3:0!
The match had completely lost its suspense.
Salah had scored the last goal for both teams in the first half.
With a 3-goal lead, the two sides walked into the locker rooms.
"Well done, gentlemen!"
"TJ!"
"Your new celebration is very cool! I want to see more of it!"
Klopp praised Tendou as soon as he entered the room and said he wanted to see more of his celebrations.
Of course, Tendou understood what he meant. He was not satisfied with the current lead.
In the first round of the knockout stage, the consecutive upsets of Real Madrid and PSG, as well as Juventus's 3-goal comeback at home against Atlético, were all telling him that a 3-goal lead in the Champions League did not guarantee victory.
And also, although Tendou had produced many dazzling moments since joining Liverpool, he had not yet completed a hat-trick in the Champions League.
Being hailed as a magician by the fans, but not having a hat-trick, was simply not acceptable.
"I will keep scoring," Tendou also expressed his strong desire for a hat-trick.
After all, his goal was the Champions League Golden Boot. He was still a full 6 goals away from Messi's 12.
"Is our magician going for a hat-trick?"
"Don't worry, TJ. We will help you, but you have to treat us to dinner."
"No problem!"
Tendou agreed without hesitation. With the entire Liverpool team supporting him, this hat-trick was a sure thing. Not even Jesus could stop him, he said.
...
The 15-minute halftime break passed quickly.
The second half began.
Porto's kickoff!
As instructed by Conceição, the Porto players launched a fierce offensive at the start of the second half, trying to catch Liverpool off guard and sneak an away goal to give them some hope back at the Estádio do Dragão.
But Otávio's perfectly positioned blast from the edge of the box was successfully blocked by Tendou's timely interception.
Liverpool broke out in a cold sweat.
Then they pulled themselves together, weathered Porto's opening three-pronged attack, and after forcing them back, Liverpool once again began to bombard the Porto goal.
In the 64th minute of the match, in Porto's half, the entire Liverpool army had pushed forward.
Tendou received a back pass from Henderson.
The next second, Pereira, Torres, Soares, and Corona—a full 4 players—closed in on Tendou from all sides.
"TJ receives the ball! The pincer is coming!"
"This is the kind of treatment only Messi gets!"
"TJ!"
"He doesn't go for a head-on collision! He distributes the ball to Arnold's feet before the four-man pincer can form!"
The adjustments Conceição had made at halftime were now visible.
To go all out to shut down Liverpool's engine.
The Liverpool deadly trident, the defensive behemoth Van Dijk.
In Conceição's view, these were all superficial. The true soul and core of Liverpool was, in fact, that 18-year-old young man.
The 18-year-old Messi and Ronaldo, Conceição already thought they were strong enough, but even the two of them at that age did not have his kind of immediate impact.
Manchester United had even spent 18 million Euros to get CR7 back in 2004.
The Old Sir had said at the time, "If we don't bring that kid back, none of us are leaving."
Although later, in Ferguson's autobiography, he personally explained that they had discovered CR7 not because of that match against Sporting Lisbon, but that United had been secretly observing him for two years.
And Messi, at the age of 18, was already able to play for the Barcelona first team, which was enough to prove his talent.
But, whether it was CR7 or Messi, at the age of 18, they were far inferior to this number 44 from Liverpool.
His talent was no worse than those two, and perhaps even higher, but his immediate impact was on another dimension.
What was even more ridiculous was that there was another 18-year-old genius like this.
The era of the duo of superstars had not yet completely passed, and a new duo was already emerging.
Could it be that the next decade could only belong to these two?
Especially with the president of Real Madrid having recently expressed a strong interest in this young man from Liverpool.
"FAK!"
The more Conceição thought, the more helpless he felt.
A genius like this was destined to belong to the super giants of Europe.
And he, Conceição, currently did not have the ability to manage a giant club.
This was truly a sad story.
On the field, Porto had committed too many players to Tendou, so much so that when Arnold received the ball, he was completely unmarked.
Under such circumstances, Arnold very easily hit the ball to Salah on the right wing.
The Egyptian Pharaoh used the same trick again, cutting inside to shoot.
But this shot was too straight and was easily collected by the Porto goalkeeper.
Porto kicked off, but under Liverpool's press, the possession quickly changed hands again, and Porto had to retreat to their own goal again.
This was a microcosm of most of the second half.
Liverpool was in complete control.
Facing Porto's parked bus defense, Liverpool brought out their set-piece tactics.
In the 76th minute, Tendou sprinted through the center and was fouled 30 meters from the goal.
This time, Liverpool's toughest man went down very decisively, rolling 3 times and covering a distance of 3 meters.
The head referee instinctively thought it was a dive.
But Liverpool's toughest man had a solid reputation in the industry. He still gave Liverpool a free-kick opportunity, and even moved the spot a full 3 meters forward.
The Porto players decisively protested.
"I fouled him here! Not this close!"
"3 meters! He rolled forward 3 meters! No, he rolled even further than that!"
"He's diving!"
Pereira's dark face was flushed with agitation.
Heaven and earth as his witness, what had he done to deserve being able to send this Liverpool monster flying so far?
What 18-year-old magician!
Pah!
So shameless! He rolls around even more than Neymar!
"You personally admitted that you fouled first," the head referee only heard this sentence and resolutely awarded Liverpool a free-kick from about 27 meters from the goal.
Tendou personally took this perfectly positioned free-kick.
When the camera focused on him, on the big screen at Anfield, the toughest man in Liverpool was seen with a resolute gaze, looking as if he were about to eat someone.
Tendou's female fans were instantly ecstatic.
After all, a serious man is the most handsome!
BANG!
The referee blew the whistle.
Tendou stepped back for his run-up, and then smashed his foot into the ball.
The ball instantly shot out like a cannonball, flying over the Porto wall and then dipping rapidly.
SWISH!
GOAL!
After several matches, Tendou had once again scored a direct free-kick, and at the same time, had completed a hat-trick in the Champions League!
At the same time, his Champions League goal count had reached 7, only 5 goals away from Messi's 12.
After scoring, Tendou immediately ran to the corner flag.
Front flip!
Landing!
Arms spread wide!
The performance is over, a tip of the hat as a thank you!
Tendou had been thinking about his own celebration for a long time.
Not to say that it had to surpass CR7's "Siuuu," but it had to have its own characteristics. He couldn't just do a three-striped slide in every match. How tired would his little brother get?
Then, he found that the fans were increasingly calling him a magician, shouting "TJ-magic" every time he scored or assisted.
Tendou had found his inspiration from this.
The final tip of the hat was a stroke of genius.
He could already hear the passionate roar of the Liverpool on-site commentator.
"This is absolutely the most elegant of all the celebrations I have ever seen!"
"Welcome to the Liverpool channel! We are now broadcasting a program called TJ-magic!"
"The performance is over! Liverpool has won!"
...
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