Chapter 41: Second Half – Rhythm and Ruin
The second half began without ceremony. No fireworks. No music. Just the whistle, sharp and final, and the rolling hum of eighty minutes left in Lyon’s lungs.
The crowd hadn’t softened. But the tone had shifted. First-half swagger gave way to anxious volume. They’d seen the shift. They just didn’t want to believe it.
Demien stood now.
Not pacing. Not gesturing.
Just standing. Arms behind his back. Shoulders square. The coat was gone, left folded on the bench. His eyes locked to the rhythm building in front of him.
Giuly clapped once, sharp and quick, then broke into a sprint to chase a loose Lyon backpass. Rothen mirrored the angle from the left. Zikos tucked into the half-space between Edmilson and Juninho. The press didn’t explode—it suffocated. Slowly. Meticulously.
Lyon tried to break with tempo.
Juninho pushed a pass past Cissé and surged forward.
Forty-eight minutes in, he got his moment.
A touch out wide. A yard of space. Then the whip of a free-kick curled flat and low toward the near post.
Roma moved late—but his hands were ready.