedro!"

The ball ended up hitting one of the opposing players in the area before bouncing off to the right.

"Oh, it's blocked."

Merino popped up from nowhere to get his foot on the ball and just before the opposing players around the area could get to him, he fired the ball toward the top right-hand side of the goalpost.

There was nothing the goalkeeper could do besides watching the ball smash into the net.

"What a beautiful strike! They finally have that third goal!" Tony exclaimed as the winger took off to the side screaming at the top of his voice with his teammates right behind him.

'You have to be kidding me.'