"How are you feeling, TJ?"
"I'm alright."
In the Liverpool locker room, Tendou and the others were seizing the moment to recover.
This match was, without a doubt, the most difficult one Tendou had played since coming to this world. There was no comparison.
They could feel Manchester City's pressure even when leading by two goals. Now with only a one-goal lead, it was even more intense.
Tendou even felt that if this continued, it wouldn't be as simple as being caught; they were going to be overtaken by the opponent.
"That's good. You can track back less in the second half."
"Is that okay?"
"Of course, it's okay. We will defend Liverpool's goal. You just do what you have to do."
Van Dijk came over and patted Tendou's shoulder.
Manchester City was strong, that was true, but they were Liverpool.
So what if the opponent's squad was the most expensive in the world?
Liverpool was in no way inferior to Manchester City.
"TJ, push forward more in the second half. Find a chance to give them a fatal blow."
Klopp meant the same thing.
Although Fabinho had returned, his form was not yet online.
He wasn't blind to Arnold's defensive problems. Without Van Dijk to cover for him, he would be even more of a liability.
If he were to make an adjustment, Klopp would probably move Fabinho to the defensive line and have Keïta partner with Henderson and Tendou in a three-man midfield.
Unfortunately, Keïta had not fully recovered yet. If Arnold still couldn't perform as he wanted in the second half, he would consider substituting Milner on to strengthen the defense.
But in that case, Liverpool would have one less outlet for the ball, and the speed of their counter-attacks would definitely slow down.
Arnold's one-touch passing ability was something Liverpool needed.
"I understand."
"As long as you understand. Of course, when I say you can track back less, I don't mean you shouldn't participate in defense, but that you should conserve your energy. I trust your judgment."
Klopp didn't make his words too absolute. After all, the young man in front of him was a full-field free man, a species that had become extinct in football.
His judgment was probably comparable to his own, standing on the sidelines.
Tendou nodded again.
After these few matches, the Premier League teams had all begun to take notice of his role in the Liverpool team.
They had started to assign specific players to mark him, and tactical targeting was also common.
This was the so-called Premier League adapting to Tendou's existence.
How many matches would it take?
It was still unclear for now.
After Klopp finished speaking, he turned his head and nervously laid out his tactics.
In the second half, it was a given that Manchester City would continue to attack strongly.
The period just before and after halftime is often when goals are most likely to be scored.
The first ten-plus minutes of the second half were when Liverpool needed to be most vigilant.
...
Soon, 15 minutes had passed. The fans, after taking care of their business, returned to their seats early, waiting for the second half to begin.
Isagi Yoichi, in the crowd, still had no clue about the next path of evolution that Ego Jinpachi wanted him to find.
At this moment, Isagi was just filled with shock.
This was a match between the two most expensive teams in the world.
The quality of the football played by both sides was beyond his comprehension.
Physicality, technique, tactics, confrontation—every aspect was at the absolute top level.
Amidst the fierce cheers, the players from both sides returned to the field.
"Let this teacher teach you a good lesson, TJ," Prince said with a grin to Tendou before they went on.
"Besides taking me to shoot that nonsensical mineral water commercial, what have you taught me?" Tendou gave the world's number two no face at all.
Before Prince could respond, he walked away.
This angered Prince, who cursed him as a rebellious disciple.
...
The whistle blew.
The match began.
Neither side had made any personnel changes.
Being one goal down, the Manchester City fans' singing erupted like a volcano.
Comparing the first-half stats, the possession was 6:4 in favor of Man City.
Man City had 8 shots, 4 on target, while Liverpool had 5 shots, 2 on target.
Guardiola's teams were always terrifyingly consistent.
Liverpool kicked off.
On the first attack, Tendou immediately pushed forward, combining with Fabinho and Mané.
Mané broke through on the left and made a cut-back pass.
Tendou flicked it sideways with his right foot, and Fabinho took a powerful shot from the top of the arc.
Unfortunately, it couldn't get through the crowded box.
In turn, Manchester City's attack came.
The ball, controlled by De Bruyne, once again found Arnold's side.
Arnold adventurously pushed forward and was beaten by Sané again.
The latter cut inside and shot directly. Fortunately, Robertson had covered the angle in advance, and Alisson easily collected the ball.
Getting up, Alisson roared at Arnold. They couldn't keep covering for him.
Arnold was unhappy in his heart, but he also knew it was his own problem.
In defending, the first thing is attitude, and then experience.
The Liverpool Crown Prince had neither. He still wanted to attack more.
The match continued.
The entire Liverpool team set up a defensive block in front of the box.
Tendou had no choice but to track back again, and so did Salah and the others.
Faced with Manchester City's rapid high press, Liverpool was in a precarious situation.
In the forty-ninth minute, a Liverpool pass went astray. Agüero intercepted the ball and immediately took a curling shot.
The ball went wide of the post.
Then it was Prince again. He first made a horizontal pass to Agüero in the center, then quickly made a forward run.
Agüero tapped it to Sané, who then gave it to Prince.
The world's number two followed up with a low shot.
The distance was too close.
This time, Alisson was helpless.
The ball went in.
The score was 2:2!
Just a few minutes into the second half, Liverpool had been caught by Manchester City.
Even though he was their own Crown Prince, the Liverpool fans were now starting to boo him.
It was one thing against other teams, but against Guardiola's Manchester City, Arnold's defending was a disaster.
They played too intricately, too complexly, and too fast.
This was Guardiola's tiki-taka football.
They just kept passing, and the ball ended up in Liverpool's goal.
"Our fans need to remain rational. The team needs encouragement at this time, not complaints."
"Arnold is indeed at fault, but he wants to win more than anyone."
Just as Gerrard finished speaking, before the host could take over, the Manchester City fans erupted in deafening cheers.
On the field, at the right side of the Liverpool penalty area, Arnold, seemingly affected by the fans' boos, once again adventurously pushed forward to help defend, trying to show his determination to win, even though Van Dijk was not out of position.
But then, Prince made another horizontal pass. Agüero blasted a shot. Alisson parried it, but not completely away. Sané followed up with the rebound.
The ball was hit into the far corner of the net.
In an instant, Liverpool had been overtaken.
The score was 3:2.
...
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