Genius - Chapter 526: Maybe We Should Let Two Goalkeepers Defend Against Leo’s Shots Together (Patreon)

If you’ve ever held a barbell, you know exactly what that kind of weight feels like.

Handanović was certain that what he had touched was a football, yet the ball felt as though countless barbells were pressing down on it, crushing it against his palms!

Even though he had used both hands for the save this time, the ball still forced its way past the front of his palms, slipping through the more flexible part of his hands and into the net!

“Now that’s a thunderbolt! Only a strike like that deserves the name!”

“Leo scores!”

“He didn’t just score. He blasted the ball straight through Handanović’s hands and into the net!”

“I haven’t seen a shot this vicious in a long time!”

“It actually forced a top goalkeeper like Handanović to use both hands just to try to push it away!”

“And the craziest part is that even then, he still couldn’t keep it out!”

“What?!”

“Is this really a professional football match?”

“Isn’t that the kind of save you’d expect from an outfield player filling in as goalkeeper in an amateur match?!”

As Handanović fell to the ground, he could only watch the shot crash into the back of the net.

He let out a sigh. There was nothing else he could have done. He had already given it everything, but the ball had simply felt far too heavy in the air!

It was like someone had filled it with water!

Leo ran over to Krawietz and kissed him on the forehead, then gave Zubizarreta a pat. Klopp looked toward Handanović, who was still sitting on the ground nearby and showed no intention of getting back up.

Clearly, Leo’s shot had made the top goalkeeper question his own ability for the first time. It might even have shaken some of his confidence.

The broadcast crew desperately wanted to figure out exactly what kind of shot Leo had produced to make Handanović appear to commit such an obvious goalkeeping error.

That was exactly what the fans had assumed at first. They thought Handanović had simply fumbled the save, a classic case of butterfingers, which was why such a centrally placed shot had gone into the net.

Otherwise, a normal goalkeeper should have been able to tip it away, or perhaps even catch it cleanly with both hands!

“I think Handanović is getting old. Inter Milan should start thinking about replacing him with another top goalkeeper. How do you fail to stop a shot that goes straight at you?”

“If De Gea were in goal, he probably would’ve caught that. Leo hit it almost straight at the keeper. Sure, there was a lot of power behind it, but it shouldn’t have been impossible to save.”

“If that were me, I’d just punch it upward. That would get rid of it easily. How can something that simple be beyond Handanović?”

Those were the comments flooding the live chat before the replay was shown.

Then the broadcast replayed Leo’s gravity-spin shot.

The ball wasn’t curling outward or inward. It had backspin!

It was like a fast backspin shot in table tennis. Except when that same kind of spin was applied to a football, the downward force it generated was far greater than anything a table tennis ball could produce.

The ball spun faster and faster as it traveled through the air, which caused it to plunge downward. By the time it reached the top of Handanović’s palms, even with the replay slowed down, the ball was still spinning faster than Handanović could raise his hands to meet it!

That was why Handanović could only make contact with the front of his palms, allowing the spinning ball to force its way into the goal!

The cameras even captured the exact moment Handanović’s palms met the ball. The spin seemed to smash his hands apart as the ball brutally forced its way through them and toward the net!

After watching the replay, the live chat suddenly changed its tune and started praising Handanović instead.

“That’s why professional goalkeepers are professionals. If that were me, forget trying to save it with both hands. I probably wouldn’t even touch the ball!”

“I’m starting to think Leo somehow attached an insanely heavy invisible lead weight to the ball after he kicked it, and he’s the only one who can see it. How else could the ball come crashing down with that much force?”

“Thank goodness goalkeepers wear gloves. They completely protected his hands. If that spin had scraped directly across Handanović’s bare palms, it might have taken the skin right off them!”

By then, Leo had already returned to Liverpool’s midfield, while Inter Milan’s players still had no idea how they were supposed to stop him from shooting.

The first half continued, and Leo once again moved into the space outside Inter Milan’s penalty area, staying relatively close to Bastoni.

If the ball reached his feet, all he needed was one touch to set himself before shooting immediately!

To prevent that, Bastoni was playing nothing like a normal center back. He had followed Leo all the way into midfield and stayed tight to him, while Çalhanoğlu had little choice but to keep tracking Leo as well.

34th minute!

“Dumfries is carrying the ball, but he can’t give it away too quickly. Inter have finally managed to create an attacking opportunity. They need to be patient with their buildup!”

Gullit wanted Inter Milan to show more patience.

Dumfries was certainly trying, but when he looked up and saw Lautaro Martínez making his run, he still chose to send the cross in immediately!

Gvardiol dealt with it at the near post, taking care of the danger before Van Dijk at the far post even needed to get involved!

Mac Allister dropped back at exactly the right moment to give Gvardiol an outlet, and Liverpool immediately launched another attack!

Mac Allister carried the ball forward and played it to Díaz, while Núñez’s run opened up space for Díaz to cut inside!

Díaz continued driving inward at pace. Salah offered himself on the right, initially looking to play a quick one-two with Díaz, but Leo had already shaken off Bastoni again!

The Inter fans couldn’t stop their eyes from following Leo.

Salah might have had the ball, but the moment they saw Leo find space, tension immediately swept through the stands!

Sure enough, Salah passed it to Leo!

Leo received the ball and initially looked to cut inside before shooting, but Çalhanoğlu defended the space well.

So Leo simply pushed the ball one step forward and, before Bastoni could close him down, struck again!

Another gravity shot loaded with vicious backspin!

There was no angle whatsoever.

Once again, Leo had fired almost directly at Handanović.

But this time, Handanović didn’t hesitate.

Instead of trying to meet the ball with his palms, he brought both forearms up in front of himself and prepared to spring if necessary, blocking Leo’s shot with a motion that almost looked like he was shielding his face!

The ball slammed into Handanović’s forearm, ricocheted off Bastoni’s back, and bounced behind for a corner!

For a moment, Bastoni thought he had deflected the ball into his own net.

He spun around in panic and only relaxed slightly when he saw it rolling beyond the byline.

Then he turned back and saw Leo standing there with a perfectly calm expression.

Bastoni immediately tensed up again.

The fans weren’t even paying attention to who was preparing to take the corner. Everyone was staring at Handanović’s arms.

Goalkeepers rarely used a saving technique like that because it simply wasn’t considered proper technique.

But against Leo’s shots, Handanović no longer cared whether it looked proper or not.

If it kept the ball out, then it was a good save.

Gullit laughed and put an arm around Scholes. Watching shots like these always put him in a good mood.

“Maybe we should allow two goalkeepers to defend the same goal whenever Leo is on the other team. Otherwise, with shots like that, I’m worried a goalkeeper left to face him alone might end up traumatized, or even injured!”