Murano celebrated his goal by sprinting toward the corner flag. His teammates chased after him, their joy apparent. He formed a heart shape with his hands—the iconic Di Maria celebration.
On the other side...
"27 seconds!" Neru said. "That's all it took him to score!""
"It's hopeless. How do we even stop this guy!?" Wakatsuki wailed.
"Sorry guys, I couldn't stop him," Aiku said, looking defeated.
"Aiku, we can't complain if even you couldn't stop him." Sou consoled Aiku.
"Yeah, that really goes to show he's that good," Aiku responded.
"If you can't score a goal of this caliber like Murano, then this is all you can amount to. Forget about surpassing Murano or me." Sae said to Rin.
A tense silence followed, broken only by Sae's sharp voice.
"Watch me, I'll score a better goal than him," Rin declared.
"If we lose this match, the members of the U-20 will have their positions hijacked by Blue Lock, right? Well, not that I care," Sae said, looking relaxed.
"We won't let it end like this," Neru said.
"Yeah, use me more, Sae," Kozato demanded.
"Pass to me," Rin told them.
"Yeah! Let's catch up before halftime," Fukaku, the goalkeeper, said.
"So you're finally feeling the pressure, you damn pushovers," Sae said.
"Let's go, you guys. Think of these last minutes in the first half as though they're all we have left." Aiku said, looking fired up.
___
"12 minutes left in the first half! There's still more time for action. But now that it's the U-20 attacking, will the Blue Lock Eleven be able to starve off the U-20's offense and close the first half in the lead?!" Natsui, the co-commentator, yelled.
The match started as Rin passed the ball to Sae. Wanting to equalize the score, even the left and right backs (defenders) joined the attack as they were charging on their flanks.
Sae made a splitting-through ball that would cut through Murano and Shidou's positions to find Haru Hayate.
With the ball at Haru's feet, he was soon approached by Hiori and Reo in the middle third.
Not seeing an opening to cut through, Haru decided to pass the ball to Kozato.
Reo lunges in, and his left outstretched leg blocks the ball, deflecting the ball.
The deflected ball would find its way to Wakatsuki, who was there to pick up the ball.
He intercepted the loose ball and launched a pinpoint cross to Sae.
For the next six minutes, they utilized the entire width of the pitch to penetrate Blue Lock's half of the pitch. Their wing-backs made several runs and unleashed several crosses that gave the Blue Lock defenders a hard time.
Itoshi Sae once again sent a curling through-pass into the attacking third. Rin made a run behind the defenders, latched on to the ball, and immediately raised his foot to take a shot towards the goal.
But Rin had someone else to bypass—Ikki Niko, the watchtower.
Nikko, noticing that Rin was disregarding him and about to take a shot, made an aggressive sliding challenge, sending Rin tumbling to the ground. The referee blew his whistle for a foul.
Rin winked as he watched the referee make a quick call and point to the spot.
"Sorry guys! There was no other way to stop him than to bring him to the ground!" Niko said as he looked dejected.
"It's fine I won't let him score!" Gagamaru said, reassuring Niko.
The center-back, Niko, had denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to the U-20 team, an offense punishable with a free kick. He was instantly given a yellow card.
Rin was the one taking the free kick since it was near the penalty box, a very dangerous position.
As a Blue Lock player, they knew Rin would try to score from the set-piece.
Otherwise, Rin and his teammates were in for one hell of a match-ending since they were behind in the score.
However, the goddess of luck did not seem to be on their side. Rin sent an unstoppable freekick curling into the right side of the goal.
Yet Murano was there to kick it out as he foresaw that, practically assisting Gagamaru and saving Blue Lock from conceding right before halftime.
But who did the ball go to?
Fate is a cruel jester with a twisted sense of humor.
The rebound fell perfectly for Chigiri...
The counter-attack was on.
He launched himself forward in a mad dash, then unleashed a cross that found Nagi.
Nagi gracefully trapped the ball, then unleashed a power shot that went past the goalkeeper, bringing the score to 3-1.
Pi!
Pii!!
Piiii!!!
"Blue Lock have held out! The first half is over!! An upset victory in the first half! Japan, sear it into your eyes! This is Blue Lock!!" The commentator yelled.
U-20 Japan Nation Team vs. Blue Lock Eleven
Minute 45' +2
U-20 Japan 1-3 Blue Lock