"YEAAAAAH!" Phillipe Coutinho roared before hitting a knee-slide close to the corner spot. "COME ON!" He punched the air in excitement before the others followed, sliding next to him and hugging the man as if he was the second coming of the Messiah.
"LET’S FUCKING GO!" Thomas Muller even grabbed Coutinho’s face so intently as if he was about to kiss the Brazilian. "WE HAVE THE LEAD AGAIN! LET’S FUCKING GO!"
At this moment, those were probably the only sentences that could describe their feeling here. Even though it was just a game against Schalke, a team whose rank started with the number 1 but was not at the top of the standings, scoring a goal right before the game ended to bail the team out of a draw result was always exciting.
Besides that, everyone could also see the relief on Bayern players’ faces. They had been under so much pressure in the last couple of minutes, and the frustration from so many failed attempts also rose to a peak, and they were so close to snapping earlier. The goal really came in time, bursting all the negative feelings inside and making them all disappear into the air.
Of course, that feeling only appeared on Bayern’s side. Meanwhile, on Schalke’s side, they were all so dejected right now, and Higo, the main victim of the free kick here, just lay down on the ground with his hands covering his face, his chest moving up and down rapidly. His body might be so close to the limit right now, but his mind had already collapsed at this point.
’Just five minutes to go... How could I be so unlucky?!’ He groaned, tears even starting to fall from the corners of his eyes.
Things got worse when the scoresheet displayed on the big screen on the west side of the stand was updated. There, Higo saw the goal scorer, and he wanted nothing more than to die at that point.
Ryusuke Higo (o.g.) 86’
Yeah, it was decided that the goal was not Coutinho’s, but an own goal for Higo. After all, he was the last one to touch the ball before it went in, so the decision was quite understandable here.
Of course, for the boy himself, this was like rubbing salt in his wound. He had already been so down like this, and the official really wanted to bury him deeper than ever. If he could, the boy would’ve stormed off the pitch already, not wanting to be here anymore.
He wasn’t the only one, as every single player with a blue jersey on the pitch had lost all their spirit right now. All the hard work that they had done before was gone, and they would never believe they would be able to steal the second goal from Bayern’s defense. This was a dead end for them, and they had to accept this tough defeat here.
"Come on, everyone. Let’s just end it as quickly as possible." Omar Mascarell, who took the captain role from Suat Serdar, tried to approach the others. "We have never expected to get something from this game, anyway. No need to be so down; it is already good that we are not destroyed."
In the end, this was the only thing they could say to themselves as a coping mechanism. No matter how down they were about that goal, Omar Mascarell was indeed right in this case. Getting a point was never a target since this game had already been deemed a lost cause, so there should be no hard feelings when they ended up losing the game.
Still, this was easier said than done. They all knew that they didn’t need to feel pity about the result, but after being so close to stealing a point from the leader of the standings, they all started thinking of so many what-if scenarios, wondering what would happen if that free kick went differently.
Of course, no one dared to blame Higo for this. Even though the scoresheet deemed that it was an own goal from the goalkeeper, everyone here knew that it wasn’t a mistake, but just bad luck that couldn’t be avoided. Hell, they managed to reach this point, being so close to getting a draw against Bayern, all because of Higo’s effort.
Putting the blame on him would be petty and unfair, and that would also be the last thing they wanted to do if they still wanted to play in the next game.
In the end, they just continued to play again, wanting to end it as quickly as possible. Fortunately, even though some of the opponent players wanted to take advantage of their distraught state, not a single one of them managed to breach Schalke’s defense again. With their tactic to park the bus, every single shot managed to be blocked before it could get closer to Higo.
Lewandowski, especially, was so eager to get one. The Polish striker was still chasing the record here and just wanted to get one goal, and yet, somehow, all of his attempts could never find the back of the net.
Poor man, out of everyone else, he was the most anxious one on the pitch right now. Even though all the Bayern players were willing to feed him more, facing an 11-player blockade on Schalke’s territory, there was nothing he could do about it.
Higo himself was still dazed right now. Self-blame was truly a poisonous thought, as his mind was still trapped in what happened earlier. He was not a stranger to conceding a goal in a crucial moment, but this was the first time he was the one who made a mistake here. It wasn’t like he was being too harsh on himself, but the own goal here was indeed a testament that the blame was on him.
’That free kick... If only I could act faster, it wouldn’t just be the tip of my hand, right? If that happened, would I be able to block the ball completely? Or is it just a hopeful thought on my part?’
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