Chapter 769: The Second Goal!

It was a low shot to the bottom left of the goal, and yet, right before the ball could get through the last line there, Higo’s hand arrived in time, tipping it away from the goal. As a result, the ball just bounced away not that far, but still enough to prevent it from finding the back of his net.

"YES! Nice save, Higo!"

"Come on! That’s how you do it!"

Both Ozan Kabak and Oczipka rushed toward the goalkeeper to help the boy get up immediately after making a big save. They couldn’t help but feel a cold sweat on their back, finding that the last shot was getting so close to their own goal. Honestly, if it wasn’t Higo, any other goalkeeper would never be able to stop that shot, even with them putting their body in line.

That was why they were so grateful to have Higo, the most talented goalkeeper that they had ever seen in their life, to be protecting their defense on the back.

Still, Higo himself didn’t share the excitement here. He shook his head quickly, patting all the dirt from his shorts before starting to make an adjustment in the defensive line in front of him.

"Oz-san, ask Weston-san to keep his eyes on that number 29. This has been the second time he managed to get a good space in our pocket space, and I don’t believe in coincidence here."

The Turkish defender nodded solemnly as he also felt like the man, Eduard Lowen, was a dangerous presence for the team’s defense. He rushed toward the American midfielder and relayed the message quietly, and even though Higo didn’t know what Weston said, he still trusted the afro-haired man to do his job properly.

True enough, after the corner kick later, when Higo managed to snatch the ball in the air, Weston McKennie started to hover around Eduard Lowen closely, not giving him any chance to get space to receive the ball, let alone turning around to face the goal.

Hell, at one occasion, the American midfielder even rammed his opponent so quickly before the ball could even arrive, pushing him down to the ground.Even though, in the end, it was deemed a foul, this little action was enough as an intimidation show.

In the end, Augsburg had no choice but to use a cross, where Florian Niederlechner had a strong advantage even against Ozan Kabak and Bastian Oczipka. However, with Higo in the equation, everything was different, as the goalkeeper always managed to pick up the ball in the air easily.

Of course, that didn’t mean it was the only weapon in their arsenal. No, they still had more, like how Rani Khedira, their defensive midfielder, would try to insert himself into the box when no one noticed, or how they would try to get a corner kick and take advantage of their players’ height. Unfortunately, none of them managed to get into the goal here.

Basically, after the threat from Eduard Lowen earlier, Higo didn’t have any specific job other than shouting so many instructions from his spot. Honestly, this was just the kind of game where his throat would be more exhausted than his whole body, but the boy would definitely prefer this to anything else.

’Now, if only they could give up as quickly as possible... It is a hopeful thought, but a man can pray, right?’ The boy muttered under his breath.

Well, it seemed that his hope wasn’t as ridiculous as he originally thought. All the Augsburg players on the frontline were so frustrated right now, starting to launch so many weird long shots that couldn’t even get close to Higo’s territory.

Then, in the 37th minute of the first half, they finally let out a little slip here.

It all started with Marco Ritcher, as the winger was testing his luck once again versus Juan Miranda. Unfortunately, the Spaniard was still as solid as a rock, extending his right foot far to poke the ball before the opponent could dribble past him.

However, right when the ball itself was about to cross the sideline, Morita suddenly appeared out of nowhere, stopping it from going out of bounds. This move caught everyone off guard, and even some of the Schalke players were also confused about why the boy didn’t just let it go.

Well, Morita didn’t really need to explain here. This stop was crucial, because he saw a movement on the right side of the pitch. Just like in the first goal, he didn’t hesitate here, launching a pinpoint pass that flew so far diagonally across the pitch.

BAM!

"FUCK! Another long pass?!"

"Defense! Where the fuck is the defense there!"

Once again, Augsburg’s defense line fell into chaos as everyone was trying to figure out who was responsible there. Unfortunately, their full back was still deep in Schalke’s territory, forgetting completely about Nassim Boujellab there.

The Moroccan winger saw the ball coming at him, and with one control to his chest, the boy pushed the ball further before starting to sprint, wanting to get to the penalty box as quickly as possible.

Of course, the other Augsburg players would never let him go like that. Two defenders tried to push him to the flank while also waiting for the fullback to recover, not wanting to take too much risk.

However, just like how the goal against Dortmund happened a week ago, Nassim saw a little gap in their defense, and with a little push with his outside foot, the boy sent a curved pass that crossed through the two central defenders before the ball arrived straight to Daniel Caligliuri’s right foot.

’Come on, Cali! I have given you the second chance here, don’t waste it away!’

This time, the veteran striker showed his quality here. Even though he was still being surrounded by the opponent’s defenders, the man didn’t care about it, whacking the ball as strongly as possible.

As a result...

BAM!

The ball flew like a bullet, piercing through the back of Augsburg’s net and also giving Schalke the second lead of the game.

Schalke 04 2-0 FC Augsburg