Chapter 1013 Final Result!

2-2.

Higo stared at his phone as he watched the final score being revealed in one of the football apps on his phone.

It had been an hour since he left the pitch, and now the boy found himself sitting in a hospital bed after being checked thoroughly, from a simple assessment to an X-Ray test, to make sure that they knew what went wrong with his hand.

The result of the test hadn’t come out yet, so he just sat patiently while also checking on the game that he left earlier.

After seeing the final score, though, he couldn’t help but feel bitter, thinking that all of his hard work had been a waste.

Somehow, the stable 1-0 that he tried so hard to defend to the point he hurt himself crumbled before the game was over, and yet, the team was still managing to get back on track to avoid the defeat against their rival.

’At least, we are not losing, huh?’ He took a deep breath, feeling the slight throbbing pain still bothering his finger.

Oh, that didn’t mean he blamed his teammates for failing to hold on. Well... Maybe a little bit, but he could still understand why the team lost their foothold once he left the game.

The morale must have crumbled at that moment, and just trying to rise from the ashes itself was almost an impossible task.

It was a credit to the team that after they were down and being overtaken by the opponent, they could still fight back to bring back a point from the game.

Still, even with all of that in mind, the boy couldn’t help but feel bitter, slightly blaming himself for his departure that made things difficult for the team.

’If only I could bear with the pain...’ He muttered inwardly, getting drowned in the what-if scenario.

After thinking about it, the boy finally shook his head before he used his left hand awkwardly, moving his finger with a caution he had never shown before to access the live broadcast of the DAZN channel.

It was a coincidence that they were currently playing the highlight of the game, so Higo just sat patiently to watch what was going on after he left the pitch.

"With the leadership of Sead Kolasinac and Benjamin Stambouli on the defensive line, Schalke managed to hold back even after the departure of Ryusuke Higo. Unfortunately, Erling Haaland’s goal broke the deadlock and changed the direction of the game."

Right after that, Higo witnessed how the first goal for Dortmund unfolded, from the combination attack between Reus and Sancho to the final pass to Haaland in the middle of the penalty box.

’Yeah, even with my clairvoyance ability, it would be hard for me to deal with that.’ He muttered inwardly, acknowledging that the attack was almost impossible to stop.

The second goal, though, left Higo with the corner of his lips twitching in speechlessness.

It all started with Fahrmann trying to play it short, going for a possession ball in the team’s territory. He forced Stambouli and Malick Thiaw to join his escapade, dragging the whole team to follow their action to bait Dortmund into their side.

Unfortunately, that was the exact thing that the opponent wanted them to do.

They could still fight against a team that didn’t want to hold possession, yeah, but with a team that tried to do that, they swarmed the opponent’s territory in a second, overwhelming them with immense pressure from their number.

Hell, it was the 87th minute of the game, and yet, none of the players with the yellow jersey looked tired at all. If anything, they were so excited when they saw Schalke decided to play it short like this.

In the end, Sebastian Rudy couldn’t hold on for too long before the possession slipped from his feet, and Julian Brandt punished it with a beautiful diagonal cross that went straight to Haaland’s head.

The Norwegian striker didn’t hesitate for a second, heading it to the bottom corner of the goal where Fahrmann couldn’t even reach it with his hand.

As a result, the goal was valid, putting Schalke behind on the scoreboard.

’Yeah, there is a reason why I detest going for a possession ball from behind, okay?’ He couldn’t help but sigh, wanting to complain to anyone who was willing to listen. ’This is so ridiculous! What is their obsession with playing it short, honestly?! Just clear it away, for fuck’s sake!’

The unfortunate part was that this had already been over, so the result couldn’t be changed at all. Higo had to accept bitterly that the team conceded a goal from a stupid scenario, one that he always warned his team not to do.

Fortunately, though, that wasn’t the end of the game.

No, somehow, Tanaka, who was quite passive after scoring a goal at the beginning of the second half, managed to insert himself in the space between Hummels and Mateu Morey on the right side of the pitch.

He didn’t look threatening at all, but once Morita saw his senpai standing there, the boy didn’t hesitate to send the ball to that side.

Tanaka also didn’t hold the ball for too long as he just became a wall that bounced the pass straight to Dortmund’s territory where Hoppe was running at.

In the end, once Hoppe won the sprint duel against the two defenders, he put the ball into the back of the net with ease, tying the game once again just two minutes before the game was finally over.

Even though the process was way too difficult and far from being perfect, Higo accepted the draw that the team fought for with tooth and nail, glad that they managed to avoid the defeat that he was afraid of most.

’Now that the game is over, I can only focus on what is in front of me, right?’ Higo murmured under his breath. ’Let’s see how bad my current situation is... Hopefully, I wouldn’t need to take a rest too long like my shoulder injury last summer...’