"I see it. I know exactly what this is."
Igarashi always positioned his body to make contact look worse than it actually was. Chigiri had already shown the smart answer, which was to turn around, and refuse his antics entirely.
But Murano didn't want to just avoid him.
"Let's see how convincing you really are."
Murano dribbled forward toward him anyway, close enough to make Igarashi commit to selling the fall.
At the last instant, Murano cut sideways with a chop, leaving him on the ground.
---
After this move...
Kunigami closed in next from the left.
Murano didn't try to dodge him but he ran forward.
The contact came firmly, shoulder into shoulder, exactly the kind of collision he'd spent three weeks training his body for. Kunigami's full weight slammed into him.
Murano rode the impact, shrugged Kunigami off, and kept moving forward.
---
Hiori arrived next, timing his challenge well, sliding in low to poke the ball away.
Murano read that moment, Hiori's leg extending in what felt like slow motion.
Murano dragged the ball back with his right foot, before sprinting forward.
---
Menser cut off the angle from the right, smart positioning, forcing him wide. Raichi was already closing from the left, boxing Murano.
Murano simply switched the ball from right foot to left, seamlessly, and went to the left around him with Marseille turn that left Menser facing the wrong way entirely.
---
Raichi arrived a second later. Murano spun around him with a roulette, to bypass him.
Only one obstacle remained between him and the box.
Ness was sprinting back, and buying time.
'This is it.'
Murano exploded forward. The distance to the final third disappeared in a single stride.
Ness lunged. But Murano was already gone.
---
Two players came on him at once.
Isagi from the right, already dropping into a tackle. Kaiser from the left, arms wrapping around his chest.
Going for him.
13:19
2 v 1
'If I go into a shooting motion now, Isagi's already won the tackle'
But if I hesitate back, Kaiser would fend me off the ball and shift off my momentum.
He attempted to use the same goal formula he used to score his first goal of the game.
But now he had to beat two opponents with a single move.
So he didn't force a straight shot. He lifted the ball up and jumped along with it, clearing Isagi's tackle by inches, Isagi's legs sweeping through the exact space Murano's foot should have occupied.
But now he and the ball were both hanging in the air together, and Kaiser had exactly the window he'd been waiting for.
Murano's right leg went round the ball in a sweeping motion. A half-around-the-world, mid-flight, kicking off nothing but balancing himself to use his other foot to shoot.
Kaiser's grip closed in.
Murano's shooting leg was already in motion until Kaiser forcefully pushed.
Both hands into Murano's chest, hard enough to send him to the ground before his foot struck the ball.
Whistle.
The referee's arm shot up instantly, pointing to the spot.
Foul — Bastard München.
Free kick, Manshine City. Edge of the box.
Murano pushed himself up off the grass slowly.
"RED CARD!" Chris prince shouted. "He shoved him from behind mid-air, that's a clear red!"
The announcer affirmed. "No further decision. The yellow card stands."
On the other side, Bastard München wasn't having it.
"He fouled him, that's football kid." Kunigami said, stepping between Nishioka and Kaiser before things could get any intense.
The announcer interrupted. "That's enough both of you, back to your positions, now, or I start handing out more cards."
---
"OH, THAT IS A RUTHLESS FOUL! Kaiser had NO CHOICE there, ladies and gentlemen. Murano just made TWO of the best players on this pitch guess wrong in the SAME SEQUENCE, and when neither guess paid off, Kaiser did what he had to do! Free kick, dangerous position, right on the edge of the box!"
"The question isn't whether Murano's back in this game anymore. The question is whether Bastard München can survive what's coming next."