Chapter 827: Bayern Changes Their Schemes?
The build-up itself was still the same. Using the two flanks as the destroyer to push Schalke’s defense to the penalty box, they tried to break through the middle forcefully. However, when the ball got cleared to the area three meters outside of the box, instead of recycling the ball patiently, Josua Kimmich had a different idea here.
The man didn’t even control the ball properly. He let it come closer to him, and before the ball could even touch the ground...
BAM!
He swung his right foot hard, whacking the ball with great power!
The ball moved in a parabolic route, rising up for a moment before it fell down like a meteor. Not only that, even though it didn’t curve or move in a troublesome manner, the aim was also excellent, going straight to the left side where Higo had to dive to reach it.
The goalkeeper himself also reacted at the same time. He gritted his teeth as his feet took off the ground, one hand extended far to reach the ball. As a result...
CLANK!
He managed to tip the ball!
Not only that, it bounced high upward, and fortunately for Schalke, the ball struck the crossbar, not bouncing down to Higo’s own goal!
It was a spectacular save that made everyone’s jaws drop instantlyas they looked at Higo, who had just fallen like the boy was an alien descending on Earth.
Higo himself was rolling on the ground a little, trying to protect his shoulder from the fall. He was panting heavily, finding that his adrenaline had rushed to its peak right now.
’Damn! That’s so fucking close!’ His chest was still moving rapidly while the boy himself was looking at his fingers that had just tipped the ball. ’Fuck, it hurts! Who would’ve thought that he had it in him to take that kind of a long shot?!’ He cursed inwardly, waving his hand a little to get rid of the tingling pain there.
After a moment of silence, though, everyone finally reacted here, starting with Sead Kolasinac, who tried to block Josua Kimmich’s shot earlier.
"Fuck it, Higo! No wonder Torsten is so obsessed with you! That is one hell of a save!" The Bosnian defender grinned while helping Higo get up from the ground.
"Haha! That’s it, Higo! Show them why you are the best goalkeeper here!" Omar Mascarell also came, patting the boy on his back.
Meanwhile, Josua Kimmich just clicked his tongue in annoyance. He didn’t even feel surprised here, having already guessed that Higo would be able to save his shot. At least, this was the kind of respect that he had for Higo, probably the only one that could make the current Bayern Munich so frustrated to death.
Still, that didn’t mean he and the rest of the Bayern players would give up. Soon enough, Higo finally understood the signal that Thomas Muller made earlier.
After this, all of Bayern’s players on the frontline started to exert their muscles.
At one occasion, Serge Gnabry carried the ball alone, dragging three defenders from outside of the penalty box to the touchline before trying to shoot the ball by himself. It was fortunate that Higo was in the right spot to block it.
Then, Leroy Sane made a combination move with Thomas Muller to get a good space outside of the box, and from his position, the winger launched a big curve shot that aimed at the top bins. This time, Higo was fortunate once again that the curl was too big, making the ball fly straight above the goal without the boy having to do anything to save it.
Thomas Muller also didn’t want to miss the party. Even though he didn’t like holding the ball for too long, his positioning skill was top-notch, and using that as his weapon, he managed to sneak into the heart of Schalke’s defense before using his left foot to push the ball to the goal.
Once again, though, Higo was still there to deal with everything.
Still, the boy couldn’t help but pay more attention to every attack from Bayern’s side. They suddenly created so many shots in the last few minutes, taking every single chance they had the moment an opening was created, even just for a single inch.
Hell, even Jerome Boateng and Niklas Sule also wanted to push their luck, trying to shoot from even 15 meters away from the penalty box. Those were foolish attempts, but their willingness to try this rang an alarm inside Higo’s head.
’They want to tire me out.’ He muttered in realization. ’They know that a normal quality attack cannot ensure them a goal against me, so they change the approach from quality to quantity. This way, they would definitely be able to kill me sooner or later. What a devious mind...’ He glanced at Thomas Muller, who initiated this scheme earlier.
Of course, he knew that it should be their head coach’s decision to make. However, the one who pulled the trigger was Thomas Muller in front of him, so Higo couldn’t help but be wary of the man.
Still, if there was one thing he was relieved the most about, that should be Lewandowski’s awkward situation on the frontline.
With Bayern trying their best to bombard Higo from all over the place, the Polish striker was completely isolated, with his job being to attract defenders to his side.
Yeah, the best striker in the world somehow got reduced to being mere bait in this game, and while everyone would praise him for his selflessness if they managed to win the game, this would be enough to bruise the man’s ego.
𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Higo could see it well from the corner of his eyes. Even though Lewandowski was still doing his new role willingly, a hint of frustration built up in him slowly, and the boy knew that sooner or later, the man would snap.
’Now, the question is, would the snap be beneficial for me, or would it be the one that would kill me?’