Chapter 468: Dangerous Substitutes II

"This guy is fast!" Zachary was surprised as he quickly took note of De Rossi's position. But his surprise didn't delay his actions in the slightest.

He faked going right before altering his center of gravity and going left. But surprisingly, his feint didn't manage to throw off De Rossi. The Italian midfielder remained on Zachary like superglue, harassing him physically to stop his run toward AS Roma's side of the pitch.

However, Zachary, being a 6'4-foot giant, couldn't allow a ‘small man' of 6 feet to bully him physically. With a sudden jerk of his shoulder, he shrugged off De Rossi before exchanging lightning-fast one-twos with Patrice Evra on the left flank. His give-and-go passing strategy worked wonders, and he beat De Rossi and two more AS Roma players before quickly arriving in the final third. And in some magical way, he cut into the pitch with an explosion of pace and soon started bearing down on AS Roma's box with unstoppable momentum.

The cheers of the traveling Juventus supporters hit another high as Zachary quickly approached the box. His incredible spatial awareness worked like a charm, and with a single glance, he took note of the position of the players between him and the goal. Be it the center-backs, the goalkeeper, and his teammates — they were all crystal-clear in his mental map, allowing him to decide on a shooting angle. He drew back his leg before swinging it hard and fast at the ball.

​

"BAM!"

The sweet sound of his left boot connecting with the ball was audible as the Rocket Launcher Steven Gerrard GOAT Skill activated automatically. And without fear or favor, he blasted the ball and unleashed a powerful shot toward AS Roma's goal.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Zachary had smashed the ball with a low spin, thus sending it on a zig-zag trajectory toward the far post. It tore through the air like a lightning bolt, swerving left and right before dipping slightly and homing into the top right corner. Due to its unpredictable movement, the AS Roma keeper couldn't even react and remained stock still until it had long flashed past him and nestled into the back of the net.

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AS Roma 1 : Juventus FC 2

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"GOAAAL!" The commentator yelled as the score on the stadium's jumbotron switched to show Juventus' lead. "It's another goal for Zachary Bemba, the phenomenal 19-year-old in a Juventus shirt. His impact is immediate. Just seconds after stepping onto the pitch, he has already found the back of the net, putting Juventus in the lead again. Truly sensational stuff from the young playmaker!"

"Yes, Zachary is proving to be a truly amazing player," the co-commentator chimed in. "He brilliantly escaped the notice of De Rossi to receive the ball from Claudio Marchisio. From there on, it was pure magic on the pitch. Zachary exchanged a couple of one-twos with Patrice Evra on the left flank — and before long, he was in the final third. He beat the keeper effortlessly with an outside-of-the-eighteen shot to score Juventus' second goal within the 74th minute. Truly amazing skills!"

"This is a great player in the making," the commentator said with a sigh. "He has all the qualities to make it in the ranks of the greats. His dribbling skills are monstrous, his vision on the pitch excellent, and his finishing superb. If he continues like this, we'll have to start debating whether he can win the Ballon d'Or."

In response, the co-commentator laughed but chose not to comment on such a tricky topic.

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The game continued after the goal celebrations. And as expected, the AS Roma players reacted by going on the offensive again. They repeatedly flew forward while using wing-play tactics to create goal-scoring chances. As a result, crosses into the box became the order of the night as Gervinho and Adem Ljajic, AS Roma's wide players, worked their magic. They worked hard over the next few minutes, hoping to create opportunities by linking play with Francesco Totti, their highly-experienced center-forward.

But their efforts were not successful that time around. The highly-tactical Juventus players remained alert and thwarted all the crosses coming their way. They remained steadfast while defending and ensured that AS Roma didn't get any chance to test Buffon, the Juventus keeper.

"Juve! Juventus! Juve…"

Slowly but steadily, the game headed into the final five minutes, and the atmosphere around the stadium became more electrifying. An escalating number of traveling Juventus fans started singing, causing the thunderous cheers within the Olimpico di Roma to reach a new level. The Juventus fans could obviously sense that their team was about to overpower AS Roma, another strong opponent in the Italian Serie A.

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Morale was quite crucial for a team to win a game. So, when the fans started singing, the Juventus players became more energetic. They were more aggressive on and off the ball, and it didn't take long for them to create another goal-scoring opportunity.

It all started after a failed AS Roma corner kick during the 87th minute. After picking up the loose ball from the edge box, Andrea Pirlo hurriedly passed the ball to his left, hoping to find Zachary Bemba and initiate a counterattack.

Zachary, on his part, remained composed as he adjusted his position and controlled the ball. With a single abrupt turn, he skipped past Adem Ljajic before moving right and sidestepping past De Rossi to create a pocket of space to work with the ball.

The next moment, his S-graded agility worked wonders, and he accelerated to top speed and jumped past another sliding tackle from an opponent. Then, without halting, he continued his mad dash toward the other side of the pitch to advance the counterattack.

Most AS Roma players had been attacking the corner kick only seconds ago. So, they were out of shape and not yet back in their half to defend. As a result, Zachary had yards and yards of space to run with the ball before unleashing a simple pass to his right to find Fernando Llorente, one of the two Juventus strikers.

Fernando Llorente, on his part, was also fast on the ball. He controlled the ball mid-stride and then exchanged a couple of quick one-twos with Carlos Tevez. He circumvented Miralem Pjanic, the last remaining opposing player, and received an excellent return ball from Tevez.

From there on, everything was easy for the sharp Spanish striker. Fernando skillfully bolted around the keeper and buried the ball into the net. He then raced towards the sidelines, screaming at the top of his lungs to celebrate Juventus' 3rd goal during the 88th minute.

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