The Greatest of all Time

Chapter 467 When Passing Becomes An Art

As experienced professionals, the AC Milan players wouldn't give up the game easily. They continued attacking — and finally, a clear goal-scoring chance came their way during the 84th minute.

It all began with Nigel de Jong, the AC Milan defensive midfielder, winning the ball in the middle third. The Dutch midfielder expertly slid in to steal the ball from Andrea Pirlo before threading a pass to Sulley Muntari, his counterpart in midfield.

Sulley Muntari, in turn, controlled the ball well before passing into the wings to find Keisuke Honda, the AC Milan right-winger. Honda also worked quickly to control the ball and skip past Kwadwo Asamoah's sliding challenge. When the angle opened up, he immediately unleashed a curling cross towards the box from the border of the final third.

The attack was on, and many players in the box reacted to the incoming cross. The AC Milan attackers leaped up from the ground to attack the ball and try to score while the Juventus men tried their best to defend and clear the danger away from their box. But in the end, Jérémy Ménez, AC Milan's center-forward, came out on top.

The striker won an aerial battle against Martín Cáceres around the penalty area and planted a header towards the inside of the right post. His technique was perfect, and he almost caught Gianluigi Buffon off guard with his impressive effort.

But once again, the experienced Gianluigi Buffon was alert. He threw himself at the ball and stopped it from crossing the line at the last second. And before any AC Milan players could react, Leonardo Bonucci, the other center-back, smashed the loose ball away from the box to clear the danger.

Whoosh!

The just-cleared ball darted through the air and bounced in the 18-yard box's arc, close to where Zachary was lurking. It was like the perfect gift for him, and he reacted immediately and pounced on it as if there was no tomorrow.

His long strides covered about four yards in almost a second, and he got to the ball first before any other player. Heart racing, he stretched out his leg and expertly looped it over the approaching Sulley Muntari with the simplest of touches. He then exploded with speed and rushed past the helpless opposing midfielder before twisting and turning to dance out of the crowded space in front of the box.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Zachary's tricky side-steps worked wonders, and he skipped past two other AC Milan players before creating some space to work his magic. Then, in a flash, he surveyed the scene ahead of him with his eagle-like vision while prodding the ball forward to keep it away from the opponents. And after making his judgment, he unleashed a raking pass towards the other side with the outer part of his boot.

Whoosh!

Zachary's passing technique was spectacular as always, and the ball darted through the air, just out of reach of all the players that could potentially bar its way. It was like a remote-controlled drone as it made a parabola over the pitch and bounced in front of Carlos Tévez, the striker who had just initiated a run towards AC Milan's box.

The ever-alert Carlos Tévez, of course, didn't disappoint. He left his marker in the dust and exploded with speed towards the bouncing ball. The Argentine controlled it in his stride and continued his mad sprint towards AC Milan's goal. Without losing composure, he rounded the keeper, who had come out to meet him, before burying the ball into the back of the net. He had scored Juventus' second goal for the night during the 85th minute.

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AC Milan 0 : Juventus FC 2

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"Oh my goodness me!" The commentator's voice resounded around the stadium in sync with the thunderous cheers. "Another perfect counter has allowed Juventus to score their second goal for the night. Absolutely sensational! The pass from Zachary was timed to perfection, and Carlos Tévez's finish was on point. Simply world-class! Two great players have combined to create magic on the pitch."

Pierluigi Pardo, the co-commentator, sighed and said, "I'm at a loss for words after witnessing the build-up to the goal. Zachary Bemba was in a crowd of opposing players when he received the ball in front of his box. But the way he looped the ball over Sulley Muntari and turned and twisted away from the other opponents to create space for himself was the stuff of legends. But that wasn't all there was to his moment of brilliance. The young playmaker managed to link play with Carlos Tévez with that sweet ball over the entire midfield. His pinpoint pass took all the AC Milan defensive players out of the equation and released Tévez on a straight course towards goal. What exceptional vision! What an impressive passing technique!"

"That pass reminds me of Andrea Pirlo's passes when he's at his best," Carlo Vanzini, the commentator, remarked. "Maybe, Zachary has already begun taking lessons from the Italian Maestro."

Pierluigi Pardo, the co-commentator, chuckled. "Juventus is one step closer to beating AC Milan at the San Siro. They only need to defend well for the remaining four minutes and the added time. Then, they will return to Turin with all three points. They will also rise to the top of the Serie A table."

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On the pitch, the Juventus players had just finished celebrating their second goal of the night. Like the rest of his teammates, Zachary was in high spirits as his team had overcome a numerical disadvantage and scored two goals against AC Milan. He couldn't contain his happiness as he walked back to his starting midfield position.

"Zachary!" A familiar voice called out to him.

"Carlos! Andrea!" Zachary exclaimed in response and slowed down. He fell into stride with his two teammates and asked, "What's up?"

Tévez grinned and patted Zachary's back. "That pass from you was sweet. It made my work easy and allowed me to score. Thank you for the assist."

"There's no need for thanks," Zachary responded with a smile. "It's my duty to supply you with balls whenever an opportunity presents itself. I'm glad you scored."

Andrea Pirlo smiled and asked, "Are you trying to take over my role on the team? Why is your playing style similar to mine during today's game? You copied that pass from me."

Zachary chuckled and chose not to answer. "The referee is about to restart the game. Let's hurry and take up our positions. We'll talk about other issues after the game."

"Why are you in a rush?" Pirlo asked. "We're leading by two goals. We need to waste some time before the restart, especially since we're a player down. We also need to take the sting out of AC Milan. That's why all the other Juventus players are taking their time to retake their starting positions. They are executing a proper endgame management strategy."

Zachary chuckled again and slowed down his steps. He didn't need to rush to retake his position after Andrea pointed out Juventus' endgame management strategy.