Chapter 715: The Pressure Continues!

Well, it wasn’t truly fair for Higo to blame Jonjoe Kenny. The Englishman had worked so hard to guard that right side, but his capability was limited. He could maybe contain most of the wingers in the league, but Alphonso Davies was one of the best in the world right now.

The Canadian wingback didn’t even need to do too much. He took advantage of Kenny’s tense state, moving lightly as if he was about to cut inside. Kenny caught that movement and reacted, but that was exactly what Alphonso Davies wanted.

With just a slight change of direction, he beat Kenny immediately, piercing through the penalty box from the byline without anyone protecting that side anymore.

"SHIT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING, KENNY?!" Higo scowled angrily, lowering his stance instantly while also waiting for a cutback pass from Davies. "Oz-san, keep an eye on him! Don’t let him get you!" He didn’t forget to give instructions to the Turkish center back who was busy guarding Lewandowski, praying that the man wouldn’t get overwhelmed by the pressure there.

Instead of a low cutback on the ground, though, Alphonso Davies chose a different approach. He chipped the ball lightly, sending a cross quite high toward the far post of the goal.

Thud!

The cross was beautifully done, as the Canadian wingback also made sure that he launched it high enough to be out of Higo’s reach. The goalkeeper followed the ball’s movement in the sky while also making adjustments to his position almost every second, not wanting to get caught off guard by anyone sneaking from the dark.

’The target is Thomas Muller, huh? Juan, keep occupying him like that! I can cover every space he could aim for!’ He gritted his teeth, trying to get himself ready.

At least, that was what Higo thought. However, a moment later, the image that flashed inside his head changed his thought immediately. His face grew paler instantly, and in that exact second, he stopped trying to cover the far post, instead just staying in the middle while also getting ready for the impact.

Thud!

BAM!

Everything went so fast here that no one truly knew what happened. Only those who were involved saw the process exactly, and two Bayern players there had their jaws dropped in disbelief.

In that short period where no thought could follow and only instinct played, Muller tried to pass the ball back to the middle, where Lewandowski would get the ball and push it straight to the goal. This was their normal combination attack, where they would still move the ball around no matter how close they were to the opponent’s goal until they made sure a goal would happen.

At least, this combination allowed Lewandowski to score so many goals in the past, while Thomas Muller also became the top assister of the league.

However, this time, the goalkeeper didn’t play exactly as they expected.

They saw clearly that Higo was about to bite the bait, moving toward Thomas Muller’s direction even just for a moment. However, at the last second, the boy stopped, leaning backward to adjust his stance so that he could cover the middle side better, and when Lewandowski’s tap-in came, the boy was already in the best position to block the shot.

He used his shoulder there, letting the ball bounce off it before the ball itself flew above the goal, hitting the top-side of the net gently.

"AH! ALMOST!" Muller wailed while covering his face dramatically. "Sorry, Lewy! The pass is too close!" He also didn’t forget to apologize to his friend.

Lewandowski himself didn’t respond immediately. No, if anything, his gaze was still on Higo, who was standing and wiping the dust from his shorts silently, and somehow, the Polish man’s curiosity spiked.

This was the second time already that Higo cut him off from the goal, and while the first time was because he didn’t notice that boy’s presence, this time, he was already one step away from the goal, the territory where he would never miss that kind of chance. Yet, somehow, he was still getting denied once again, which delayed him from putting his name on the scoreboard.

’Oh, man, this is starting to get interesting.’ The grin on his face started to widen, clearly showing how a hungry beast smiles.

He also didn’t forget to pat Higo here, making the boy look at him questioningly. "Good defensive reaction. However, don’t think you can always be this lucky." The striker smiled playfully.

Higo was dumbfounded for a second before he couldn’t help but snort. "Well, you can try. We might lose the game in the end, but I promise I will give you hell today."

"Hell, huh?"

Lewandowski barked out a laugh as he found the boy to be quite funny. For more than 5 years, he had been playing for Bayern and turning himself into one of the scariest monsters in the world right now; this was the first time the opponent’s goalkeeper had the guts to provoke him straight in the face.

He could still see the naivety in the boy’s eyes, probably thinking that he didn’t have anything else here. Little did Higo know that he was poking the bear straight out of its cave right now, and it was ready to charge at him at all costs.

"Don’t mind the play, Thomas; it is already good enough." Lewandowski gave his teammates a thumbs-up. "Just saying that this is going to be a long game. Don’t be impatient over every little mistake here, okay?"

Thomas Muller just nodded confusedly, probably wondering why his teammate became this edgy. Higo himself also didn’t know, but he caught the dangerous glint toward him from Lewandowski, and Higo was so grim at this current situation.

’Well, if he really wants to kill me, this will be a tough game to handle.’ Then, he glanced at the scoreboard above, where a digital watch was displayed. ’Still 70 minutes left... Damn, this is going to be a long game!’