Chapter 698: Schalke’s Counterattack!

"OH! FABIAN IS THERE!"

"Fuck! That pass is crazy! It goes straight to Fabian’s spot!"

"Come on, Reese! Don’t you dare mess this up!"

All the supporters on the stand jumped instantly, having themselves on the edge of their seats while also watching Fabian Reese, the blonde boy on the wing side, rushing to catch the ball. This was the first time the team managed to get out of the opponent’s pressure, and if everything went well, they could even double their lead, securing the win on their side.

That was why so many people were so anxious when watching this scene.

Of course, Hoffenheim’s side would never let this go so easily. Even though they were indeed surprised at this long ball, they were still one of the best teams when it came to transition play like this. Their defensive players spread around so quickly, guarding all the important areas while one came to Fabian’s side and got ready for a race there.

The moment Fabian controlled the ball with his left foot and slowed down a little, that defender also let out a little relieved sigh. His purpose here was not to stop Fabian completely, but to stall for time so that the players on the frontline could get back in position first. Fortunately, Hoffenheim players were so disciplined when it came to something like this, as 6 out of 7 players on the frontline had already been back on Hoffenheim’s side right now.

’Fuck! They move so quickly, huh?! I need to take action as quickly as possible!’ Fabian gritted his teeth, scanning the space in front of him and trying to calculate whether he could speed up and get past the opponent to that spot so that he could launch a cross to the box.

Unfortunately, even Fabian himself was not confident with that scenario. After all, he had just stopped running to catch the ball earlier, and going back and forth from 0 to 100 back to 0 again was not something that was easy to do. No, his poor knees would scream immediately if he tried to change pace so often like that.

Fortunately, he didn’t really need to do that. Now that the ball was moving forward, both Weston and Morita had a better space to create in the center, and they arrived so quickly to support the attack.

"Reese! Here!" Weston asked for the ball while also rushing from the back.

Fabian didn’t have any reason not to pass it here, not when his route was blocked. Then, the moment Weston received it, the American midfielder also didn’t waste his time, sending it to the Japanese boy who was just a few meters away from his spot.

This time, though, Morita didn’t have too much pressure on his side, so he could control the ball and dribble it calmly. This alone was enough to make Hoffenheim players around him panic.

"Shit! Who the hell is responsible for guarding him?!"

"Why the fuck is he alone?! Christoph, get on him!"

Two players tried to get closer to Morita immediately. However, this small window of time was enough for the Japanese boy to figure out what to do. He passed the ball to Hofmann, who was on the center line first, then pointed his finger directly to the spot in front of him.

"PASS THERE!"

Hofmann followed it instantly, giving Morita exactly what he wanted. This gave the Japanese midfielder a better space to do something. Of course, that was one reason to do so, but the other was that he had a better angle toward Suat Serdar on the frontline, so after getting the ball back on his foot, Morita sent a scalpel-like through pass that pierced Hoffenheim’s defensive line.

Thud!

"YES! What a pass, Morita!"

"Come on! Get into the box quickly!"

All the Schalke players rushed forward, trying to occupy the penalty box to receive the pass from Suat Serdar. After all, while the man got a good ball from Morita, his spot was still closer to the flank than the goal, and he also got pushed away from Hoffenheim’s territory.

The only option here was to pass the ball back or send a cutback pass to the penalty box, and no one wanted to waste this chance away by stepping back right when they were so close to the finish line.

Suat Serdar also had the same thought. Even under the pressure from the opponent’s defender, he still managed to glance at the box for even a second. Knowing that he didn’t have too much time right now, the man sent a cutback as strongly as possible to let it get away from the defender next to him.

BAM!

If no one knew better, they would all think that it was a direct shot. After all, Suat Serdar took too much power in it, and the aim itself was terrible, to the point where no player was running at it.

However, right when the ball went outside of the penalty box, Weston McKennie suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and he didn’t even stop the ball first.

Thud!

The American midfielder didn’t even use that much power to deal with this situation. No, he knew that brute force would only get blocked by the opponent. No, he used a sophisticated technique to send a low ball to the corner spot, getting it through the human wall in the penalty box.

It worked as Hoffenheim’s goalkeeper moved way too late, and anyone could see that he wouldn’t be able to stop the ball here. However, right before it could get into the back of the net, one Hoffenheim player suddenly popped out of nowhere, getting down so quickly with a tackle to block the ball away from the goal.

Thud!

Weston McKennie was so stunned when he saw the ball fail to get in. He was so ready to celebrate the goal that when the ball didn’t find the back of the net, he only had one proper reaction here.

"What the fuck?!"