Chapter 726: Luck is Not on His Side Anymore...

At first, no one really knew what was going on, because Schalke’s defensive area was still getting crowded by so many players there. At first, people thought that the shot was just being blocked, nothing more and nothing less. However...

FWEEE!

The sound of the whistle followed in the next second, and when everyone turned around, they saw the referee pointing at the spot straight behind the penalty box, less than half a meter away from it.

"The ball gets into Schalke’s number 4, Ozan Kabak, on his left arm! On-site decision: a handball and free kick for Bayern Munich!"

Everyone with the blue jersey here was stunned for a second, looking at each other confusedly. However, right after that, Ozan Kabak finally realized what was going on, and he rushed toward the referee anxiously.

"Wait, Boss! No, that ball hit my shoulder! See, I even had dirt on it!" He complained, trying to show his shoulder to the referee.

"Yeah! That foul in this moment is so harsh! Are you trying to give them an advantage?!" Someone else chimed in, showing his frustration.

However, it wasn’t just Schalke players who were complaining here. No, some of Bayern players also tried to make their case, approaching the referee aggressively with their own argument.

"He fell outside of the box, but the handball happened inside! This should be a penalty!"

"Yeah, how could we only get a normal free kick here?! Also, he blocked that shot from going to the goal! This should be a yellow, right?"

Poor referee, not expecting that the decision he thought to be normal would get him swarmed and overwhelmed by so many people like this. Not that anyone could blame the players, as right now, they were in crunch time, where every single chance here mattered.

Even all the Schalke players who at first thought that they didn’t have any chance today changed their minds already, especially when the team was so close to stealing a point from the devil’s home. No, they would argue without holding back anything here, not wanting the result they earned with blood and sweat to be ruined by the referee’s poor decision.

In the end, the referee finally managed to take control of the game, calling the captains of both teams and Ozan Kabak as the culprit. Higo himself watched the drama unfold with narrowed eyes, feeling like his heart was about to jump right out of his chest.

’Come on... Not a penalty, please...’ He prayed inwardly, his tone slightly desperate.

It couldn’t be helped. From his vision, he saw Ozan Kabak committing a handball right inside the box, and while he shouted earlier to give a warning and the Turkish defender also moved quickly to follow it, the boy still didn’t know whether all the effort they made was enough to let them avoid disaster.

’But the referee might be with us right now.’ Higo felt hope coming when he saw Bayern’s players were so frustrated with this decision as well. ’The referee has already given Bayern one penalty, and it failed, so giving them another in this moment would be tantamount to him admitting that he sides with the home team. As long as the foul itself is fifty-fifty, the man would never give Bayern another penalty today!’

When he finally saw the crowd dispersed by the referee, and a free kick was decided, Higo couldn’t help but let out a small sigh here. Fortunately, it wasn’t another penalty, or he doubted he could save it again just like before.

Still, the free kick itself was in a dangerous position, just a few inches away from the penalty box. Not only that, the angle was great, enough for someone like Phillipe Coutinho to aim straight at the top bins. The danger was no lower than a normal penalty kick, so the boy didn’t dare to lower his guard.

True enough, the player who came forward here was the Brazilian himself. Besides him, David Alaba was also getting ready, as he was also famous for his free-kick ability. However, Higo had never doubted that the ball would be executed by Coutinho in this case.

’Come on... That ambitious gaze... You cannot fool me here! Bring it on!’

FWEEE!

The moment the referee blew the whistle, the Brazilian magician started his run-up, eyeing straight at the top corner of Higo’s left side. No deception was made here, just a pure confrontation between two top-level players.

Before the ball got slammed by Coutinho, an image flashed in Higo’s head, and the boy didn’t even hesitate to react. He shifted his body two steps aside quickly, covering the whole goal in a second before jumping straight to cover that top corner.

BAM!

True enough, Coutinho tried to bend the ball to the top corner, getting it through the five-player wall that Schalke formed to block him. However, his eyes widened in shock at Higo’s decisiveness, as the boy had already half his way to anticipate it.

Still, it was an amazing free kick, aimed straight below the edge of the crossbar. Even if Higo was two steps faster, he had to grit his teeth, jumping while also extending one hand to stop it. In the end, he couldn’t even get through it completely, just feeling the tip of his hand bruising the ball.

That was enough, though, as a slight deviation in the route could deflect the ball away from the goal. Higo himself had already grinned when he felt it, inwardly getting ready to celebrate.

’Yeah, I can get it!’

However, luck seemed not to be on his side right now.

While yeah, Higo managed to tip the ball, its route didn’t change too much, and in the next second...

CLANK!

The ball hit the crossbar so loudly there!

Then, as if trying to mock Higo’s effort, it bounced back at the boy’s body, and in that position, he couldn’t even dodge. Hell, he didn’t even know what was going on here, and the next thing he knew was that he felt something hit his back, and after that, cheers exploded from all over the stadium.

"OH! WHAT A FREE KICK!"