Chapter 976: Calm Before the Storm?!

"Oh! A free kick in a dangerous place! This is not a good sign for Schalke!" Daniel Herzog exclaimed.

"Their defenders panicked." Michael Ballack commented casually. "The effect of the last goal is still lingering in their head. They know that if they concede again, they would lose the game completely, and that thought messes up their brain, making them move irrationally."

"Now, Bayern has a great chance to overtake the score." Daniel Herzog chimed in once again. "Only 3 meters in front of the penalty box, facing straight at the goal, this will be a big chance for anyone to step up and get the lead today."

Yeah, indeed, the free kick came straight in front of the penalty box, with no angle to make it difficult for the taker to whack the ball into the back of the net.

Higo couldn’t help but curse, wanting nothing but to rip everyone’s heads off for their stupidity. I mean, how could they foul someone in that spot?!

Still, in the end, he could only sigh helplessly, knowing that this was not something he could control.

’Yeah, fuck! This is all because of that kid.’ He sent Jamal Musiala a stinging glare secretly. ’Now, I have to deal with whatever bullshitness this is... Man, what a hassle!’ He groaned.

Yeah, he blamed all this shit on Jamal Musiala. After all, while the boy might be the savior for Bayern Munich, he was a complete headache for Higo and Schalke, as they still didn’t know how to deal with the boy.

Now, though, Higo didn’t have time to grumble for too long about that boy. No, he had to focus on what was in front of him, setting up the wall to be as tight as possible so that no leak could appear from any side of it.

"Come on, Hoppe! Get tighter! Don’t leave any gap!"

"What the hell are you doing?! Are you afraid of getting whacked or what?!"

"Nice, Nabil! Keep your position and put your hands on the back!"

Meanwhile, on Bayern’s side, they were also ready to execute this free kick. This time, it was none other than Lewandowski who stood in front of the ball, taking a deep breath while his shoulder dropped a few inches as if he was ready to launch the rocket.

Josua Kimmich was also there, having sole possession of the ball while waiting for the referee to blow the whistle. He would be the one who rolled the ball slightly to give Lewandowski space, before the Polish striker would whack it as hard as he could.

Their scheme was easy to read, but whether Higo could stop it or not would be a different matter.

’Well, let’s see if I have it to score against me...’

FWEEE!

The moment the referee blew the whistle, Higo also dropped his stance immediately, getting ready to make a move. Then, an image flashed inside his head, and he shifted his weight right at the same exact second to be in the best position to block it.

’Left, still close to the middle, high!’

BAM!

At the same time, Lewandowski finally launched that shot.

Even though all the Schalke players on the wall rushed the moment Kimmich rolled the ball, the Polish striker still managed to whack it first and got the ball to escape through the entire wall, piercing a tiny space between them like a bullet before it found Higo’s hands between the posts.

"FUCK!"

"FUCK!"

Two curses rang so loudly at the same time, coming from both Higo and Lewandowski.

The reason was completely different, though, as the first one screamed in pain after having to block the rocket head-on, while the latter was so frustrated as another attempt failed to get into the back of the net.

"Fucking hell! That sounds hurt!"

"Is Higo okay? Hey, make sure that he doesn’t get injured!"

People grew concerned as they all grimaced, imagining how hurt it would be to block that kind of shot with bare hands.

Fortunately, after getting knocked back for a moment, the boy finally got up once again, cleaning all the snow and dirt off his body.

His heart was still beating fast from adrenaline, and the moment his eyes met Lewandowski, the boy just wiggled his finger as if saying, ’NOT TODAY!’

This was a pure provocation, one that was enough to make Lewandowski flustered. The man had his face so red in a mixture of fury and annoyance, and honestly, Higo would fear him passing out if he wasn’t so determined to fight back this provocation.

True enough, after this, the man went berserk. He started showing his egoistic side, asking for the ball all the time.

Then, it became easier for Higo to handle, as he just did what he had done in the first half earlier.

By opening a little gap for the striker to escape and blocking him on that side, he managed to keep Lewandowski on the bay.

The other Bayern Munich players also tried their best, but Schalke had already gotten through the phase of them being in panic, and once they regained their composure, their iron wall defense was back once again.

It also helped that Sead Kolasinac could contain Jamal Musiala perfectly. His strong body, positioning skill, and reaction speed were enough to allow him to deal with the boy without making any mistakes.

Now that Bayern’s biggest threat was neutralized, they also gradually slowed down the tempo.

Not only that, sometimes, they would still send one or two dangerous through passes that would go straight to Hoppe on the frontline. Unfortunately, Jerome Boateng was still as strong as ever, blocking the boy all the way through Manuel Neuer.

For a moment, though, peace seemed to descend on the pitch. However, only a fool would think that this was over. No, if anything, this sure was a calm before the storm, as Bayern had already prepared three more players to come to the pitch after this.

’Yeah, the real shit is about to begin. We have to get ready for this...’