Leo burst through the gap he'd created for himself, reached the edge of the box, and felt the ball rise perfectly into his stride.
Then he drew his leg back.
"He's going to hit it!" the commentator burst out, the noise in his voice rising with the crowd around him.
And Leo did.
His leg came through the ball viciously, clean enough that the strike sounded different off his foot, and it exploded upward.
For one suspended second, the entire stadium saw the same picture at once.
Top corner.
Goal.
Screamer.
The Milan fans behind the goal had already started reacting before it even arrived, some rising, some grabbing heads, some simply frozen as the shot screamed toward the angle at terrifying speed.
"OH MY WORD, LEO CALDERÓN!"
Then came the impact.
The ball smashed into the junction of post and crossbar with a violent metallic bang that rang through the stadium like a gunshot as the frame of the goal shuddered from it.
