Conte guessed correctly.
Although many commentators on the broadcast were criticizing Shane Carter for not being aggressive enough because the tempo had slowed,
Shane was definitely not being passive.
You could tell just by the way his head kept turning on the pitch.
His eyes were like radar, scanning everything happening in front of him and feeding it into his brain.
He was constantly observing and analyzing the changing shape of the match.
Every player's position, every run, every shift in spacing—
all of it was being processed in his mind.
Shane could spot plenty of gaps.
But not every gap could be exploited directly.
Some were traps set deliberately by the opponent—Pirlo was not easy to deal with. Sometimes a weakness was shown on purpose, just to tempt you into passing into that area.
Pirlo was directing Pogba and Marchisio through their movements.
He deliberately left certain spaces open.
Unfortunately for him,
Shane didn't bite.
He kept calmly orchestrating things from deep.
Pirlo frowned deeply.
"This kid is getting harder and harder to deal with..."
He took a deep breath.
Now he no longer knew exactly what the opponent was planning to do.
All he could do was react to the situation as it unfolded.
In the end,
Juventus' back line was still there.
Pirlo believed that
for the opponent to create real space,
it would not be easy.
Shane really had not found many opportunities.
Juventus' defense surprised him.
When he faced AC Milan, Allegri had already shown him how dangerous Italian defending could be.
But that AC Milan side was in turmoil, and their defense was not the peak version of the Italian chain system.
Juventus were much better.
No wonder they were sitting firmly at the top of the Serie A table this season.
The opponent was not leaving space open.
Sometimes, if the opponent won't give you space,
you have to create it yourself.
Shane began using his passing to guide the movements of both teams.
Juventus, at home, naturally were not going to accept Atlético Madrid spending a long stretch of time on the ball in their half.
A 1-1 scoreline meant Juventus could not afford to play slowly and cautiously like Atlético.
They were certain that if they didn't press,
Atlético would probably just pass the ball around the back until the final whistle.
They could accept 1-1.
Juventus could not.
Shane was very happy to see the opponent step up and press.
Because that would create openings.
He kept circulating the ball, offering support, and watching the pitch.
Juventus also knew how good he was at passing, so Atlético's forwards were being marked tightly as well.
Shane received the ball again.
Up front,
Costa and Griezmann were both making runs.
At that moment,
he actually had a chance to launch a long pass.
But Shane stayed cautious.
Yes, he could connect with his two strikers through passing,
but what if they couldn't keep the ball and the defenders won it back?
Shane glanced at Pirlo.
He didn't take the risk.
But he also had to make a decision now:
continue circulating the ball sideways, or go forward...
When he received the ball, Shane raised his leg as if preparing a long pass.
Pogba stepped up to close him down and disrupt the pass.
And just as Pogba made his move,
Shane simply rolled the ball across his body, turned, accelerated slightly, and got away from him.
"Nice move—Shane with a beautiful escape!"
In addition to building attacks through long passes,
he could also carry the ball forward himself.
Having shaken off Pogba,
Shane kept dribbling ahead.
That made Juventus' back line tense.
They began narrowing toward the middle.
Wing-back Asamoah quickly came out to engage.
One of the benefits of playing three center-backs was that the wing-backs could be very flexible.
The three center-backs could form the back line, while the wing-backs could push high in attack and be far more active in defense when needed.
Asamoah faced the dribbling Shane and knew Shane was very strong in one-on-one situations.
So he held his ground while retreating, keeping the proper distance.
In that situation,
an attacker would normally not force the issue.
If there wasn't space to break through, he would probably just pass backward, right?
That was what Asamoah was thinking—
when Shane suddenly accelerated.
Instinctively, Asamoah stepped in to challenge, but he saw Shane shift the ball from his right foot to his left, then burst past him in a flash.
"Shane! A nutmeg-style touch!"
The commentators shouted.
Shane flew past Asamoah and chased the ball down.
Asamoah, even though he had prepared well, was still beaten one-on-one this time.
His expression froze in shock.
He tried to turn quickly, but his body couldn't react that fast, so he could only stare like a statue as Shane pulled away from him.
That dribble created chaos.
Shane's run tore open a gap in Juventus' defensive line.
To cover that small opening,
Juventus' entire defensive shape shifted.
And in that movement...
Shane spotted several fleeting chances.
They were chances, but the probability of converting them was not high.
So he kept driving forward.
At the same time,
Atlético's attackers—
Costa, Griezmann, Koke, and Raúl García—
were all surging ahead to support him.
They were drawing defenders away and offering outlets for Shane.
Costa drifted laterally, ready to attack the space behind the line at any moment.
Suddenly,
the rhythm of the match changed.
The slow tempo turned fast in an instant.
The previously calm game
suddenly looked alive with movement and danger.
"This is Atlético Madrid's attack..."
Commentator Mario sounded full of expectation.
His voice had the tone of a host introducing a big moment, making everyone watching at home lean in and wonder what would happen next.
After all,
the player carrying the ball forward was Shane Carter—
the most watched young midfielder on the planet.
He could turn nothing into something.
He could produce goals out of nowhere.
As Shane drove with the ball, Juventus were never going to let him reach the front line without pressure.
Marchisio and Pirlo came up to meet him.
While dribbling, Shane used the outside of his foot to adjust the ball.
He did not give Costa a direct ball to attack the space behind the defense.
Instead, he played a through pass.
Because he had seen both Chiellini and Bonucci prepared for exactly that ball, and passing there would almost certainly get intercepted.
So he used his foot to feed Costa deeper in the move.
Costa received it with his back to Barzagli.
Shane kept moving forward after passing.
Costa then laid the ball off to Griezmann, who had drifted laterally.
As Griezmann took the ball,
Koke was already making a fast run.
He could slip the ball into the half-space and give Koke a sharp-angle chance to shoot.
And indeed,
Griezmann immediately played it out.
Koke cut diagonally in from the wing, but he quickly realized Chiellini had covered across.
He didn't have a clean shooting chance.
At that exact moment,
Griezmann and Costa both charged toward the six-yard box.
Their movement dragged the defenders away from the edge of the area.
Koke smartly pulled the ball back with his left foot.
To get the ball back toward the edge of the box, he committed his body fully, and the ball bounced back in a little triangle-shaped return pass.
The camera shifted...
"Suuuuuuuu..." Mario murmured.
The next instant!
Shane Carter arrived and struck it with his right foot, using the instep to push the shot home!
The ball skidded across the ground toward the far corner.
It hit the inside of the post and went in.
Absolutely...
The perfect corner!
Read ahead with 70+ chapters now with daily updates!
@patreon.com/Authorizz