Per usual practice, the Juventus players took a day off after winning the ga against Cagliari. They spent their entire hours on Sunday resting before returning to the training ground on Monday morning.
The football season was in its late stages, and most coaches of top teams were already doing their best to reduce the intensity of the training schedules. They were trying not to burn out the energy of their players when there were still crucial tournants, like the Champions League and their respective leagues, at stake.
Coach Allegri obviously had such considerations while designing the training for his players over the following two days. On Monday, he took them through only one hour of intensive training and discussed ga tactics with them for another hour before sending them to rest for the day. He repeated the sa routine on Tuesday, save for the fact that he didn't send the players back ho in the afternoon.
The coach instead extended the tactical eting and picked the line-up for the second leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final.
The selected players then grouped up with the coaches and technical staff in the evening. They took the team bus to the airport and boarded an evening flight to Germany, eager to play the second leg of Juventus' Champions League semi-final against Borussia Dortmund. They arrived in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, at around eight and checked into a hotel, where they spent the night.
The coach took them through a one-hour light training session the following morning. He then discussed more tactics against Dortmund with them for two hours before sending them back to the hotel to rest for the day.
They passed the day in a relaxed mood in their respective rooms, only opting to co out for lunch at 1:00 PM and an evening snack at 6:30 PM before they set off for the match venue in their team bus. Under the guidance of the German police, they snaked their way through the streets of Dortmund before eventually arriving at the Signal Iduna Park, Borussia Dortmund's ho ground, at 7:30 PM.
The pre-match proceedings moved forward quickly, and the ga comnced at 8:45 PM.
Coach Max Allegri had fielded his strongest squad, save for the injured Andrea Pirlo. As such, the on-form Juventus started the ga incredibly well despite being away from ho.
Carlos Tevez was once again Dortmund's torntor right from the get-go. So brilliant midfield play by Juventus saw the Argentine striker connect with a pass from Patrice Evra deep in the opposition's half. Without hesitating, Tevez pulled the trigger from 30 yards out and beat the keeper to score Juventus' 1st goal for the night during the 3rd minute.
It was the perfect start Juventus needed as they had extended their aggregate lead to 7:1 early in the second leg of the semi-final. They decided to conserve strength and slow their tempo of play. They allowed Dortmund to play on them and dominate possession as they defended staunchly without making any mistakes.
The match proceedings moved forward in that manner. But Dortmund's control of the ga was not allowing the players of the German outfit to carve out any opportunities. They even tried their best through their wing play to send crosses to Aubayang, their center-forward. However, Juventus' disciplined defense repeatedly cleared the danger ti and ti again without any mishaps.
The halfti whistle eventually ca with Juventus having been comfortable since their goal and Dortmund finding only half-chances from Marco Reus and Pierre-Erick Aubayang. As such, the players of the German-based team needed to improve if they hoped to avoid another embarrassing score.
However, the signs of improvent never ca after the second half comnced. Yes, the Dortmund players continued dominating possession. But they were poor in the final third and continuously failed to convert their dominance into actual goal-scoring chances. They didn't have even a shot on target during the first fifteen minutes of the second half.
The ga continued, and circumstances worsened for Dortmund when the Juventus players started coming out of their shells to launch counterattacks. The initiator was Arturo Vidal, who won a ground duel against Henrikh Mkhitaryan with a sliding tackle before poking the ball towards the nearby Zachary.
Zachary, on his part, didn't do anything flashy after receiving the ball. He acted as a typical midfielder and played a first-ti pass towards the left flank. He unleashed a pinpoint ball toward where Carlos Tevez was lurking.
The counterattack was on, and the on-form Carlos Tevez didn't disappoint. He chested the ball to the ground and used his swift pace to beat Sokratis Papastathopoulos, the Dortmund right-back for the day. He cut into the pitch from the left flank before playing a pass to Álvaro Morata, who was eagerly waiting for an opportunity close to the edge of the box.
Morata skillfully controlled the ball close to the edge of the box. He turned and twisted past Mats Humls, the Dortmund center-back, with the ball glued to his foot. Then, when the angle opened up, he pulled the trigger and slotted the ball past the keeper to score another goal for Juventus.
The score was then 2:0 in favor of Juventus on the night, and the Juventus players must have felt they had already done enough during the semi-final. They comfortably fell back into their half and defended without mishaps until the ga ended after four minutes of added ti.
With that, Juventus finally erged victorious in the UEFA Champions League semi-final. They had played a solid two legs of football and defeated Borussia Dortmund by an aggregate score of 8:1 to qualify for the finals in Berlin. They would play against Barcelona, the Spanish team that had overwheld Bayern Munich in the other semi-final with a 5:3 aggregate score.
The prospect of playing in the final seed to re-energize the Juventus players and coaches. Three days later, on Saturday, May 16th, they headed into their next away Serie A fixture with boundless montum. They showcased another incredible performance and overwheld Inter Milan, even while they were playing away from ho.
The ga didn't start in their favor as Mauro Icardi, one of the opposing center-forwards, put Inter Milan ahead during the 9th minute with a simple tap into the back of the net following a well-taken corner kick. But the Old Lady players didn't give up even after facing the early upset. They showed the character of champions and sustained pressure against the opponent until they found a breakthrough through Zachary during the 36th minute.
Zachary again showed his class and took the opportunity calmly. He converted a free-kick from a tight angle to score his 34th goal in the Serie A that season. He was steadily making firm steps towards winning his first Golden Boot in the Italian League.
The score was then 1:1, but the Juventus players didn't relax. They continued dictating play against Inter Milan through their brilliant exchanges in the middle. They dominated possession and created more and more goal-scoring chances until a foul on Fernando Llorente within the box saw them win a penalty during the 42nd minute.
Fernando Llorente stepped forward and calmly converted the penalty. He sent the keeper the wrong way and found the back of the net to score Juventus 2nd goal that evening.
The score was then 2:1 in favor of the visiting Juventus. The Inter Milan players reacted by launching endless attacks during the second half. They even ca close to scoring several tis, with Xherdan Shaqiri, Mateo Kovacic, and Marcelo Brozovic all getting clear opportunities to put the ball behind the back of the net during the 51st, 67th, and 73rd minutes respectively. However, the stunning saves from Marco Storari, the stand-in Juventus keeper, allowed the Turin-based team to escape unscathed on all occasions.
The ga then proceeded into the late stages, with Inter Milan attacking relentlessly in search of an equalizer while Juventus calmly defended. Like most other adversaries that had already played against Juventus, the Milan-based team seed to have forgotten that Juventus were dangerous on the counter.
Juventus soon punished them for their oversight when Marco Storari made another stunning save before rushing to the edge of the box and unleashing Zachary on a counterattack with a one-handed throw during the 86th minute.
Zachary did what he usually did best. He calmly collected the ball close to the touchline on the left flank before whirling around and sprinting towards the other side of the pitch with all the speed he could muster. He left most Inter Milan defenders in the dust and eventually cut into the field to head towards Milan's box.
At that juncture, Gary del, the defensive midfielder who had stayed back to defend, tried to close Zachary down. But Zachary stepped past him with a swift change of pace before continuing towards the box. He then calmly rounded the approaching keeper and put the ball into the back of the empty net to score Juventus' 3rd goal during the 86th minute.
Zachary didn't halt his run, though. He ran towards the touchline and celebrated his 35th Serie A goal in front of the traveling Juventus fans. He was really having the ti of his life playing for Juventus, and he repeatedly pumped his fist again and again to vent his excitent.
After the goal celebrations, the ga resud, with the Juventus players continuing to frustrate Inter Milan with their ga managent tactics. They played solid defensive football and wasted ti whenever they could until the referee blew the final whistle after six minutes of added ti.
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