Adam Blake sighed in his heart.
These past few years, Tottenham's luck had actually been quite good.
Bale, Modrić, and himself—it could be said that they were a generation of superstars.
But to this day, they had not won a single championship trophy.
Not the league, not the Champions League.
And this year, they had once again missed out on the exceptionally talented genius, Tendou.
Adam believed it was a curse.
Tottenham always sent their stars away. This was God's punishment to them.
If he continued to stay at Tottenham, did he really have a chance to win a title?
A few cracks appeared in Adam Blake's firm heart.
2:0!
This was the final score of the first half.
Liverpool went into the locker room with a two-goal lead.
Klopp praised Tendou, Arnold, and Mané.
Although this was not his tactic, a goal is a goal. Who cares how it was scored?
Seeing the liver-colored face of that Argentine next to him, his heart was filled with joy.
"Keep it up, gentlemen."
"Although we have a 2-goal advantage now, there are still 45 minutes waiting for us."
"Continue to fight. Don't give them any chances."
"In the second half, we will strengthen our defense. When they come out to attack, we will counter-attack quickly."
"..."
Leading by two goals away from home, Liverpool could be more composed.
There was no need to risk an all-out attack and expose the space behind them.
The second half began quickly.
Pochettino made tactical adjustments at halftime.
They began to try and break through Liverpool's goal with wing breakthroughs combined with crosses.
In the 54th minute of the match, Tottenham began to press forward.
Trippier received a pass from Eriksen and sped down the wing, running all the way to the byline before sending a cross towards the center of the Liverpool penalty area.
However, Adam Blake still could not break through Van Dijk's iron-clad defense.
After receiving the ball with his back to goal, he turned and managed to get off a shot, which only hit Robertson.
In turn, Arnold decisively booted the ball out, sending it towards the already-starting Tendou.
Eriksen charged up without a care.
Tendou was unavoidable. He gathered all his strength and crashed into the opponent.
In the end, Eriksen fell to the ground, while Tendou picked up speed and chased after the ball on the grass.
"Damn it, here we go again!"
"Liverpool's counter-attack! A long ball from Arnold in the backfield!"
"TJ and Eriksen with a physical confrontation!"
"FAK!"
"The charging Eriksen was sent flying by TJ! Unbelievable physical strength!"
"This is not the kind of physical strength an 18-year-old player should have! After the match, I'm taking him for a urine test!"
The on-site Tottenham commentator was stunned.
The charging Eriksen was actually sent flying. What kind of logic was that?
And the Liverpool commentator had already stood up.
"TJ!"
"A high-speed burst through the center!"
"He shrugs off Eriksen, drops his shoulder to change direction, and gets past Sissoko!"
"What a fast change of direction! What a fast start!"
"Salah, Firmino, and Mané are all charging forward like three arrows!"
"TJ is taking a shot!"
"A rainbow curveball, straight into the space behind Tottenham!"
"Salah!"
"A first-time shot!"
"GOOOOOOOOOOOAL!"
Goal!
The third one!
Liverpool 3:0 Tottenham away.
"It's over! There's no more suspense!"
"Liverpool will take the victory and the precious 3 points from White Hart Lane!"
"The people of Manchester are destined to be disappointed today!"
"Tottenham can't stop Liverpool!"
Whether it was intentional or not, the camera at this moment cut to Pochettino in the technical area.
The Argentine, seeing the ball roll into his own net again, angrily threw his arm down, turned, and walked directly back to the bench.
With a 3:0 scoreline, he didn't want to see Klopp's face at all right now.
Seeing that even the manager had given up, the Tottenham players were even less likely to fight to the death with Liverpool.
Because their opponent in the next round of the Champions League was the mighty Manchester City.
They couldn't afford to spend their precious energy on a match where they were already 3 goals down.
In the 75th minute of the match, Klopp made a substitution.
Tendou, who had scored 2 goals and provided 1 assist in this match, was substituted off by him.
Tendou was a little disappointed. He was just one goal away from getting a hat-trick.
But Klopp's consideration was not without reason.
They shouldn't be spending energy on a match that had no more suspense.
Tottenham had given up, and Liverpool was calling it a day.
In the subsequent match, both sides lacked fighting spirit.
Under such circumstances, after twenty-plus minutes of agony for the fans of both teams, the referee finally blew the final whistle without any hesitation.
"The match is over!"
"3:0!"
"Liverpool has shut out Tottenham away from home!"
"TJ with 2 goals and 1 assist, single-handedly creating 3 goals! A perfect performance!"
The post-match summary.
Many commentators and hosts were lavish in their praise of Tendou's outstanding performance.
The official Liverpool commentator even began to tease Manchester City.
"The pressure is now on Manchester City's side!"
"Tottenham has already proven that they are a tough nut to crack!"
"Is it going to be the Champions League, the league, or the FA Cup? Make your choice!"
Tottenham giving up early in this match meant that they were going to go all out in preparation for the Champions League.
This was definitely not good news for Manchester City.
Because in the next round, Manchester City needed to go away to challenge Fulham, who were fighting for their lives to avoid relegation.
Then they had to return home to face the challenge of Cardiff City, and 3 days later, they had to play an FA Cup match against Brighton.
And then, 3 days after that, they had to face the challenge of Tottenham at their own home ground.
This devil's schedule, Manchester City would have a tough time!
However, Manchester City was Manchester City. After defeating Fulham 2:0 away from home, they immediately returned to their home ground and defeated Cardiff City by the same score of 2:0.
3 days later, at home against Brighton, they continued their winning streak, ultimately winning 1:0.
This devil's schedule, they had managed to get through it.
But Manchester City did not win these few matches easily.
Because Guardiola had rotated his squad in these few matches.
This devil's schedule had caused them a lot of problems.
And Liverpool?
"...They haven't lost a single one. What bullshit luck," Arnold said during training. Seeing that Manchester City hadn't lost a single match, not even a draw, he was filled with indignation.
He cursed Manchester City's opponents for being too weak, for not causing them any trouble at all.
"Their squad depth is too deep. Guardiola rotated his players in these few matches."
"Against Brighton, Prince and Agüero didn't even play. They, like us, have already made up their minds to give up the FA Cup."
During their breaks, the Liverpool players couldn't help but talk about their biggest rival this season, Manchester City.
In the match against Brighton, Agüero and Prince did not play, and the core of the midfield, De Bruyne, was also substituted off after only 60 minutes.
It was obvious.
When necessary, they would unhesitatingly give up the FA Cup.
"At least that way, after they lose the league and the Champions League to us, they won't be completely empty-handed."
"Hahahahaha! That's right! Let those damned Manchester people come at us!"
The Liverpool teammates laughed heartily.
They had given up the FA Cup early on to go all out for the league and the Champions League.
...
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