When Piqué began his descent and Shane Carter was still rising toward the sky, the duel was already over.
Every eye in the stadium tracked Shane's ascent, tilting upward in collective disbelief.
"Shaaaaaaaaaanneeeee..."
A few commentators were already drawing out his name in anticipation.
Víctor Valdés reacted first. He was the quickest to register the horrifying gap in their vertical leaps. He realized instantly that Piqué had no chance of reaching the ball. Compressing his center of gravity like a coiled spring, Valdés prepared to launch himself.
But right at that moment, Shane reached the absolute peak of his jump and unleashed his power. He snapped his head forward. It was like the firing pin of a rifle striking the primer. The raw pressure of the explosion forced the bullet through the barrel, sending it spiraling out with devastating force.
Bang.
Valdés sprang from the turf, throwing his arm out as far as it would go, stretching his body to its absolute physical limit. But it was useless. By the time the goalkeeper was fully airborne, the ball had already smashed into the back of the net.
Shane landed lightly on the grass.
For a fraction of a second, the Calderón plunged into total silence. A few people reflexively glanced at the stadium clock.
Thirty-one seconds.
That was all it took.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH."
"SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNE. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL."
"Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable."
"Can you believe this? Do you believe what you are seeing? It's in. It's in. 1-0. Atlético Madrid score right from the opening whistle."
"An unimaginable start. A dream beginning for Atlético Madrid."
"Shane scores, which isn't a surprise. What's surprising is that it's a header. No, wait, Shane scoring a header isn't a surprise either. What's shocking is how he scored it. He jumped so high. He jumped impossibly high."
"Thirty seconds in, and Atlético have the lead."
"This is an absolutely stunning opening to the match."
"Barcelona concede immediately. Atlético could not have asked for a better start on their home turf."
Up in the international broadcast booth, the lead commentator clutched his head with both hands. Beside him, his co-commentator wore an expression of pure shock.
"That vertical leap," the co-commentator muttered, sounding genuinely spooked.
The rest of the press box was already boiling over into chaos. Absolutely no one had predicted this script. A goal inside thirty seconds entirely rewrote the narrative of the match.
Every fan knew exactly what this meant. This was the ultimate dream scenario for a title decider. Starting the game practically a goal up before the opponent even had a chance to settle.
In the span of half a minute, every single pre-match prediction had been shattered to pieces.
Shane landed with slightly bent knees, absorbing the impact, before immediately springing back up. He turned and sprinted wildly toward the corner flag. Griezmann was already there waiting for him.
The Frenchman threw his arms wide and roared into the rain. "Shaneyyyyyy."
Shane leapt into him, tackling him to the wet grass as they embraced passionately.
"Perfect ball," Shane yelled over the noise.
Behind them, the rest of the Atlético squad came roaring over, piling onto the celebration.
Over on the touchline, Simeone jumped into the air, fists pumping wildly.
It had worked. Barcelona never could have anticipated it. The decisive battleground wasn't on the turf. It was in the air. Atlético had ruthlessly targeted their greatest weakness. And the man who pulled the trigger, delivering the fatal shot, was none other than Shane Carter.
"It's a goal."
The Catalan commentator managed to choke out the words before falling into a long, heavy silence. No Barcelona fan would blame him. Every single supporter of the Blaugrana was currently staring at their screens in stunned, empty-headed disbelief. Even if the commentator had continued speaking, none of them would have registered a word.
Conceding thirty seconds into a title decider was a devastating psychological blow.
On the international English broadcast, the co-commentator was practically buzzing with excitement.
"Atlético Madrid have already reached match point. Scoring thirty seconds in, playing at home, and considering their recent record against Barcelona, they've completely seized control of this final."
Across social media, fans around the world were losing their minds.
"Holy shit. What a beast."
"He jumped higher than the crossbar."
"His feet had to be a meter off the ground, right?"
"Easily more than a meter."
"Absolute monster."
"Atlético are really going to win the league."
"Is Shane's career path not just insanely smooth?"
"He's the chosen one. That power is just terrifying."