Chapter 967: Kick-Off! Schalke 04 VS Bayern Munich Again!

Soon enough, all the players had already been in their positions, waiting patiently for the referee to blow the whistle.

As usual, Omar lost the coin toss, and Bayern took over the kick-off in the first half.

Lewandowski and Muller stood in front of the ball, all whispering something to each other while glancing toward Schalke’s defensive side as if they were planning for something.

"Hah! As if this little trick could fool me." Higo couldn’t help but snort.

This was just a classic gaslighting tactic where the players would look serious while looking at one spot, forcing the opponent to think that they were going to attack that side.

Schalke had already used this little trick so many times as well, even including when they were in a training session against him.

That was why Higo could differentiate which one was genuine and which one was the gaslighting attempt, and this time, it was clear that those two were trying to do the latter one here.

’That means they are going to go for the complete extreme, right?’ He couldn’t help but mutter in realization.

"Malick, get ready to protect the joint area. If the ball goes to the flank, don’t hesitate to abandon it and shrink. Let Rudy and Beni deal with the flank side; just make sure no pass will get into the box." The goalkeeper instructed immediately.

Malick Thiaw blinked for a second, not knowing why the instruction came out of nowhere. Still, out of trust, he nodded a little, giving a signal for Rudy to get ready as well.

At this point, Higo had already proved that his instruction, even if it seemed unreasonable, was always right on point, so there was no need to hesitate or question it for a second.

This made the whole line of command on the defensive line easier, as once Higo took over, everyone just needed to follow obediently.

After waiting for a while...

FWEEE!

The referee finally blew the whistle, and Lewandowski pushed the ball to the midfield immediately, letting Joshua Kimmich organize the play first.

This time, though, Frohling instructed everyone especially so that they didn’t push too far even in the beginning of the game.

The boss knew that pressing Bayern was never an easy task, and one moment they lost concentration, they would be punished with a quick counterattack straight to the team’s heart.

No, instead, it was better to wait, letting Bayern take the bite first while also trying to see which player was on fire from Bayern’s side that they needed to pay attention to.

Soon enough, the ball shifted to the right side, where Leroy Sané was hogging the flank alone there.

Yeah, somehow, on that side, Bayern didn’t use any speedy or offensive fullback anymore, but put a big and bulky Niklas Süle on that side.

Still, that wasn’t the time to think about that. No, if anything, both Sead Kolasinac and Fabian Reese tried to cover all the ground there, wanting to prevent the electric winger from accelerating to the box.

This time, the approach worked, as Leroy Sané just stopped and passed the ball back to the midfield.

However, the whole formation shifted on that side, and Kimmich saw it clearly before switching side immediately, sending a diagonal pass to Alphonso Davies, who was attacking the other side of the flank.

BAM!

"Shit! Switch side!"

"Malick! Don’t move! Let Rudy and Beni handle this!"

The shout from Higo was enough to stop the young defender from rushing to that side to help.

This was probably the best decision that he could make, as in the next second, Alphonso Davies decided to play a one-two pass with Serge Gnabry to allow him to run toward the box.

Malick, who didn’t even move an inch, suddenly saw the ball within his reach, and while Alphonso Davies’s speed was scary as the Canadian fullback was rushing straight to him, the defender didn’t even flinch, just using his body to cover the running route while also letting Higo come out of his comfort zone to get the ball first.

Thud!

"Oh! Yes, Malick! That’s how you defend it!"

"Come on! Use your body more!"

All the supporters on the stand roared when they saw this, somehow feeling relieved that it wasn’t just Higo who showed his best attitude today.

Still, this wasn’t the time for them to get drowned in relief.

No, Higo didn’t even blink after catching the ball, having his eyes on the frontline already.

’Well, this is your favorite kind of ball, right, Morita-san?’ He couldn’t help but grin before exerting all his power on his shoulder.

BAM!

The ball was thrown, and it covered half of the ground instantly before falling to the most dangerous player on the team, Morita.

"Oh, fuck!"

"Leon, push him! Use your body!"

Honestly, watching a jacked man like Goretzka charging at him like a rugby player was a scary sight for Morita.

However, he could also see so much space being left open in return, so the boy just flicked the ball quickly before spinning around in the next second to avoid Munich’s defensive midfielder.

"FUCK! WHAT A BEAUTY!"

"COME ON, MORITA! THIS IS YOUR CHANCE!"

"GET IT DONE!"

The excitement suddenly rose to its peak as the boy carried the ball halfway through the pitch, and honestly, in this exact moment, no one would be surprised if, in the next second, the threat would be bigger on Bayern’s side.

"David, keep an eye on the striker!"

"Flank! Flank! Push them there!"

Even Bayern Munich also showed their rare chaotic side, scrambling hastily like they just wanted to go back to their original position as quickly as possible.

Still, at this point, they showed their experience, as it took so little time for them to recover into their best defensive shape once again.

Unfortunately, that was not enough to stop Morita, as the midfield suddenly saw a great chance on the opposition half.

"Wait, what is he doing there?!’ He asked in bewilderment. ’Well, this is my chance, right?!’

Then, without hesitation, he recoiled his right foot, and any Bayern Munich players who saw that also connected the dots immediately.

’FUCK! THIS IS BAD!’

BAM!