Chapter 662: Let-Off [Month Bonus]

Seeing his teammate stuck on the spot, Reyes had spotted the opportunity and was already moving towards the left channel.

He came across from his central position, offering Carlo a passing option.

And when he spotted it, Carlo turned away from Walker and slipped the ball towards him.

But the pass had more weight than Reyes expected.

Matheus Nunes had stepped up behind the midfielder, moving close enough to challenge him as soon as the ball arrived.

For a split second, Nunes appeared ready to collect it himself, but with a subtle hop, Reyes adjusted his stride.

Nunes reacted, trying to get in the way of the ball, only to realise Reyes’s touch on the ball, deflecting the ball right past his leg and already moving into the space behind him was Henderson.

"Ohhh, that’s clever from Reyes," the commentary called as the DW Stadium responded with a noticeable rise in volume, with it getting louder as Henderson took possession in space.

"Henderson, now in space on a first Wigan attack!"

The midfielder had time to look up and did.

Jake had begun dropping away from City’s defensive line, moving into the gap between midfield and defence.

Without hesitation, Henderson found him with a firm pass through the middle, but Jake controlled the ball and immediately returned it.

Then as quickly as he’d dropped out of the lines, Jake dipped back into it, and Henderson didn’t take another touch.

Instead, he opened his body and sent the ball across the pitch towards the right flank instead of towards Jake like most were expecting, and there, Ezra was waiting.

The winger brought it under control and looked directly at Nathan Aké, who reached across to cover after being caught out, but Ezra never let him settle.

He pushed the ball forward with his right foot, shifted his weight and drove towards the outside.

Aké moved across to block the route, but Ezra quickly changed direction, cutting back inside before pushing the ball beyond him.

He had beaten the defender.

"Ezra’s got past Aké! He’s got a bit of room here!"

The winger took another touch towards the byline before lifting his head.

There were bodies inside the penalty area, and he wasted little time sending the cross towards them.

"Good delivery into the box! Can someone get their head on it?"

Jake spotted the ball and instantly began moving.

He tried to find a gap between Manuel Akanji and John Stones, but the two defenders closed around him.

Akanji made first contact with his shoulder, while Stones positioned himself on Jake’s other side, sandwiching him in between, but Jake still managed to rise.

The cross came down towards him, and he met it with his forehead under pressure.

However, the two defenders had made the challenge difficult.

His header lacked the direction needed to trouble the goalkeeper, and in the next instant, the ball glanced wide of the post.

Ortega had already moved across his goal, but watched it pass harmlessly beyond him.

"Just wide! Jake got something on it, but he couldn’t quite direct it towards goal."

A groan emanated from the stands behind the goal, but it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

The Wigan supporters applauded as Jake landed and picked himself up.

Ezra, on the other hand, turned towards him, offering a quick thumbs-up before jogging back into position.

It wasn’t a clear-cut chance, but it was something.

More importantly, it had forced City to defend.

The game opened up a little after that.

Wigan began moving the ball with greater purpose, although City were increasingly comfortable finding their own openings after having their door knocked upon.

The visitors started using the space behind Wigan’s midfield, drawing the home side forward before moving the ball quickly into dangerous areas, and slowly, their quality began to show.

Foden drifted inside and helped City work the ball towards the left, and that eventually ended up in Grealish receiving near the edge of the penalty area, with Darikwa backing away to prevent him from cutting inside.

The latter stood stubbornly refusing to give an inch, but Grealish eventually found a way to deliver.

He shaped his body and sent a low ball across the box, looking for Haaland arriving between the defenders, but a Wigan shirt got in the way, and the ball broke towards Grealish again.

He adjusted quickly and struck it, but it never looked to trouble Ben Amos, who grasped it comfortably.

The goalkeeper dropped slightly and caught the effort in front of him, holding on without giving City a rebound.

"Comfortable enough for Amos. Grealish found a little opening there, but the Wigan goalkeeper dealt with it."

With that one, Manchester City continued to probe.

Kovacic began finding more room in front of Wigan’s midfield, allowing the visitors to move the ball from one side to the other while Bernardo Silva’s movement pulled players out of position, giving Foden the chance to appear in those pockets of space that were left.

Wigan were having to work harder and managed to keep City away from the most dangerous areas for a while, but the visitors were gradually getting closer.

Then, in the thirty-seventh minute, they nearly found the breakthrough.

After Wigan had pushed their defensive line higher, attempting to squeeze City around the halfway line, it broke for the away side.

Their move looked promising until Kovacic intercepted the ball and found a way through the pressure.

In the next moment, one pass took Wigan’s midfield out of the equation and another sent Haaland racing beyond the defence.

The Norwegian striker had timed his run perfectly.

"Oh no. Wigan have been caught off here! It’s just him and Amos now. The Wigan defence is left scrambling!"

He broke into the open space, collected the ball and drove towards goal with Amos coming out to meet him.

For a moment, the stadium seemed to hold its breath, watching Haaland through.

With the latter at the helm, it was almost as sure as a goal as death in life.

Amos advanced, spreading himself as the striker approached the penalty area, looking to make himself as big as he could to cover his angles.

Haaland, though, took one final touch to set the ball onto his stronger foot before striking across the goalkeeper.

He had beaten Amos.......

But not the post.

The ball crashed against the upright and bounced away from goal, sending the players scrambling to get to the ball first.

"OFF THE POST!"

The City supporters behind the goal had already risen to celebrate.

Several remained standing, hands on their heads, as the rebound rolled away from danger.

"Oh, what an opportunity! Haaland has gone clean through; he’s beaten the goalkeeper, but he can’t find the finish! Wigan have had an enormous let-off!"

Haaland slowed his run and looked back towards the post, surprised by how he’d missed that effort.

Amos, meanwhile, was already shouting at his defenders.

He pointed towards the space behind them, demanding that they move up together next time.

Whatmough and Darikwa exchanged a quick look before retreating into position.