Lukas sat on the bench, his expression blank as his eyes followed the ball on the pitch while he occasionally sipped from a bottle of water.
* * *
Earlier that morning, Lukas arrived at the underground parking lot of the hotel where they had spent the night in Heidelberg — about a 20-minute drive to the Hoffenheim stadium where the match would be held.
He was there early as usual, stepping into the team bus that would transport them to the training ground provided by the home team.
"Are you still sleepy?" Larsson asked as Lukas sat beside him, grunting.
"Not really," he replied. "My legs are kinda sore, though."
"From yesterday's sessions? It wasn't that difficult, was it?"
"Yeah, it wasn't."
"Who's talking about yesterday's sessions? De Bruyne wanted to kill me today."
"I'll be fine in a couple of hours," Lukas responded as he closed his eyes and lay his head back on the headrest while the bus took off.
