Juventus Stadium, Turin.
The ground held 41,000 but had around 35,000 in attendance.
Had this been AC Milan in their prime, the stadium would certainly have been sold out.
But this season AC Milan had sunk to mid-table in Serie A, stripped of their former glory, and Juventus supporters simply could not muster much enthusiasm.
As far as the supporters were concerned, the outcome of this match was a foregone conclusion.
Juventus would beat their visitors AC Milan at home, no question about it.
The one thing that did catch their interest was that Leon had again been named as the starting goalkeeper.
Many supporters were curious to see how Leon would perform against Juventus, the most formidable side in Serie A.
To be fair, the earlier fitness assessment, humiliating undertones and all, had genuinely raised Leon's profile considerably among Serie A supporters.
The match was also being broadcast live back home on the national sports channel.
With one of their own starting for a top club, there was no reason not to air it.
Even if that club was not quite what it once was, it was still a top club.
AC Milan had an enormous following back home.
So despite the match kicking off at two in the morning local time, a huge number of supporters stayed up to watch.
"If Leon keeps performing like this, I'll apologise right now."
"Ha! Same here! We gave him grief, but we shouldn't be mindless about it."
"When all is said and done, we just can't let go of football from the East. What a feeling! We've been dying for someone to give us something to be proud of! Come on, Leon!"
On the football forums back home, supporters who had stayed up talked among themselves while waiting for kick-off.
In the away dressing room, Leon sat alone in a corner as usual.
Beyond the backing he received from Inzaghi, his relationship with the rest of the first-team squad was clearly nothing to speak of.
"Ding! System mission issued!"
"Ding! Keep the mighty Juventus off the scoresheet!"
"Ding! Reward upon completion: 500 System Points!"
"Ding! Notice to Host! Pogba of Juventus has a badge available for extraction!"
"Ding! Extraction conditions: Keep a clean sheet against Pogba's shots! Beat Juventus!"
A rapid sequence of system notifications rang out in Leon's mind.
'Another badge extraction? That's not bad at all.'
Leon gave a quiet nod.
He had previously extracted [Knuckleball Master] from Ronaldo, and that had proven to be an excellent skill.
Pogba was one of the most exciting young talents around, and if a badge could be extracted from him, it would likely give Leon's current ability a meaningful boost.
That said, this match would undoubtedly be the sternest test Leon had faced so far.
In the Milan Derby, Leon had used System Points to exchange a [Distribution Master] card from the shop.
But for this match, he simply did not have enough points left for any exchanges.
That meant Leon would have to get through this match on his current ability alone.
Both sets of players emerged from the tunnel.
The atmosphere inside Juventus Stadium was still electric.
With both Milan clubs in decline, Juventus had begun their dominance of Serie A.
Allegri had taken over as Juventus manager this season, and after a slightly uneven start, the side had quickly found their form and now sat top of the table.
For this match, Inzaghi again set up in a 4-3-3.
AC Milan's starting lineup had been settling into a consistent shape over the last few fixtures.
Apart from the change in goal from Diego López to Leon, the outfield lineup had remained unchanged across three consecutive matches.
Four defenders: Lami, Zappata, Mexes, De Sciglio.
Three midfielders: Essien, Muntari, Menez.
Three forwards: Suso, Torres, Bonaventura.
Goalkeeper: Leon.
Allegri lined his side up in a 4-3-1-2.
Since taking over at Juventus, Allegri had moved away from the club's traditional back three and switched to a back four.
Four defenders: Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Chiellini, Asamoah.
Four midfielders: Pogba, Vidal, Marchisio, Pirlo.
Two forwards: Tevez, Llorente.
Goalkeeper: Buffon.
Before kick-off, Inzaghi and Pirlo embraced. The two were old teammates from their Milan days.
And when Buffon walked past Leon, he offered a simple "Good luck."
That caught Leon slightly off guard.
Buffon was without question the defining goalkeeper of his generation.
The two of them were nearly twenty years apart in age.
"The match is underway!"
The referee blew his whistle and Juventus kicked off.
The supporters back home who had stayed up immediately sat bolt upright.
With Leon restored to the starting lineup, Inzaghi's confidence on the touchline was visibly greater.
Despite being away from home, he sent AC Milan forward in attack right from the first whistle.
Asking Inzaghi, the rookie manager, to focus on defensive organisation was never going to work.
Better to throw men forward and see who had the sharper edge.
It was AC Milan who took control of the opening exchanges.
Suso drove down the flank and cut the ball back to Torres in the centre.
Torres's touch was heavy and his movement sluggish.
A scuffed attempt at goal was blocked away comfortably by Bonucci.
Torres's biggest problem right now was not a lack of goals but the fact that his confidence was almost completely depleted.
The Torres of his peak would have buried that chance without a second thought.
In the nineteenth minute, Juventus sprung the offside trap and broke clean through.
The "Bad Boy" Tevez charged forward, bearing down on the goal Leon was guarding.
The public fitness assessment had made it abundantly clear to everyone that Leon's ability to stop one-on-ones was remarkable.
But on the pitch, nobody with a clear run at goal passes up the opportunity and plays it back.
And as far as Tevez was concerned, the players who had failed to score against Leon in those tests had simply lacked the quality to finish.
He, Tevez, would settle it with a single strike.
Out on the pitch, Leon saw Tevez bearing down into the penalty area and came rushing off his line.
"Leon's coming out! Will he stop this one-on-one? Tevez is a serious threat!"
A surge of anxiety rippled through the supporters watching back home.
"Wait? What's happening? Why has Leon suddenly stopped halfway out?"
"Tevez is shooting!"
"Oh! He's blasted it wide!"
"Hang on, do you think Leon read it early that Tevez was going to miss, and that's why he stopped?"
"That actually sounds about right."
In the ground, the Juventus supporters all let out a collective groan of frustration.
Leon calmly walked to the edge of his area, took the ball from the ball boy, and prepared to take the goal kick.
The supporters back home had guessed correctly.
[One-on-One Must Save] only activated when the shot was on target. If the ball was not heading between the posts, there was naturally no need to make a save.
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