<h4>Chapter 568 Impressive Start</h4>
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Time quickly shed by, and soon, the kick-off time arrived. The yers of both teams, who had just gotten their pre-match instructions from their respective coaches, walked out of the tunnel amid thunderous apuse from their fans.
The Juventus yers were in their ck and white striped jerseys. Their team stars, like Zachary Bemba, Andrea Pirlo, Kingsley Coman, and Arturo Vidal, all looked suave in the get-up. They held the hands of young kids as they walked onto the pitch.
The Real Madrid yers, on the other hand, had donned their all-ck away jerseys that night. The eyes of their stars, like Sergio Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Pepe, were all shining with a dangerous glint. They didn''t look like footballers heading onto the pitch for a game but scary warriors heading for mortalbat.
"The Real Madrid yers look scary," Kristin Stein, who had already taken her seat in the Juventus stadium,mented. After obtaining free tickets from Zachary, she couldn''t have missed the match. She had concluded all her chores early and headed to the Juventus Stadium with Emily and a few other friends to watch the crucial first leg of the quarter-final between Juventus and Real Madrid.
"Real Madrid is a tough team. Moreover, some of their yers, like Sergio Ramos and Pepe, y a rough game. Let''s hope that Zachary doesn''t be a victim of their dark arts," Emily said with some worry. She was seated beside Kristin. But even then, she had to shout to make herself heard due to the sheer noise in the stadium.
"You don''t need to worry," Kristin consoled. "Zachary is a yer who understands the art of protecting himself on the pitch. In fact, if the opponents dare to y roughly against him, he will most likelye out on top. I won''t be surprised if he manages to win himself a few free-kicks within the final third. If the conditions are right, he might even go a step further and force a red card."
"That makes sense," Emily agreed. "Let''s hope that everything progresses as you have predicted."
Kristin nodded and turned her attention to the pitch. The singing of the UEFA Champions League anthem had just ended, and the yers were going through the customary pre-match handshake.
Everything proceeded smoothly, and the rest of the pre-game routines, including the coin toss, ended in less than two minutes. In the meantime, most yers headed to their respective sides of the pitch and took their starting positions.
However, the observant Kristin immediately noticed that some Real Madrid yers, like Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodríguez, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, and Toni Kroos, were still huddled together close to the center circle. They seemed to be making somest-minute strategizing before the kick-off.
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As suspected by Kristin, the few Real Madrid yers were, indeed, having ast-minute strategy meeting. James Rodríguez looked at Sergio Ramos and asked solemnly, "Ramos! Do you still remember what the coach said?"
"Of course I do," Sergio answered with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Isn''t it just to y holding midfield and stop Zachary''s prative runs? You don''t need to worry. I''ll manage."
Pepe smiled a bit derisively and patted Ramos'' shoulder. "My friend! Zachary''s conversion rate for set pieces is at an insane level. Remember not to go in wholesale when marking him. Don''t gift him unnecessary free-kicks in the final third."
Sergio Ramos chuckled. "Look at who''s talking. Is there any other yer who concedes more fouls than you, Pepe? You better watch out. Don''t make reckless tackles in the box or final third."
"Guys, stop fooling around," Cristiano Ronaldo reminded with his signature ent. "The match is about to start. Ramos! Just take Pepe''s advice. Avoid going in wholesale when marking Zachary. It will be enough to block and dy him for a second or two, as that will allow Kroos to cover you."
"I will do that," Ramos said, nodding. "Don''t worry."
"Good," Cristiano Ronaldo said. "Let''s not overthink things at thisst moment. We only have to go on the field and perform as usual. If we do that, we''ll score goals and win the game."
"True," Pepe said. "Let''s just y our best game. Let''s show these Juventus yers who''s boss."
The others nodded and immediately ran off to take their positions.
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The clocks around Turin had just pointed to the 8:45 PM mark. Martin Atkinson, the referee, immediately blew the whistle, and the gamemenced with Juventus'' kick-off.
Carlos Tevez, one of the two Juventus strikers for the day, immediately yed the ball back to find Andrea Pirlo in midfield.
The Italian Maestro, on his part, took a touch before threading a pass to udio Marchisio, one of the three holding midfielders of Juventus. And with that, the game settled into a steady rhythm as the Juventus yers started ying their signature slow buildup passes.
In the meantime, Coach Allegri was busy on the sidelines. He was analyzing Real Madrid''s tactics for the game while trying to adjust his own game n ordingly.
Coach Allegri readily identified that the ingenious and tactically-flexible Carlo Ancelotti had gone with a 4-4-2 double-6 formation to cover the absence of the injured Modric and Karim Benzema duo.
The Real Madrid head coach had yed Marcelo, Pepe, Varane, and Daniel Carvajal as the four defenders. He had then fielded Sergio Ramos and Toni Kroos as double pivots or holding midfielders while allowing Isco and James Rodríguez to y wide midfield roles. Lastly, he yed Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale as the two strikers toplete his 4-4-2 double-pivot formation.
With his experience, Coach Allegri could see through Carlo Ancelotti''s intent at just a nce. The Italian tactician had obviously fielded Sergio Ramos and Toni Kroos as the two defensive midfielders to prevent Zachary''s prative runs through the middle. The Real Madrid manager had also yed Isco and James Rodríguez out wide to allow them to exploit Juventus''ck of wingers.
Coach Allegri studied the opponent''s game n without any change of expression. He had expected all the tactics employed by Real Madrid and put appropriate measures tobat them.
His only prayer was for his yers, especially Zachary and Pirlo, to follow his instructions. The rest would be straightforward, and his team would likely gain an advantage sooner rather thanter.
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On the pitch, five minutes of gamey went quietly by.
Juventus had started the game strongly, and by relying on excellent midfielders like Pirlo, Marchisio, Vidal, and Zachary, they had taken control from the opening minutes. They were dictating the tempo and hoarding about 60% of the possession while patiently waiting to prate Real Madrid''s defensive set-up.
The 7th minute arrived, and the ball ''naturally'' made its way to the border of the defensive third. It reached Andrea Pirlo''s feet, who had suddenly drifted back into defensive midfield to collect it.
At that exact moment, something else happened. Zachary, who had constantly been in battle against Sergio Ramos close to the border of the final third, immediately made eye contact with the Italian Maestro. Then, without bothering to identify whether Pirlo had gotten his message, he escaped Sergio Ramos'' harassment and floated toward the left wing.
It was at that point that the high game intelligence of Andrea Pirlo came into y. He had already spotted Zachary making the abrupt run to overload the left wing. Moreover, it was also a move they had practiced several times during training. So, without dy, the Maestro worked his magic. He sent a long-range pass over the midfield and toward Zachary''s sprinting path along the left nk.
Zachary, on his part, arrived close to the touchline on the left nk when the pass from Pirlo was about to reach. He stretched out his boot and effortlessly controlled the ball before taking off like a bullet train on the rails toward the other side of the pitch.
Since Pirlo''s long-range pass had been too abrupt, it had taken most Real Madrid yers out of the equation. As such, Zachary had all the yards of space to utilize on the left nk. He ran like the wind, his long strides eating up yards of space, until he came across the first roadblock in the form of Daniel Carvajal, Madrid''s right-back for the day.
Zachary remainedposed. His SS-grade agility came into y, and he immediately executed an ''stico dribble'' to draw in the approaching defender. He followed that up with a few step-overs before leaning towards the right, just as if he was about to break through from that direction and cut into the pitch.
As expected, Daniel Carvajal reacted like a typical seasoned defender. He moved in the same direction, hoping to prevent Zachary from cutting into the pitch and threatening his goal.
The gears in Zachary''s mind turned and fell into ce within a split second when he noticed Daniel Carvajal''s reaction.
His SS-grade Bnce and Coordination came into y, and he suddenly stopped midmotion. He abruptly altered his center of gravity and aligned his body towards the left side. Then, just as suddenly, he fed the ball past the defender and exploded with pace, driving along the touchline like a rich kid who had just ''borrowed'' his dad''s Lamborghini.
His SS-grade stamina worked wonders, and he maintained his top speed until he started cutting into the pitch. He soon skipped past a sliding tackle from Toni Kroos and approached the edge of the box from the left nk.
At that point, the Real Madrid defenders had already fallen in ce to block his run. Rapha?l Varane and Pepe, the Real Madrid center-backs, were the most problematic and had covered all his shooting angles and possible breakthrough routes into the box. There was also Sergio Ramos, who was rushing at him as if intent onmitting murder.
Zachary remainedposed despite the circumstances. His spatial awareness worked like a charm, and he spotted Andrea Pirlo arriving at the edge of the box. Without hesitation, he unleashed an abrupt minus, subtracting all the yers crowding around the area and setting up Pirlo for a direct shot on goal.
Andrea Pirlo was as razor-sharp as ever. He met Zachary''s first-time pass with a st and sent a powerful ball goalward. His shooting technique was what one could call deific, and his powerful shot zoomed in between the legs of the yers in the box, heading towards the goal like a bullet fired from a sniper rifle.
The tension rose to unbelievable levels as all eyes in the stadium looked towards Real Madrid''s goal, wondering what would happen next. It was at that point that a gloved hand silently appeared. It was Iker Casis, the legendary Spanish keeper, taking action. He dived in at the right time to save the day by punching the ball away from his goal and back into the box.
"Damn..." Zachary started the action of cing his hands behind his head, thinking that his team had wasted an opportunity. But halfway through the motion, he stopped as he noticed that a silhouette in Juventus'' ck and white jersey had pounced on the rebounded ball.
Zachary''s hopes soared as he realized that the Juventus man in action was Carlos Tevez. The Argentine striker was like a fox in the box, and he beat all the other yers to the ball before hammering it goalward.
Tevez smashed the ball with zeal and power, sending it into the back of the to score Juventus'' 1st goal during the 9th minute. Not even the legendary Iker Casis could save the situation due to the momentum behind the shot.
"GOAAAAL..."
Carlos Tevez yelled like a madman and raced towards the touchline. He slid on his knees for a few meters before jumping up and punching the air several times.
His intense celebration showed he was in high spirits after scoring Juventus'' 1st goal in a crucial UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.
Secondster, the other Juventus yers, including Zachary, arrived and celebrated with him. They yelled like there was no tomorrow in front of their home fans. They obviously couldn''t contain their happiness after taking the first solid step towards winning the quarter-final against Real Madrid.