Chapter 952: Morita’s Free Kick!

"A push from Jonas Hector to Koki Morita! On-site decision, a free kick for Schalke and a yellow card for Jonas Hector!"

The referee didn’t hesitate in this decision, not even giving any room for the away team to complain.

Not that they wanted to do that, of course, since Jonas Hector himself also knew that it was a clear foul on his part.

He did it with full awareness, knowing that if Morita was allowed to return the ball, Fabian would have a great chance to cut diagonally to the penalty box, and if that happened, the situation would be worse for the team.

It was a professional foul that the man was willing to commit even if he had to suffer a yellow card, and the head coach also approved this quick action from the defensive midfielder.

Still, that didn’t mean they were out of trouble yet. No, if anything, it seemed that a free kick in this position, just two meters outside of the box and ten degrees to the left side of the goal, was way more dangerous than the potential threat from Fabian’s penetration earlier.

It also didn’t help that the one who took it would be Morita himself, not Sead Kolasinac or Omar Mascarell, as it usually should be for Schalke.

No, since the boy managed to bag so many important goals from this scenario, Frohling had already trusted him to execute all the free kicks for the team in the future.

Not that the others wanted to complain, of course, since it was Morita who got the free kick.

The Japanese midfielder put the ball on the spot, staring slightly at the top bins behind the wall. This made the away team’s defenders stiffen instantly, tightening the gap between each other to prevent Morita from squeezing the ball through it.

Once the referee blew the whistle, though...

FWEEE!

The little gaze he did earlier was used to trick the wall into thinking that he would get it from above, when in reality, the boy aimed for the ground that the players left during the little jump they did.

BAM!

This was the exact same scenario that Skhiri wanted to create earlier, and yet, somehow, Morita did it way more perfectly, a clear provocation toward the opponent.

Unfortunately, K?ln’s goalkeeper was not Higo, and he clearly didn’t expect that the ball would go through the ground like that.

He froze instantly the moment he couldn’t see the ball flying above the wall, not knowing where it was going. The next second, it just rolled gently into the back of the net on the far corner from the spot where he guarded, giving Schalke their second lead of the game.

"OH! What a free kick!"

"Morita! Damn, Morita! You crazy bastard!"

"Hahaha! Can you see their face there?! This is so ridiculous!"

Morita just laughed while also high-fiving his teammates on the spot, not even celebrating the goal crazily. Still, he couldn’t help but smirk, giving Ellyes Skhiri, who froze on the spot, a slight wiggle of his eyebrows, like how he usually provoked his opponent.

’This is how you do a ground ball free kick, Man! Can you do it?!’

At least, that was how his stare was interpreted, and Skhiri’s face was so red under that kind of subtle provocation from a boy far younger than him.

Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it. No, the fact remained that K?ln was not a match for Schalke, so he just had to accept the fact that he was beaten by Morita with a bitter smile.

Now that the team led by two goals, things got easier for Schalke. They played more relaxed, and Higo even joined the build-up sometimes, trying to stretch K?ln’s formation and give his teammates some space in the midfield.

The away team also tried their best to push their luck, and yet, somehow, no amount of effort was close enough for them to get into the penalty box.

At least, they couldn’t reproduce the similar dangerous threat like Skhiri’s free kick earlier, making Higo standing in the box without nothing much to do.

Honestly, they were so demoralized right now, playing in a daze as if they had already given up on the match. While they looked so pitiful, though, unfortunately, mercy had never existed in the football world.

Not in the past, and at least, not even now.

Schalke didn’t stop their invasion, moving the ball left and right in the opposition half so calmly as if they owned the whole place. Morita and Omar shone so brightly as well, as their delivery was always on point and in the right timing.

It was unfortunate that Hoppe couldn’t get into a good position to receive the ball anymore, so the striker basically got isolated on the frontline, unable to come up with a good way to escape.

FWEEE! FWEEE! FWEEE!

After spending the last fifteen minutes quite uneventful, in the end, the referee finally blew the whistle three times in a row, ending the first half with Schalke being on the lead right now.

Everyone went back to the locker room quickly, especially those like Higo and Malick Thiaw who didn’t move too much in the game, wanting to get themselves into a warm room as quickly as possible.

Yeah, playing in the middle of the winter was never a good idea, and they were so lucky that they managed to get a lead so far.

"Okay, great job, Guys!" Frohling gave a round of applause once everyone was back there. "The first half is a perfect textbook game, the best that you have ever pulled in any games under you so far! However, we have been the worst offensive team for so many fixtures before, so it is time for us to catch up with the others!"

All the frontline players had their eyes lit up instantly, knowing that this only meant one thing.

They wouldn’t lower their intensity, wanting to get more goals to increase their goal difference.

"Now, that is what I am waiting for!" Morita grinned widely. "No need to put too much respect in this regard; let’s just destroy everyone else in front of our eyes!"