THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME-Chapter 538 The Indomitable Juventus Team
The Juventus players headed into their next Serie A fixture with boundless confidence. They played the home game against Chievo Verona on Sunday, January 25th, 2015, and won by another overwhelming margin.
Zachary, who had just returned to the squad, was especially impressive during that game. Firstly, he provided two assists, one to Carlos Tevez and another to Kingsley Coman, who took their chances well and scored Juventus' 1st and 2nd goals during the 14th and 23rd minutes, respectively. Then, much later, during the 73rd minute, Zachary got to the end of a corner ball and headed home to score Juventus' 3rd goal for the night.
Chievo Verona got one consolation goal back during the 78th minute after exploiting a passing error by Angelo Ogbonna, the Juventus center-back. But their relief didn't last long as Juventus reacted strongly and quickly through Andrea Pirlo, who came on as a substitute for Zachary.
The Maestro performed his magic during the 81st minute by unleashing a sudden long ball to find Patrice Evra on the left flank. Patrice Evra, on his part, controlled the ball well before driving forward into Chievo Verona's half. The Frenchman effortlessly stepped into the final third before sending a long cross toward the box where Fernando Llorente was already lurking.
Fernando Llorente acted like a true-blue bona fide center-forward and connected with the ball. He escaped the harassment of the opposing center-back with his first touch before drawing his leg back and unleashing a sudden snap-shot towards the inside of the far post. His powerful drive rendered the keeper helpless, and he smoothly found the back of the net to score Juventus 4th and final goal on the night.
With that, Juventus ultimately won the Serie A game with another staggering score of 4:1. As such, the fighting spirit of the players was already soaring into the skies, and they were even more motivated to prepare for their next fixture, which happened to be an away Coppa Italia quarter-finals game against Parma.
After a day of rest, the Old Lady players utilized the whole of Tuesday to refine the game plan while also working on their match fitness. Then, when Wednesday afternoon arrived, they boarded the team bus and traveled to the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna to face off against Parma in the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
Parma was a team struggling close to the bottom of the Serie A table. They had lost most of their matches and were a team that Juventus could comfortably dispatch and qualify for the Coppa Italia semi-finals. So, with all that in mind, Coach Max Allegri opted to rest most of his crucial players.
The Juventus coach benched Zachary Bemba, Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Patrice Evra, Carlos Tevez, and Gianluigi Buffon, among others. He then fielded another team that included players like Angelo Ogbonna, Simone Padoin, Kingsley Coman, Simone Pepe, and álvaro Morata. On paper, the line-up was not Juventus' best, but the selected players still played impressive football against the struggling Parma side after the game commenced.
Juventus was the first to settle after a frantic start that saw both sides trade early blows. The Old Lady players took only twelve minutes to start playing as usual and overwhelm Parma with their signature slow build-ups and tantalizing wing play. They played well over the next few minutes and even came close to taking the lead when Kingsley Coman unleashed a thunderous effort during the 14th minute. But alas, Juventus was unfortunate, as the attempt was repelled by the Parma goalkeeper, who executed a stunning dive to keep the proceedings on the field of play level.
The game continued, and eventually, the Parma players found their rhythm halfway through the first half. They surprised Juventus with a counterattack that resulted in a clear goal-scoring opportunity for Cristian Rodríguez, one of their two center-forwards. However, the shot from the center-forward smashed off the post and headed out of play, and with that, Parma missed the chance to take the lead during the 28th minute.
The Parma players were soon left lamenting that missed opportunity when some lax defending allowed álvaro Morata, Juventus' center-forward, the freedom to fire an effort goalwards. The keeper tried his best to save the shot. But despite his best efforts, he instead punched it back into the path of the onrushing Kingsley Coman, who tapped home to score Juventus' 1st goal for the night.
That goal seemed to spur Juventus to life, and the Old Lady players played more intensively. They started mounting relentless waves of attacks through the wing, and in so doing, they continued mounting pressure on Parma's goal. Eventually, they scored the second goal very late, during the 78th minute of the game, when Zachary Bemba, who had come on as a substitute, beat the keeper from twenty yards away with a thunderous effort.
After that, the tempo of the game slowed. The Juventus players didn't continue launching relentless attacks against Parma. Instead, they calmed down and played slow but steady passing football to totally freeze out the opponents. Their tactics during the final minutes weren't captivating since their playing style lacked the intent to attack. But those tactics still did the job and allowed them to win the game by a score of 2:0 after four minutes of injury time.
The win against Parma allowed Juventus to qualify for the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia. As such, the Juventus players were swelling with confidence, and they headed into the February fixtures in fine form.
Juventus was already the nemesis of every Italian team they played, and everyone was starting to wonder whether they would ever lose or draw a game. Even the often-critical journalists constantly praised them as they whizzed through the February fixtures. But the players (themselves) overlooked the attention and continued doing their thing on the field.
On Sunday, February 1st, 2015, they played their away Serie A game against Udinese Calcio and won by a score of 2:1. Early goals from Fernando Llorente and Claudio Marchisio, the player just from injury, allowed them to seal the deal early on in the first half.
Six days later, on Saturday, February 7th, they returned to action and thrashed AC Milan at home by a score of 4:1. For that game, Zachary was the star, and he scored twice during the 10th and 21st minutes. The other goals were scored by Carlos Tevez and álvaro Morata, who were Juventus' two center-forwards for the day.
The win against AC Milan further solidified Juventus' position at the top of the Serie A table. As such, the Old Lady players had all the momentum when they played their away Serie A fixture against AC Cesena eight days later, on Sunday, February 15th.
Zachary, álvaro Morata, and Andrea Pirlo were the players that made an impact on that day. They each found the back of the net during the 17th, 32nd, and 87th minutes, respectively, and with that, they helped Juventus defeat AC Cesena by a score of 3:0.
Five days later, on Friday, February 20th, Juventus faced off against Atlanta at home. The Juventus players failed to win for the first time during the season and managed only a 2:2 draw against the away side. 𝒷ℯ𝓭𝓷ℴ𝓋𝓮𝓵.𝒸ℴ𝓶
For that game, Atlanta was the first to strike and draw blood. They took advantage of corner kicks and scored two early goals during the 3rd and 11th minutes. Fortunately, the Juventus players regained their confidence during the second half. They responded with stunning long-distance goals from Zachary and Andrea Pirlo during the 77th and 92nd minutes and finally managed to avoid a defeat.
The Juventus players didn't lose their confidence after facing their 'first failure' that season. They remained steadfast and trained intensively for the following three days before playing their next fixture, which happened to be an away Round of Sixteen Champions League battle against Bayer Leverkusen. They performed impressively and effortlessly dispatched the opponent from German by a score of 3:1.
Carlos Tevez and álvaro Morata each scored a goal during the 13th and 43rd minutes to give Juventus a comfortable 2:0 lead before the half-time break. But Bayer Leverkusen almost turned the situation around first with a goal of their own and later with another effort that smashed off the post during the opening minutes of the second half. They didn't lose momentum until Zachary caught their defense napping on the counter and scored another solo goal during the 74th minute.
After defeating Bayer Leverkusen, the Juventus players returned their focus to the Italian Serie A. They played the away fixture against AS Roma six days later, on Monday, March 3rd, 2015. They struggled due to fatigue and only managed a 1:1 draw against the second-placed team on the Serie A table.
A goal from Carlos Tevez during the 63rd minute allowed Juventus to take the lead on a day when most Juventus players performed below par. However, that one goal was later canceled out by a 92nd-minute strike from Seydou Keita, which allowed AS Roma to draw the game and take a point home.
With that, the Juventus players dropped points for only the second time in the Serie A that season. But fortunately, it was only a draw, and their unbeaten run in all competitions was intact. So, they quickly overcame their 'second failure' for that season and focused on their next fixture, which happened to be the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals against Fiorentina.
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