Chapter 720: Biggest Night in Club Football XVI
The two teams were once again standing just outside their technical area as they set up the order for the penalties.
On the Uventus side, Pirlo quickly got right into the specifics.
"Christiano will take the first penalty," he stated, looking at Ronaldo and got a nod from the striker.
"Paulo, how about you next?"
"Alright coach," Paulo nodded.
"After him will be Fede, Jason and Rabiot. They will be the first five penalty takers, but if we get into the sudden death stage, Danilo will start, then Alex Sandro, then Mckennie, and so on... Giorgio, I’ll leave that arrangement to you," Pirlo said, turning to the team captain and Chiellini nodded in acquiescence.
"Alright guys, this is it. It all comes down to one kick of the ball,"
"Remember, pick your spot, don’t change your mind and make sure you stay on target,"
"You know how important this is, I don’t have to remind you, so you know what you need to do," Pirlo told his players.
In Bayern’s technical area, Hansi Flick was doing the same thing with his players.
"Lewandowski, Muller, Kimmich, Coman, and Gnabry. You guys are the first five to take the penalties in that order,"
"You’ll be up against Buffon and I don’t need to tell you how good he is. Hit the ball hard, hit it fast and ensure he can’t reach it even if he goes in the right direction," Hansi said.
"Unless you’re absolutely confident he can’t reach it, don’t do anything cheeky," he reiterated.
The two team captains soon went up to the referee to do the coin toss to decide who would take the penalties first and which side the penalty would be taken.
Chiellini won the toss and decided to choose the end of the field the penalty shootout would take place while Bayern would get to take the first penalty.
Choosing the side that had the travelling Uventus fans behind them, Chiellini and Neuer went back to their teammates.
The players of the two teams were soon heading to the left and right sides of the halfway line while the two goalkeepers walked towards the goal where the penalty shootout would take place.
The loud cheers of the Uventus fans filled the air as Buffon took his place between the sticks while Lewandowski walked over from the halfway line as the first person to take the penalty.
{It’s Lewandowski to take the first penalty} Trevor began his commentary as soon as Lewandowski stood behind the ball.
{Well, the first penalty is very important as it sets the tone for the rest of the shootout, so they need someone confident. Someone who they know can put penalties away and he is that man} Martin added.
Buffon jumped up a bit to psyche himself, but he kept his eyes on Lewandowski, and everything he knew about the man began to play in his head, helping him come to a conclusion about where the penalty was likely to go.
*Fweeeeeeeeee*
With the referee’s whistle giving him the go ahead, Lewandowski ran at the ball and hit it as hard as he could at the bottom left corner of the goal.
Buffon guessed the correct direction and dived toward the ball, but he was no match for the ball’s speed and the ball smashed past his outstretched hand before he could reach it and the net was sent bulging.
{Good penalty! Buffon guessed right but couldn’t get there in time}
{Bayern have one!}
Lewandowski had already turned away after pumping his fist with excitement and relief and Ronaldo was already walking up to take his own penalty.
Neuer replaced Buffon in goal as Ronaldo took his position behind the ball, taking deep breaths.
{It’s Ronaldo to take Uventus’s first penalty and to be completely honest, no one is really worried he’d miss this}
*Fweeeeeeeeee!*
{Can Neuer do the unthinkable and stop this?} Trevor began as Ronaldo began his run up to the ball.
{No, he can’t. Ronaldo sends him the wrong way!}
Ronaldo had hit the ball right down the center while Neuer had jumped towards the bottom left, thinking Ronaldo would hit the ball there.
Cheers instantly escaped the lips of the Uventus fans behind the goal as Ronaldo turned away, confidence on his face, but relief in his heart.
{1:1}
Muller had already began walking up from the half way line as Ronaldo headed back and he was soon behind the ball as Buffon took his place back in the middle of the goal.
{Muller to take the next penalty. They need someone reliable behind this and he is definitely the right man for the job}
Muller placed the ball on the spot and stepped back, allowing the referee to check it’s placement while he stared down Buffon.
Done checking, the referee stepped back and blasted his whistle, prompting Muller to run up to the ball and hit it.
Once again, the ball was sent down the bottom left, but it was so well placed that Buffon couldn’t reach it despite guessing correctly and diving toward the ball.
{Muller makes it two!}
{He’s clearly gone for accuracy over power, but when you’re that confident in yourself, why not?} Martin chuckled as Muller turned away, a picture of calmness on his face.
His reliability was one of the main things that had kept him as a fan favorite and a manager favorite over the years.
Apart from his undeniable quality, just the fact that he was consistent and could always be relied on was something any manager looked for and that was one of the reasons why despite him playing a football role that was slowly dying in the world of modern football, all the managers who had come to coach the team always made their plans to fit him.
Dybala began stepping up for the next penalty as Neuer took position in the goal again.
Receiving the ball from the referee, Dybala whispered a small prayer before putting the ball down and taking a few steps back.
As usual, the referee checked the ball’s position and whether Neuer was off the line before blowing the whistle for Dybala to take the penalty.
Running short, Dybala swung his foot at the ball, sending it toward the right.
Neuer guessed right and dived towards the right as well, but Dybala had hit the ball towards the top right corner, so despite putting up his hand, Neuer missed the ball and it flew above him, landing in the back of the net.
{Over the keeper and in. Good penalty from Dybala, he equalizes things for Uventus} Trevor commented while the Uventus fans cheered loudly.
Things were already moving quickly at this point and Kimmich began coming up from the midway line while Dybala headed back to the rest of his teammates.
{It’s Kimmich to take the penalty and if there’s another person I can call reliable, it’s this fella. He’s very versatile and can play more than three positions. His defensive abilities may be the best part of his game, but he is not afraid to take up a bolder role when his team needs it}
{And now, his team needs it}
*Fweeeeeeeeeeee!*
Kimmich ran at the ball and hit it, sending it to the left of the goal, which was also the direction Buffon dived in, but despite managing to get a hand to the ball, it bounced off his hand and flew past the goal line.
{There was a bit of a scare there, but he makes it three for his side}
Kimmich turned back, relief etched on his face that the ball hadn’t been saved by Buffon. He didn’t even remember to celebrate the fact that he scored the penalty, he was just relieved.
{It’s Federico Bernadeshi who’s up next for Uve in the penalty shootout and he needs to put this one away to put his team on level terms with Bayern}
*Fweeeeeeeeee!*
Bernadeshi ran at the ball and hit it towards the right side of the goal.
Neuer reacted instantly and jumped at the ball, but he just barely missed it and the ball smashed past the tip of his fingers.
{Very close one! Neuer almost got a hand to it, but Bernadeshi just barely makes it three!}
Neuer slammed the ground frustrated that he had barely missed the ball while Bernadeshi headed back to his teammates relieved that he hadn’t failed to equalize the game.
{Things are getting a bit hairy here and I have to say, it was to be expected}
{The two goalkeepers here are among the best in the world and something tells me that it will not be long until a penalty is saved here}
Coman put the ball down on the spot, took four steps back and looked at the goal and Buffon, trying to pick a spot.
*Fweeeeeeeeeeee*
The referee didn’t give him too much time to think and Coman ran at the ball, hitting it at the bottom left side of the goal.
Once again, Buffon guessed correctly and jumped at the ball, just barely managing to touch it and deflect it slightly, but the ball still continued past him.
*CLANG!*
{Oh! The bar!}
{Oh, you can see the disappointment and agony on his face as realizes that he’s missed the chance}
Jason was already walking to the penalty spot to take the penalty, putting the ball down on the spot and taking five steps back.
*Fweeeeeeeeeee!*
At the referee’s whistle Jason began running up to the ball.
{This one to give Uventus the leaddd?!}