Harbinger Of Glory

The ball seemed like it would hit the back of the net until Sportiello somehow got a hand to it, pushing it away and over as Leo came to a stop with a surprised look on his face.

”Not his day in front of goal,” the commentator said.

”Every effort Leo Calderon has made today, and there have been several, would have found the net on most other days, but the goalkeeper, the woodwork and something has been against him every time.”

Leo didn’t dwell on the chance any longer, though.

He jogged back slowly and was already organising, pointing his teammates away from the box and then positioning himself further out to cover the counter should the corner come to nothing, which it did.

AC Milan cleared it comfortably and pushed forward with the urgency of a side that had one eye on the clock and one eye on the scoreboard and didn’t like what either of them was showing.

They came in waves now, the pressure building like a team chasing a deficit instead of trying to control it.

In response to that, Wigan dropped deeper, squeezing whatever space they had left in their half.

As this went on, a failed Milan ball found Leo under pressure.

Three Milan players converged on him all at once.

It looked like they would win the ball, but for those who knew Leo, this was no less than a walk in the park.

Seeing the onrushing cavalry, he made them believe the notion that he was going to pass.

Just enough for all three of them to read it and adjust, just for him to also adjust and drag the ball back.

Before they could wrap their heads around what he was trying to do, the three of them went past him while he went through the gap that he had created with the cryuff turn.

The Inter fans made a noise that was completely disproportionate to the number of them in the stadium.

Leo, after slipping away, found Ricci holding the midfield line waiting, but he burst past him without a single hesitation and immediately found Reyes between the lines before spinning off again, already demanding the return pass with urgency.

Reyes didn’t keep him waiting too long and slipped the ball into the space ahead of Leo just as Thiaw stepped across and reached it first, but only barely.

His touch wasn’t clean enough to kill the danger. I

Instead, it spilt forward into open grass, and Leo stretched every inch of himself to nick it away before the Milan defender could recover.

The touch carried him through, and now the San Siro was rising.

Thiaw grabbed for him from behind and got nothing but a brush of fabric as Leo surged clear, the ball still close enough to his stride to stay under control while Sportiello exploded off his line.

”It could be three here for Wigan,” the commentator shouted, the restraint finally leaving his voice.

But Leo had one more obstacle in Gabbia, who came flying across from the right, desperate to shut the door before it slammed fully open.

Despite being caught off guard, Leo reacted well and touched the ball through the smallest gap imaginable, threading it between Gabbia’s sliding leg while somehow keeping his own balance after the latter tried holding him.

And suddenly it was chaos.

Sportiello hurled himself forward only to have Leo drag the ball right at the last possible second.

The keeper went skidding past him and across the turf, hands clawing at empty air, while the entire stadium gasped as one, with one half ready to celebrate.

But Milan still wasn’t dead.

Behind the play, Thiaw had recovered.

Somehow.

The defender threw himself toward the goal line in a last-ditch slide, committing everything to the clearance before the shot even came, and Leo saw it.

Instead of panicking, instead of rushing the finish, he stopped, just for a heartbeat as Thiaw slid straight through the space where the ball should’ve been.

Behind Leo, Sportiello lunged again from the ground, and now bodies were flying everywhere.

The Milan keeper almost got a touch to the ball, only for Leo to cut it back in the direction Sportiello was coming from before he waited for both of them to disappear past the play.

Then he rolled the ball calmly into the empty net, and for half a second, the San Siro lost its mind before the commentary found itself again inside the noise.

”THREE ONE. LEO CALDERON HAS JUST TAKEN AC MILAN APART. LOOK AT THIS STADIUM. LOOK AT THIS REACTION. THIS IS ABSOLUTE BEDLAM INSIDE THE SAN SIRO.”

Leo was already gone, sliding toward the corner flag with both arms spread while the sound crashed down from every side of the stadium at once.

Even sections that had spent the afternoon trying not to enjoy what they were watching couldn’t help themselves anymore.

The Inter supporters behind the goal erupted completely, jumping over rows, grabbing strangers, screaming a name they didn’t even know.

His teammates stormed after him.

And through all of it, Leo lifted his head towards where he thought the VIP box was.

Like he’d known exactly where to look the entire time.

Then he pointed toward it.

And blew a kiss.

Gianna had already turned toward Vittoria before he even did it, waiting for the explosion she was certain was coming.

But Vittoria wasn’t shouting.

She was just sitting there smiling helplessly, both hands pressed lightly against her cheeks as she stared down toward the pitch with the kind of expression people get when something has completely slipped beyond their control.

Whatever composure she had left disappeared entirely, feeling all fuzzy and all warm.

Gianna looked at her.

Then, at Leo below, buried beneath blue shirts and San Siro noise.

Then back at Vittoria again.

......

”Who are you blowing the kiss to? Or have you also decided to copy by celebration?” Reyes asked as Leo got up from under the pile, but the latter didn’t say anything, though when he met Carlo’s gaze, the latter just smiled before looking away as they walked back to their half, possibly the winners of the clash.