Chapter 551: Excellent Game Management



The referee blew the whistle signaling the end of the first half after Zachary scored the second goal for Juventus. On cue, the players of both teams made a beeline for the tunnel for the halftime break.

On the way back to the dressing room, the jubilant Juventus players continually discussed the just concluded half. Some were joking around, while a few others were reviewing some of the moments from the game as they traversed the tunnel.

Patrice Evra suddenly approached Zachary and put an arm around his shoulders. "Zachary! That free kick was ingenious. We all thought you would go for the top corner, but you eventually went for a carpet shot. Was it your plan all along?"

"Nope!" Zachary responded with a smile. "I only changed my mind at the last moment for two reasons. One: I noticed that James Rodríguez, who was part of the defensive wall, was about to jump when I was going to take the free kick. Two: I watched Iker Casillas' body language and noticed that he was about to dive toward the direction I intended to target with the free-kick ball. So, I thought to myself: Why not go for a carpet shot under the wall to catch all of them by surprise?"

"Impressive! You managed to observe all those details at the last moment before you took the free kick!" Patrice Evra exclaimed. "Your awareness of details on the pitch is insane. Sergio Ramos must be cursing himself now for gifting that free kick to you."

Zachary smiled, feeling quite good about the free kick he had just converted. He had gambled and taken a different approach. Fortunately, his bet had paid off, and he had caught Iker Casillas and his defensive wall unawares to score the second goal with his carpet shot.

As the two men talked, they finally reached the dressing room. Together with the other players, they went through the halftime motions, including hydrating, listening to Coach Allegri's pep talk, and easing themselves. After finishing everything, they quickly exited the dressing room and returned to the pitch for the second half.

Amid the thunderous applause reverberating in the background, the referee blew the whistle, and the game resumed.

The second half started at a much more sedate pace, with Juventus keen to keep possession and resist conceding an equalizing goal. The players in the black and striped jerseys maintained a strict 4-3-1-2 formation as they played steady passes that allowed them to dictate the tempo.

They became the better team on the field of play for the next ten minutes. But due to their cautious style for the second half, they didn't create any remarkable goal-scoring chances.

The 55th minute arrived, and the Real Madrid players, who had only been second-best on the pitch, suddenly upped their game. They increased the pressure on Juventus' defense through a series of connected moments of brilliance from their incredible line-up of attack-minded players, like Christiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, James Rodríguez, and Marcelo.

Desperate to grab another equalizer, they went all out to attack and create more chances. Eventually, Christiano Ronaldo, Toni Kroos, and Chicharito, the substitute forward, all came close to scoring with clever efforts during the 61st, 68th, and 73rd minutes. But the brilliant goalkeeping antics by the experienced Gianluigi Buffon saved the day on all occasions and kept Juventus in the driving seat.

By then, everyone in the stadium could feel the game gradually slipping away from the Spanish giants as the 80th minute approached. But the Madrid-based team maintained their mindset of reigning champions. They continued committing numbers forward while patiently waiting for a chance to penetrate Juventus' defense.

Their hard work eventually paid off during the 84th minute when Gareth Bale made his presence known by dribbling past Patrice Evra and approaching the box from the right side. The Welshman then sent a tantalizing pass across the mouth of the goal, where Chicharito and Ronaldo were lurking.

However, the two Real Madrid attackers failed to connect with the pass, and the ball flashed past the goal area, eliciting gasps from the watching fans before continuing to the other side of the pitch.

Claudio Marchisio hurriedly collected the loose ball before it could head out of play on the right flank. He played a one-two with Stephan Lichtsteiner to skip past Marcelo before playing a forward pass to Andrea Pirlo.

Andrea Pirlo passed to Arturo Vidal, who also connected with Zachary through a lightning-fast exchange of short and accurate passes. The swift and brilliant passage of play then continued, with the Juventus midfielders flashing forward to counterattack against Real Madrid like a pack of wolves on the hunt.

The ball eventually returned to Zachary as he crossed the center line. He controlled it midstride and skipped past a sliding challenge from Sergio Ramos. He then continued darting through the middle like the speedster he was until he came across another obstacle in the form of Pepe at the border of the final third.

Zachary didn't choose to take on the no-nonsense defender. Instead, he quickly played a diagonal pass to his right to find Carlos Tevez, who had been running in sync with him.

The well-timed pass released Tevez just at the right moment before he could step into an offside position. A deft touch allowed the Argentine to go past Raphaël Varane, the other Real Madrid center-back, before facing off against the keeper.

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At that moment, everyone in the stadium expected Tevez to try his luck and go for glory. However, the experienced Tevez chose a different option. He didn't try to beat Casillas. But he instead squared the ball and found Álvaro Morata, the substitute striker, who had just made a daring run on the other side of the box.

Álvaro Morata, on his part, just remained composed and connected with the pass while unmarked and without any pressure. He completed one of the most effortless finishes in professional football by tapping the ball into the back of the empty net to score Juventus' 3rd goal for the night.

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Juventus FC 3: Real Madrid 1

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The cheers exploded into another thunderous peak of vocal chaos as Álvaro Morata ran towards the touchline and celebrated the goal with his teammates. The Juventus fans started chanting victory slogans without a care for anything in the world. Their voices and stomping of their feet even caused slight tremors to course through the area.

"Mama Mia!" Carlo Zampa, the commentator, yelled at the top of his voice. "Another counterattack has allowed Juventus to pick the lock of the Madrid defense during the 85th minute. Álvaro Morata, the substitute who has just entered the game, has become yet another tormentor of Real Madrid today. He has scored the 3rd goal and given the Old Lady a huge boost in this UEFA Champions League quarter-final."

"This was a goal out of the blue," Sandro Piccinini, the other commentator, remarked. "For the last twenty minutes, we saw the Real Madrid players playing brilliant football and sustaining considerable pressure on Juventus' defense. They were even close to scoring an equalizer just moments ago. But after failing to capitalize on the opportunity, they have conceded another goal. I'm guessing that even the Juventus fans are surprised by the current score."

Carlo Zampa chuckled. "Football is a game that can change within seconds. But I'm also guessing it was part of Juventus' game plan to sit back and draw in the Real Madrid players. The Turin-based team obviously invited the pressure before getting the perfect chance to counterattack and score the third goal. Their management of the game has surely been excellent."

"The question now is what will Real Madrid do?" Sandro Piccinini questioned. "Will they play it safe and wait for the second leg before thinking about overturning this result? Or will they go all out and continue attacking to reduce the score difference?"

"Well," Carlo Zampa said. "Real Madrid are inherently an attack-minded team. They will likely continue attacking and trying to get another goal before the game concludes."

"That approach can open them up to more counters from Juventus," Sandro Piccinini said.

"Yes, that is true," Carlo Zampa agreed. "If Real Madrid goes all out to attack, they will be at constant risk of facing another counterattack. In fact, they might concede a 4th goal if they are not careful. But all that is the least of their concerns at the moment. I'm sure all the Real Madrid players and coaches should be racking their brains on how to get another goal before the final whistle. They have to do this to stand a chance against the on-form Juventus in the second leg of the quarter-final."

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In the meantime, the match restarted, and as predicted by the commentators, Real Madrid went on the attack. They dominated possession, hunting for their second goal as the game ticked toward its conclusion.

Their attackers, like Christiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, all tried to break into the box with their speed and creative footwork during the last three minutes of regular time. However, the untiring defensive duo of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci continuously stopped most of their good attacking work, thus saving Juventus from taking any damage.

The only scare was when Javier Hernandez, aka Chicharito, took a heavy fall in the box in an attempt to win a penalty during the 90th minute. Fortunately for Juventus, the officials waved away the incident, and the game continued.

Nothing eventful happened after that, and the game fell into a steady rhythm as the Juventus players saw out the remaining time like the old-fashioned defensive unit they had always been. They stayed strong in possession and frustrated the opponents with time-wasting tactics until the referee eventually blew the final whistle to mark the end of the match.

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