Chapter 576: A Certain Task!

"And that is full time here at the DW Stadium," the commentator said came in at the right register as the away fans made their joy clear with their celebrations.

"Manchester City win it three goals to Wigan’s two. Wigan Athletic suffer their first defeat of the Premier League season after sixteen matchdays, and it took Erling Haaland coming off the bench with a few minutes remaining to produce it."

On the pitch, the tension that had followed them through the final stages of the match was finally gone, replaced by the relief of a team that had been pushed much harder than expected and had still found a way to win.

Haaland stood near the centre of the group, surrounded by teammates as the City supporters behind the goal celebrated with them.

The home side, on the other hand, stood loosely, with most of the players bent over or kneeling while they watched the away side celebrate the victory.

Dawson watched it all with a sigh before turning, but the Wigan manager had barely stepped away from his technical area when Pep reached him, extending his hand.

"You really don’t make it easy," Pep said.

Dawson took his hand and gave him a tired smile.

"It was never meant to be."

Pep nodded and held Dawson’s hand for another second before letting go.

"Keep it up," he said. "You’re going right to the top."

Dawson nodded and then bowed slightly.

"Thank you."

The two managers exchanged one last look before Pep turned to his players and Dawson headed to his own side of the pitch, and all this while, the broadcast camera stayed on them.

"Old meets new on the touchline," the commentator said.

"Pep Guardiola, one of the most established managers this league has ever seen, and Dawson, one of its youngest, sharing a moment after what has been a fascinating game."

His co-commentator hummed in agreement beside him before taking over.

"And I think that handshake says quite a lot. Dawson has really started to define what this Wigan side is about. They’re brave. They’re aggressive with the ball.

They adapt, and they don’t sit back and wait for better teams to make mistakes. They go after them, and they also like to possess the ball too! A very good side with an enticing style of play when they get going."

"They certainly did that today."

The replay of Haaland’s winning goal appeared on the screen, and the commentator allowed the footage to play for a moment before continuing.

"Let’s talk about Wigan, though, because the obvious question is what went wrong for them."

"I don’t think much did," the co-commentator replied as the main commentator laughed softly.

"That’s a fair answer."

"They played their game. They stayed compact when they needed to, they pressed when the opportunity was there, and they created enough to give themselves a chance. The difference was Erling Haaland."

"That finish is ridiculous," the co-commentator continued.

"There aren’t many players in the world who can take that chance and execute it the way he did. The technique, the speed of the finish and the fact he had Amos set and still managed to put it beyond him."

"And that’s the frustrating part for Wigan," the commentator said.

"Give that same chance to almost anyone else, and you’re probably looking at a save. Amos had played well enough to make one. But Haaland doesn’t need much."

"Exactly. That’s individual brilliance. Something that Wigan lacked today with the players that they were missing. And

I don’t do ifs and maybes, but just for today, just maybe if Calderon and Man City’s own Carlo Regutti were playing, we would have been looking at a different scoreline and perhaps a different result!"

As the two spoke, the broadcast camera slowly crept and moved away from the pitch towards the stands, and it found none other than Leo.

He stood alone near the glass of the upper tier, one arm resting against it as he watched the players below.

The disappointment was difficult to read from the distance, but one could imagine the pang of it that he was feeling.

"There he is," the commentator said after realising the feed. Leo Calderon watching on from the stands."

The camera stayed on him for another few seconds.

"Twelve goals and 5 assists as a midfielder and a deep-lying one at that. I just don’t know how he does it. He’s been an enormous contribution to this Wigan side’s start to the season, and he’ll have watched this one closely."

As they went on, someone behind Leo appeared to tap him on the shoulder, causing him to turn.

Whatever was said was lost beneath the noise of the stadium.

He gave a brief response, pushed himself away from the glass and followed the person out of view while the camera moved back toward the pitch.

Below, the players were beginning to disappear down the tunnel.

"Sixteen matchdays," the commentator said. "Fifteen games unbeaten, but now one defeat for Wigan Athletic."

The co-commentator glanced down at his notes as he nodded.

"And their first defeat comes at home. Against Manchester City, with Erling Haaland coming off the bench to decide it."

’

There was a short pause as the final images of the stadium filled the broadcast.

"What a run it has been for Wigan. One loss doesn’t change that, and I am certain that they’ll be back stronger after the international break that is to follow in a few days."

"It was a pleasure hosting you folks," the commentator said, almost with a smile in his voice.

"But we leave it here. Good evening, and I hope you all have a good night too."

......

"That was a good showing," Spalletti muttered as the town of Wigan whisked by.

"Yeah," Pirlo replied but sat quietly, as if gathering his thoughts.

In front of them, Marco sat with the driver, laughing and seemingly enjoying the latter’s good company.

Spalletti smiled at that and shook his head, but he had barely looked away when a hand poked him.

"That task, I’ll take it!"

He turned and found Pirlo resolutely boring holes into him with his eyes, and that made Spalletti smile more.

"You already had it," he replied as Pirlo, recovering his expression, nodded and leaned back into the chair.