He slowly sat up, staring toward the referee as Chelsea's celebrations erupted around him. Then he lay back down on the grass and looked up at the evening sky above MetLife Stadium.
Around him, blue shirts raced toward the corner flag.
The scoreboard glowed above the stadium.
Manchester City 2.
Chelsea 3.
The Club World Cup was over.
And for the first time since his professional debut, Lukas had tasted been knocked out of a tournament.
For several seconds after the final whistle, Lukas didn't move.
Around him, Chelsea's celebrations continued to grow louder. Players sprinted across the pitch toward João Pedro while others collapsed onto the grass in relief. On the opposite side, Manchester City's players were still surrounding the referee, arguing that the match should not have ended before the penalty incident had at least been reviewed.
Lukas barely heard any of it.
He was still lying on the turf inside Chelsea's penalty area, staring upward.
