The Rise of the Iron Wall!

True enough, just as Higo expected, the moment the game continued again, Hoffenheim players started to push forward crazily. Their gaze was like a bunch of starving beasts getting ready to pounce on the prey in front of them. Unfortunately, in this case, Schalke was the prey that was hunted, and they had to survive for more than 80 minutes to secure this lead.

Not an easy task to do, especially for a team that had been conceding about 2 goals on average in every match this season.

The weight of this task was also visible on Schalke’s defensive line, as they were starting to shake the moment five people rushed to their penalty box. Poor Ozan Kabak, he was so nervous that his voice started to tremble.

"F-Fuck! Bastian, what are you doing there?!"

"Kenny! Cover the cutback, Kenny!"

"Hofmann, don’t just stand there! Don’t let him shoot!"

Somehow, this was a fatal flaw that Higo just realized from Ozan Kabak. The man was not good under pressure, starting to exert too much force that made him an unstable factor in the backline. Hell, the boy had to remind the Turkish defender a few times to get calmer, and yet, the attempt seemed to be futile.

’How could he be the team’s defensive commander when he couldn’t even see everything with a clear head?’ The corner of his lips was twitching madly.

This opened up so many opportunities for Hoffenheim, as they started to target Ozan Kabak’s side to kill.

Just two minutes after the game restarted, Hoffenheim managed to get a great chance by exploiting the man’s nervousness. Their central midfielder, Sebastian Rudy, sent a chip pass straight above Ozan Kabak, and his state made him panic, miscalculating his jump and letting it land straight at Kramaric’s left foot.

"Oh, fuck!"

BAM!

Higo cursed immediately when he saw this. Fortunately, the shot itself was still within his range, and while the angle was tricky, going straight to the area below his left foot, the boy still managed to block it perfectly, letting the ball bounce away from the goal.

"Oh! Nice save, Higo!" Oczipka shouted, hugging the boy to celebrate this save.

Still, the boy didn’t show any positive reaction at all. No, if anything, his face was so dark as he turned to the Turkish defender in front of him and asked, "Oz-san, what the hell is that jump?! That is not your level at all! You should’ve been able to do a better job in that case!"

The others were so stunned here, with Ozan Kabak having his face flushed red in a mixture of shock and embarrassment. It seemed that this was the first time someone dared to scold him in the middle of the game, as even Nubel himself had never done that in the past. Well, the Turkish man was a talent that was brought with a high price by this team, so he had quite a high status among the players.

Unfortunately, Higo didn’t have any time to spoil the man right now. No, it was a high-level game today, and the boy had already forced all the cells inside his brain to work overtime. He would never let someone who couldn’t even deal with this slight pressure ruin his debut today.

After scolding the man, he shifted his attention once again, getting ready for the corner kick. However, it seemed that the Turkish defender’s disaster class was far from over, because in this scenario, Higo could see Ozan Kabak raising his left arm slightly to deflect the ball away from the goal.

Thud!

Higo could feel his heart skip a beat, inwardly cursing the man once again for his recklessness. After all, the ball went straight in his direction, and he had already shouted to let it go, and yet Ozan Kabak still took it directly, which resulted in this situation.

It was only by luck that the referee didn’t see the incident happen, but all the Hoffenheim players around had already rushed toward the referee to launch their complaint.

"Fuck! That’s a handball! A fucking handball!"

"Ref! A penalty! That’s a fucking penalty!"

At least four players surrounded the referee to ask for a foul. However, the man shook his head decisively, even pointing both his hands forward to signal that the game still continued.

Unfortunately, Higo’s first instinct when he saw a conflict arising in front of him was not to ignore it, but to stop and see what would happen next. This gave Hoffenheim players a chance to put pressure on the referee, being led by their captain Benjamin Hubner, who witnessed the incident clearly with his eyes.

"Ref! It is clear by day! He raised his left hand to block the ball! That’s a fucking penalty!" The man had a thick vein pop on his neck while explaining heatedly why his team deserved to get a penalty.

Honestly, Higo didn’t envy the referee here, having to face such a scary giant who was angry at him. However, it was clear that this was not the man’s first rodeo. He just shook his head quickly, saying, "He raised his left hand, yeah, but the ball hit his lower stomach. It is not a penalty at all."

Ozan Kabak, who was already helpless, regained some color in his face, clearly trying to hide his surprise that he didn’t get punished for this. Fortunately, the VAR technology had only been introduced in the Premier League so far, and it would probably take a year or two before the technology would be applied in the Bundesliga.

If only the referee could see the replay of the incident, not only would he give Hoffenheim a penalty, but the Turkish defender could potentially be sent off for blocking the ball right on the path toward the goal.

Still, while Higo let out a relieved sigh, he couldn’t help but have a grim look. If even the best defender on this team could be such a big mess like this, no wonder the team was in a very bad situation so far.

’Oh, God... This is going to be a long and torturous game for me, right?’ He couldn’t help but groan, not looking forward to how this game would unfold.

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