Chapter 753: The Second Goal! Leading Again!

"Shit! Shit! Shit!"

At this moment, Achraf Hakimi couldn’t help but curse as he tried to recover from that aerial duel. He and Nassim Boujellab came from the same academy in Morocco, so the boy knew full well how dangerous Nassim was with the ball.

"Don’t worry, I get this!"

Mahmoud Dahoud shifted quickly to the flank, trying to slow Nassim down while also giving the wing-back some time to recover. When Higo saw this from afar, the boy couldn’t help but click his tongue in annoyance.

’Yeah, as expected from the second-best team in the country right now. They are not even succumbing to chaos when facing this kind of an attack.’ However, that frown vanished instantly in the next second as he saw someone coming from behind to support Nassim. ’Well, unfortunately, this gives him a perfect chance to take an action! Come on!’

Nassim also saw the movement coming from behind, and while he wanted to execute the play by himself, the winger knew that he was not the one with the best position here. So, instead, he pushed the ball to the pocket space in front of the penalty box, and there...

BAM!

Morita suddenly came like the Grim Reaper, using his left foot to push the ball to the goal.

He didn’t even use that much power here.No, accuracy played the biggest part, as the ball got through Manuel Akanji’s legs, piercing the grass on the ground at high speed to the bottom corner of the goal.

Dortmund’s goalkeeper, Gregor Kobel, reacted immediately. However, his speed was slower since the crowd blocked his vision, and as a result, his hand was just a few inches away from the ball. A very short distance, but it was far from enough to let him block the ball.

Thud!

It went to the back of the net, giving Schalke their second goal of the day.

"OH! WHAT A GOAL!"

"Fucking hell, Morita! Are you kidding me?!"

"Hahaha! We are on the lead again!"

Everyone was chasing Morita as the boy had already blitzed his way to the bench the moment that he guessed that the ball would be in. He was now hugging everyone else there, being followed by so many main players on the pitch who were jumping on the boy’s back.

"That’s how you do it, Morita!" Omar Mascarell also laughed boisterously, rubbing the Japanese midfielder fondly on the head. "You finally decided to join the fun, huh? Come on!"

Morita himself also laughed right now, somehow feeling the pressure on his shoulders disappear. In the first half, the midfielder basically had done nothing, getting harassed so many times by Mahmoud Dahoud and Julian Brandt.

It was fortunate that Julian Brandt was replaced here, as even though Jadon Sancho was a better offensive player, when it came to discipline in doing a defensive task, no one could replace the German player here.

The fact that Morita managed to escape earlier was because Jadon Sancho failed to get on him at the right time, allowing Morita to take off that shot without anyone buzzing around his head.

While the pundits later would contribute this as Morita’s brilliance, everyone here knew that it was Jadon Sancho who made a mess earlier, so right now, other than a goal, Schalke also brought back information about the opponent’s new player.

’Yeah, at least we can paint a big target on him, like how they want to corner Weston in the first half. Man, Karma sure is a bitch, huh?’

Meanwhile, on the back, Higo could be seen covering his face in awe. Not from the goal itself, but also because it was the first time since the boy left Hakodate Nishi that he saw a perfectly executed blitzkrieg attack like this.

’Yeah, as expected from Morita-san and Nassim. You can always rely on them when you need them most.’ The goalkeeper nodded in approval.

This goal also became another pressure for Higo, because that meant he had to step up his game against Erling Haaland. Not only him, butOzan Kabak was also quite nervous amidst the excitement, as the man had a history of being clumsy when the team was in the lead.

The two most important players on the backline, and they were under immense pressure straight away.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pitch, all the Dortmund players scowled, clearly unhappy with this surprise. No, conceding a goal right after the second half began was like a stab straight to their heart, and the best way to bounce back and revive themselves was by returning the favor here, tying the score as quickly as possible.

They stared coldly at Schalke’s players, waiting for them to finally get over their little celebration so that they could start the game again as quickly as possible. Hell, with how Haaland trying to loosen his neck a little bit, Higo couldn’t help but gulp, finding this little action to be a little bit intimidating.

’Wait, why would I think that? Even Lewandowski didn’t put such fear in me, and he is the best striker in this country, right?’ Higo blinked, seeming to realize something. ’Does that mean Haaland is more dangerous? Well, it should be the case, or I wouldn’t be this nervous against him!’

That realization didn’t make him relieved. No, if anything, the boy got more restless, knowing that his advantage was nullified by Erling Haaland without him knowing the reason why.

He took a deep breath, trying to focus on the game once again. As everyone was back from their little celebration, he came to Ozan Kabak quietly.

"Oz-san, don’t think too much about anything else; let the others handle it. Your focus should be on one thing: put Erling Haaland into the most uncomfortable position that you can think of. If you can do that, it would be a big help for me."

The Turkish defender blinked for a moment, letting his brain process what he just heard. Even though he was still confused, in the end, the man just gave a nod, deciding to trust Higo about it.

"Sure, leave him to me."