Chapter 844: Conceding the First Goal

The second shot itself was pathetic.

It was low, bouncing on the ground. And had no power at all. If it was Higo in his normal state, let alone threatening, he would just receive it with his knee, controlling the ball with his feet before distributing it directly to the frontline.

However, Higo had just saved a penalty kick here, and he didn’t have any time to recover. His brain short-circuited, and even though the image of what would happen next came to mind, his body still reacted slower than ever.

He managed to get up, yes, but the ball was aimed low, bouncing on the ground before slipping through his legs.

The next thing Higo knew...

Thud!

The ball rolled slowly and mockingly before it finally hit the back of the net, giving Werder Bremen their first goal of the game.

"OH! YEAH!"

All the Werder Bremen players roared, rushing toward the goal scorer who had just blitzed his way through the corner kick to hit a knee slide there. Higo himself just covered his face, lying on the ground lifelessly.

Once again, he only managed to get the first attack without being able to stop the second one, a common theme in his penalty-saving career.

"Hey, Higo, don’t think too much!" Sead Kolasinac came to help him get up from the ground. "It is just one goal; no need to beat yourself to death! You have done a great job as well, saving that penalty, you know?"

"Yeah, it is our mistake that we couldn’t handle the rebound well." Omar Mascarell added.

Hell, even Benjamin Stambouli patted his shoulder as well before apologizing for his mistake. "If only I didn’t raise my hand that high, things would be different right now..."

Still, even though the team conceded a goal, the spirit didn’t diminish here. They were all still in their best state, since everyone here knew that Werder Bremen was a weaker team and it was still the third minute of the game. They had a long time to return the favor, and they were so sure that they could do it sooner or later.

Meanwhile, all the supporters on the stand couldn’t help but groan when they saw this, finding it a pity that they failed to hold their clean sheet.

"I swear, whenever the team played, I always thought that Higo was fighting alone!"

"Yeah! That penalty save is awesome, but how could no one react quickly enough to get rid of the second ball?!"

"Our defense is so fucking embarrassing!"

Sakura and Kumiko didn’t say anything, just listened to all the complaints from the people around. Still, they couldn’t help but agree here, as that save itself was awesome on Higo’s part.

The other feeling that emerged after watching the goal was, of course, the fact that Schalke was so unlucky. It was just the second season of the game, and yet, somehow, they had already suffered two penalties so far, and two of them came from a handball scenario, something that depended too much on luck.

"It seems that Schalke players need to have a little visit to a temple, right?" Sakura murmured with a little snort here.

Kumiko couldn’t help but giggle when she heard that. Even though she also regretted that Higo conceded a goal, the girl wasn’t that worried about her boyfriend. She knew that it was impossible to maintain a clean sheet all the time, and the fact that Higo only conceded a difficult goal like this was also something that the girl was so proud of.

Soon enough, the game was restarted again, and it was Schalke’s turn to attack. With the kick-off in their hand, though, it was their chance to fight back, using their infamous blitzkrieg attack to score a point.

This time, though, they had Nabil Bentaleb, a sniper who could pinpoint everyone on the frontline.

The French midfielder just took a glance once at the opposition half before launching a long pass straight to Mark Uth, who was running like a tank, and even though the striker failed to win the duel, the ball still bounced to Goncalo Paciencia, and the Portuguese striker didn’t waste time to deliver a through ball to the flank side where Benito Raman was running.

Thud!

"OH! What a pass, Paci!"

"Run, Beni! Run! Don’t let him get you!"

Benito Raman gritted his teeth as he sped up, trying to leave his defenders behind. His attempt was proven to be successful, as his speed was definitely superior to his opponent’s. With a single push, the winger managed to change direction, running diagonally into the penalty box.

"YES, BENI!"

"GET IT HIGH! I’LL KILL IT!"

In the middle, some of the guys also popped, coming to support the frontline. Mark Uth tried to attract so much attention to himself, while Goncalo Paciencia ran slower than anyone else, getting ready to receive a cutback pass.

At this point, the advantage of having two strikers playing at the same time was highlighted, as Werder Bremen’s defensive line couldn’t focus on just one.

Benito Raman also noticed this. With a quick glance to the area in front of the goalkeeper, he had already pinpointed where to send the ball, and with that in mind, the Belgian winger didn’t hesitate anymore.

Thud!

A cutback pass was sent!

However, instead of Goncalo Paciencia, who was coming from the middle, the pass was longer than expected, going straight to the other side of the penalty box. There, Fabian Reese came out of nowhere, having found the best angle to strike the ball.

’Ha! I get this!’ The blonde winger couldn’t help but grin.

However, right before he could swing his legs, the boy didn’t pay attention to his surroundings, and he didn’t even notice that someone was flying to tackle him from behind. The next thing Fabian knew, though...

BRUGH!

"ARGH!"

The boy roared while clutching his right foot in pain, and the ball just rolled past him slowly. At that moment, hell broke loose instantly, as all the Schalke players on the frontline had the exact same reaction.

"FUCK! FABIAN!"