Capítulo 83: Chapter 83: The Nemesis
Chapter 83: The Nemesis
Bruno agreed with Guidolin's arrangements. Although Udinese was ahead by two goals, it wasn't safe to say they had locked in the victory yet. With regular game time plus stoppage time, there were about fifteen minutes left. Juventus still had a chance to equalize or even win.
If Udinese could score another goal, the match would essentially be decided.
With their final substitutions used up, Juventus intensified their offense, unwilling to accept a home defeat. At this point, they were all in.
Udinese responded with counter-attacks. Besides forward Di Natale and substitute Mahrez, even Bruno was almost entirely back defending before their own box.
Although Bruno wasn't known for his defensive prowess, his energetic running and pressing on the opposition's ball carriers did impact their defense.
This time, it was Bruno in midfield pressing Vidal, causing a Juventus midfielder to make a passing error, which Kanté intercepted.
He passed the ball to Bruno, who feigned a pass to Basta but then half-turned and sent it to Mahrez on the other side!
"Here we go again! You think I'm De Sciglio?" thought Lichsteiner, the substitute, a bit incredulously, but he immediately went to intercept Mahrez.
However, as it turned out, Lichsteiner was no more successful than his teammates. Mahrez, with a simple dribble and change of direction followed by a sudden burst of speed, got past him easily.
"Mahrez is on fire!" exclaimed the Italian Sky Sports commentator.
Indeed, Mahrez was on fire. He swiftly got past Lichsteiner, took the ball near the baseline, and sent a pass.
In the Juventus box, Di Natale tried to get in position to score, but Bonucci reacted quicker, securing his position first and blocking the ball.
On the outside, Lazzari tipped the ball to Mahrez.
Mahrez passed again, but this time not to Di Natale in the small box but directly to the top of the large box.
"Udinese's second attack! Mahrez passes... Bruno! He's unmarked!! Pogba goes to defend, he turns... shoots—a beautiful curve! It's a goal! It's a goal!! It's a goal!!! 3:0! That's the clincher!" shouted the local Udinese TV commentator excitedly.
And in Italy, the Sky TV commentator's voice soared, "GOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!! Bruno! Bruno!! His turn and shoot, creating a beautiful curve!!! Who could have imagined, who could have thought, that Udinese would score three goals in the second half, they've locked the victory now!"
Bruno's goal in the 87th minute of regular time helped Udinese extend their lead to 3:0.
The players on the field were ecstatic, celebrating enthusiastically, which also served as a way to delay the game.
Thus, Juventus captain Buffon approached the referee to protest, claiming that Udinese's celebration was excessively long.
The referee also felt that Udinese's celebration was a bit over the top, clearly a blatant waste of match time. He approached the Udinese players, signaling them to wrap it up and get ready to restart the game.
The Udinese players complied, returning obediently to their half, preparing to restart.
However, the game couldn't immediately resume because Udinese requested a substitution. Guidolin used another method to consume match time more justifiably.
Captain Di Natale was substituted, and another player returning from injury, Muriel, came on.
Muriel, standing by the sideline, wasn't in a hurry to enter the field, twisting his hips leisurely, while Di Natale slowly made his way off the pitch.
The referee, a bit fed up, shouted at Di Natale, "Hurry up!"
Di Natale started to jog off; he didn't want to get a card for delaying the game.
Thus, with Udinese's goal celebration and this substitution, nearly a minute of game time passed.
When the game resumed, it was already the 90th minute of regular time.
The fourth official held up the board showing five minutes of added time.
Perhaps the referee was annoyed by Udinese's time-wasting tactics, or perhaps because of Juventus's influence on the Italian pitch, but the added time was significantly longer than usual.
Guidolin protested from the sidelines that the added time was too long, but the fourth official ignored him.
Cheers erupted from the stands of the Allianz Stadium; with five minutes added, Juventus still had a chance.
Juventus indeed still had a chance. They scored a goal in the first minute of stoppage time, making the score 1:3.
Marchisio crossed to the front, and Lichsteiner's gentle shot was met by Llorente with a header at the small box, and the ball hit the net.
This was Llorente's fourth goal in as many games, the Spaniard being in excellent form.
With a goal pulled back, Juventus's morale soared. With the support of the home fans, they launched an all-out assault on Udinese's goal.
Shortly after their goal, Juventus quickly got another chance.
Llorente received a pass from Vidal in the frontcourt, passed it to Tevez, then made a forward run.
Tevez, feinting to go down the flank, suddenly passed to the onrushing Pogba.
The French midfielder, having had a frustrating day seeing his direct competitor Bruno score in front of him, decided to make his mark. He beautifully dodged Allan, then took a long shot.
"Chance!" shouted the local Turin TV commentator.
It was only the fourth minute of stoppage time; if Juventus could score again, they really might manage to equalize.
Pogba's shot was strong and swift, cutting through the crowd, aiming straight for Udinese's goal.
Udinese goalkeeper Burkič was blocked from view and reacted slowly. By the time he saw Pogba's shot, it was too late.
In the nick of time, a blue figure appeared on camera, blocking Pogba's shot with his body.
The ball bounced back and was cleared out of bounds by Udinese center-back Danilo.
"It's Bruno; he's made a goal-line clearance!"
Cheers burst from the home crowd in the Allianz Stadium, but they were abruptly cut off as if someone had choked them, causing immense discomfort.
Juventus players raised their hands, indicating a penalty—they thought the ball hit Bruno's hand, but the referee indicated it was a corner.
Replay showed that when Bruno made the goal-line clearance, his hands were clasped in front of his chest.
After some controversy, Juventus players went to take the corner kick.
Many commentators criticized their protest because it wasted nearly half a minute. By the time they took their corner, the match was in its final minute of stoppage time.
Udinese goalkeeper Burkič leapt high to catch the corner kick from Juventus, ending the hosts' corner attack.
Burkič didn't quickly throw the ball out but instead held onto it, signaling his teammates to press forward.
Burkič's kick was a bit off, sending the ball flying over half the field and out of bounds.
Juventus took a throw-in, and then both sides tangled near the sideline until the referee blew the final whistle, ending the game without Juventus managing another effective attack.
Pogba held his head in frustration. He couldn't believe that his beautiful long shot had been cleared off the line by Bruno.
Pogba glanced at Bruno, wondering if he was his nemesis. Not only had he stolen his World Youth Championship title, but now he was also vying for the European Golden Boy award. And now, to top it off, his attempt to score at home had been thwarted by the same man. Who could he complain to about this?
(End of Chapter)
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