Chapter 879: Facing a Penalty Again!

FWEEE!

The referee didn’t even hesitate here, blowing the whistle and pointing at the penalty spot immediately.

"A push from Schalke’s number 33, Malick Thiaw, to Mainz’s number 20, Edmilson Fernandes, inside the penalty box! On-site decision! A penalty kick for Mainz!"

This announcement was followed by a dead silence for a moment, before Malick Thiaw jumped immediately to complain.

"No! That’s just an act!" The young French defender tried to make a case here. "I didn’t push him! He just jumped out of nowhere, acting like the biggest diva in the world! He should be the one getting a yellow card! Captain!"

This time, Omar Mascarell took over the argument, dragging the young man back so that he could face the referee here. The Spaniard himself also saw the incident, and he felt like the movement was a little bit exaggerated.

"I don’t deny that my teammate has a little contact, but can you see how he fell? It takes a long time, two seconds, even, from the contact itself before he jumped to the floor. You think that’s a good movement?" He asked without any heat in his tone.

"If you don’t want to listen to us, at least listen to your assistant." Stambouli chimed in while pointing at the linesman on the sideline.

Well, the referee who was so convinced about his decision earlier also started to shake here. He looked at the linesman, and indeed, the man shook his head, clearly saying that it shouldn’t be a penalty.

However, the decision had already stood here, so the only way to cancel it...

"On-site decision! VAR check!" He shouted while signaling everyone to wait for a moment, as he ran to the sideline immediately.

However, at the same time, all the home supporters groaned immediately, finding their chance to be quite low in this regard.

"Damn! Schalke has just been helped by VAR last week, right?"

"Shit! They have a good relationship with VAR! Maybe our penalty will be canceled this time!"

"Fuck! Say no to VAR!"

Honestly, the complaints were quite funny and illogical. However, that was how the supporters worked. They didn’t really use their brains, just wanting to complain the first time their team was at a disadvantage.

Fortunately, though, this time, their fear didn’t truly happen here.

The referee saw the replay of the incident, and while, yes, Edmilson Fernandes showed an exaggerated movement in his fall, the cause of it all, Malick Thiaw’s push, was there, and it couldn’t be denied that the French defender stopped the momentum in that moment.

As a result, even if the contact itself was minimal, the decision still stood here, no doubt about it.

"VAR Decision! A Penalty for Mainz!"

That was when the crowd roared, starting to cheer for the same thing that they had just hated a few seconds ago.

"YES! COME ON!"

"VAR, WE FUCKING LOVE YOU!"

Higo had a sweat drop on his face at how quickly the supporters changed sides. Still, at this moment, he didn’t have any time to make fun of them. No, if anything, this was the moment when he had to focus on what was in front of him the most, as Mainz’s fullback, a player with the number 18, had been ready inside the penalty box here.

"Don’t panic, Higo! Even if we concede a goal, we would still be able to return the favor." Stambouli patted his shoulder for a second.

"Sorry as well, Higo. That’s my fault that the penalty happened." Malick Thiaw added, feeling so guilty that he had to put the goalkeeper in this situation.

"Heh! Don’t underestimate me." Higo couldn’t help but snort in this case. "Don’t forget how good I am in this scenario. Just wait outside of the box, and get ready to clear the second ball as far away as possible, okay?"

Yeah, even though the last time he faced a penalty kick against Union Berlin, the boy failed to block it completely, he was still confident that his ability in this scenario was top-notch. After all, he made a name for himself for the first time by saving penalties a lot in his high school days, and his clairvoyant ability gave a boost of confidence in this regard as well.

Both defenders looked at each other for a moment, and knowing that the goalkeeper wasn’t joking about this, they just nodded along.

However, that didn’t mean Higo didn’t feel the pressure here. After all, he had just won something called Rookie of the Month, and while conceding from a penalty kick was never his fault, it would be embarrassing for him to lose one point right after the award was on his bag.

’No, at least, I have to save this shit here, or things will be difficult later...’ He murmured while taking a deep breath, getting ready for everything.

Soon enough, the referee also cleared the penalty box, leaving him with the opponent in front of the penalty spot. The man was right-footed, and based on his posture, it was clear that the execution would be full of power.

However, the moment the man moved...

’Wait, straight to the middle?!’ Higo blinked in surprise at the image flashing inside his head.

FWEEE!

Right at the same time, the referee blew the whistle, and while the boy himself slightly doubted his clairvoyant ability, at that moment, he didn’t have any time to think about it. Trusting the image inside his head, he didn’t even move a single inch, and in the next second...

BAM!

Just as Higo expected, the execution was full of power. However, the aim was straight for the middle, and the boy needed to put his hands together in front of his chest to block it.

In the end, the ball bounced on the ground, and soon enough, everyone fought for the second ball here. However, both Stambouli and Malick Thiaw had already been warned by Higo in this regard, as the former got the ball first before clearing it as far away as possible.

BAM!

Right at that moment, though, Malick Thiaw turned around to Higo, looking at the goalkeeper in pure awe.

"Damn, Higo! How could you fucking do that?!"