THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME
chapter-533

Zachary had long understood that the best way to devastate an opponent and make them feel hopeless was to 'hit them hard' when they were down. He knew that he had to destroy Inter Milan's confidence before they could reorganize, so he went into action as soon as the match recommenced.

He floated toward the right wing again right after Juventus won back the ball from Inter Milan. He then linked up with a linear ball from Stephan Lichtsteiner, and from there on, it was as if he was repeating the actions he had performed only a few minutes prior.

He accelerated to top speed within an instant and pumped his legs like the pistons of a Ferrari on a racetrack. His pace was so out of this world — and within seconds, he initiated another one-versus-one against Danilo D'Ambrosio, the very same left-back he had beaten only a few minutes ago.

Zachary was so heartless in his approach. His SS-grade agility came into play, and he ruthlessly side-stepped past the defender, who was already feeling low on confidence. His skills were as potent as ever, and a moment later, he left the helpless defender in the dust. Zachary then accelerated along the touchline before cutting back into the pitch like a predator on the hunt.

A second or so later, Zachary met another barrier. It was in the form of Fredy Guarín, the Inter Milan defensive midfielder who was closing down Zachary with a ruthless sliding tackle. The midfielder's boot was like a serpent sliding over the grass, and his intent was obvious. He was willing to rely on any means, whether foul or fair, to take down Zachary and stop him from continuing his sprint toward Inter Milan's box.

At that moment, Zachary's high mental strength worked like a charm, and he remained composed while facing the sliding tackle from Fredy Guarín. Zachary utilized his high agility and exceptional ball control to scoop the ball up and lift it over the approaching defensive midfielder's body. And finally, as a finishing touch, he leaped over the opponent before realigning his posture and continuing on with his insane sprint toward Inter Milan's box from the right flank.

Zachary completed the entire series of movements and beat Fredy Guarín without losing his balance. His following actions were like sorcery against the opponents due to his high agility and game intelligence. He effortlessly stepped past another opponent a moment later. And then, as the cheers around the stadium hit a crescendo, he dashed into the box and faced off against the Inter Milan keeper, who had rushed out to greet him.

It was at that moment that a peculiar feeling of calmness descended upon Zachary's entire being. His SS-grade game intelligence came into play again, and he judged the actions and intentions of a keeper within a split second. Then, with a smile etched upon his face, he dug his boot under the ball and looped it over the keeper's head to find the back of the net. And with that, he had scored another dazzling goal and put Juventus ahead during the 52nd minute of gameplay.

"GOAAAL..."

The stadium exploded with cheers as Zachary raced to the corner flag and slid on his knees to celebrate. The Juventus fans were yelling like crazy as they had just witnessed more magic from Zachary.

Zachary, on his part, couldn't contain his happiness. He had taken a gamble and floated toward the right wing to attack immediately after the restart. His gamble had paid off, and he had scored Juventus' second even before three minutes had elapsed from the time he netted the first. His dare-devil attitude had obviously worked wonders and allowed him to bag the two goals within a short span of less than three minutes.

Juventus FC 2 : Inter Milan 1

"It's another wonderful goal from Zachary," Fabio Crudeli, the commentator, said as the cheers started dying down. "Just barely three minutes after he scored the first, he has added to his tally with another sensational goal. He has again slalomed his way through Inter Milan's defense before brilliantly beating the keeper and putting Juventus ahead during the 52nd minute. He's truly a sensation on the football field, and considering his form, no one can stop him."

"Yeah, he is a true sensation," David Ferrini, the co-commentator, agreed. "He has caught Inter Milan's defense napping twice within less than three minutes. It takes a dare-devil attitude to achieve such a feat in a highly competitive game of a top league like the Italian Serie A. If he continues like this, he will win both the Serie A Player of the Season and Golden Boot without any challenge."

"But what do you think about Inter Milan's defense?" Fabio Crudeli asked. "Zachary has torn through them twice and scored on both occasions during the past three minutes. Don't you think they aren't doing enough to stop him?"

"Well..." David Ferrini shook his head and sighed. "The Inter Milan defenders are all top footballers on the international stage. They have always been professional and unrelenting on the football field. So, they should be doing the same in this game and going all out to stop Zachary from making an impact. But the problem comes from Zachary's potent skills. He is so swift with the ball and fast at finding the gaps. He's utilizing everything he has to render the Inter Milan defenders helpless while also finding opportunities for his team. Unless Roberto Mancini can devise targeted tactics to stop the boy's antics, he might even score one or two more goals before the game ends tonight."

"Well, back to the pitch," Fabio Crudeli said. "Roberto Mancini has switched up Inter Milan's tactics. He has just introduced Yann M'Vila, a defensive midfielder, in place of Hernanes, the striker. With the substitution, Inter Milan has switched from a 4-4-2 to a 4-5-1 formation, and surprisingly, Mateo Kovacic, one of their central midfielders, has begun shadowing Zachary's every move. Most likely, Roberto Mancini wants the young Mateo Kovacic to man-mark Zachary for the rest of the game."

"The man-marking strategy might not fully contain Zachary, especially today when he's at the top of his game," David Ferrini hurriedly said. "But at least Mateo Kovacic's presence will delay him at certain crucial moments and stop him from effortlessly cutting through Inter Milan's defense."

On the field of play, the game had already recommenced. The Inter Milan players were on the ball and moving it around with the evident intent to stretch Juventus' defensive shape. They continued playing short passes among the defenders on the backline for the next few minutes. It was as if they were inviting the Juventus players to high press if they wished to touch the ball.

"High press! Go for the ball..."

As usual, Coach Max Allegri couldn't bear to see the opponents holding possession for long. He started roaring from the home team's technical area to encourage his players to high-press and win the ball back.

However, right before the Juventus players could heed their coach's instructions, an abrupt change occurred on the field of play. Inter Milan switched gears through Yann M'Vila, their newly introduced defensive midfielder. The substitute unleashed a sudden defense-splitting pass toward the other side of the field, just behind Juventus' backline.

The pass was so abrupt that it caught all the Juventus defenders napping. Most of them could not react in time as Lukas Podolski came out of nowhere and beat the offside trap to connect with the ball right at the border of the defensive third.

"Lukas! Podolski! Lukas..."

The visiting fans began yelling Lukas Podolski's name after he beat the offside trap and initiated a footrace toward the box. Their voices were filled with boundless excitement since the striker of their team was only a second away from creating a one-versus-one situation against Gianluigi Buffon, the Juventus keeper. Evidently, they were dreaming about the moment the German forward would find the back of the net and bring the game circumstances back to level terms.

But who was Gianluigi Buffon? He was the Juventus captain renowned for his consistent performances throughout his career. His concentration, calm composure under pressure, athleticism, quick reflexes, acrobatic dives, and bravery were insane on the mortal level. For sure, the experienced keeper had outstanding shot-stopping abilities, which allowed him to produce almost impossible saves at crucial moments.

That time was business as usual for Gianluigi Buffon. He raced out of his goal like a force of nature and threw everything on the line while closing down the swiftly approaching Lucas Podolski with a desperado attitude.

Finally, it was as if time had slowed as the moment just before the two men were about to collide arrived. Gianluigi Buffon lunged forward to scoop the ball away from Lucas Podolski's feet. But Lukas, on his part, just shoved the ball to the side, hoping to dodge the keeper's lunge before scoring in an empty net.

But could that be the end of the tense moment? The answer was no!

Just at the last instant, when Lucas Podolski was about to dribble past Gianluigi Buffon, the keeper freakishly contorted his body while mid-lunge. Buffon controlled his lunging speed before kicking out with his left boot to poke the ball away from Lucas Podolski's feet. Moreover, he completed all the actions in a skillful way by tapping the ball first before sending the striker tumbling to the ground.

"Foul! Red Card..."

A thunderous roar sounded within the Juventus stadium immediately after. The Inter Milan fans and players were obviously incensed. They continued yelling for the referee to carry out justice by showing Gianluigi Buffon a red card and offering a free kick to Inter Milan.