"An absolutely crucial goal brings Manchester City level—one apiece! The final is wide open again!"
Klopp was furious on the touchline, but he knew there was no one to blame.
It wasn't even a clear-cut chance, yet Aguero's finish from such a tight angle left everyone shaking their heads in disbelief.
"That's Manchester City for you—give them a single opening and they can flip the game on its head. Liverpool mustn't think this is over."
"This is what true quality looks like. Aguero is one of the greatest center-forwards in world football today!"
"What's incredible is how composed Aguero was—like he knew the ball was destined to go in."
City fans roared back to life. Blue smoke billowed through Wembley Stadium as the Etihad faithful sang at full voice, urging their team on.
After the restart, Manchester City continued to push through the middle.
Leo Lin gradually realized that sitting back and defending would only allow City to create more chances.
To stop them from scoring, Liverpool needed sharper counterattacks.
One-touch passing combinations were absolutely vital.
Using the breaks for corners and fouls, Leo Lin stepped up his communication with his teammates, sharing his new ideas.
"Firmino, drop a bit deeper and act as a pivot. If you can function as an attacking midfielder up front and ease our buildup, we'll have chances to play quick one-touch combinations."
Firmino nodded repeatedly—he fully agreed.
"Salah, I'll look to slip more balls in behind for you. We can increase our vertical runs. Mané will do the same on the left, then we create chances with a quick square pass."
The star players were more than willing to buy into Leo Lin's plan. At the same time, he intensified his midfield pressure, cutting off De Bruyne's forward passing lanes.
Liverpool's shape on the broadcast showed a clear transformation. Their passing began to flow—receive, pass, receive, pass—no dribbling at all.
Yet paradoxically, this lack of dribbling made Liverpool even more dangerous.
"Bang!" A sweeping cross-field pass from Mané.
"Snap!" Salah cushioned the ball and immediately laid it off to Leo Lin, arriving at the edge of the box!
Leo Lin didn't stop it—he flicked his ankle and sent the ball straight back to the left!
Mané, having just passed, had already surged forward, collected it, and cut it back toward the penalty spot!
Firmino hit it first time!
"Bang!!!"
"Firmino's shot is blocked!"
"So unlucky—that was close!"
"But you can clearly see Liverpool's attack improving."
"That fluid passing is adding real sharpness to their play."
With crisp one-touch football, Liverpool began to pry open Manchester City's possession structure, slowly wresting back control of the tempo.
In football, it's an eternal truth: control the rhythm, seize the initiative, and you give yourself the best chance to win.
Liverpool's passing now revolved around Leo Lin. He no longer sought physical clashes in midfield, instead assuming the role of an orchestrator.
"Leo Lin is acting as the playmaker here—one of the hardest roles in football."
"You need exceptional vision and passing awareness to drive the entire team's attack."
"Once again, Leo Lin shows his versatility. He always seems able to play different roles in different positions."
Leo Lin took charge of the midfield, helping Liverpool stabilize possession.
He wanted to reclaim control with his ball retention and distribution—he was ready to match Manchester City in a battle for possession.
If City wanted to dominate through control, Leo Lin would challenge them at exactly that.
Whenever De Bruyne or David Silva got on the ball, Leo Lin was there with fierce pressure.
And the moment he won possession, he immediately pushed the counter, linking up with teammates through sharp give-and-goes.
Liverpool's midfield grew smoother by the minute, their attacking tempo climbing steadily.
The 59th minute!
"Another midfield trap! Leo Lin comes in from the side and wins it off De Bruyne!"
"He holds off David Silva with his back to goal, turns under pressure, then explodes past Fernandinho!"
"My word—Manchester City's midfield has no answer for him!"
In the Sky Sports commentary booth, Gerrard clutched his head in disbelief after witnessing those three delicate actions, his face full of astonishment.
Leo Lin drove forward and slipped a pass out to the left.
Mané received it on the half-turn, coiling for an explosive run.
The dip of his shoulder told Walker he was going down the line.
Walker, often hailed as England's flying wing, was ready to match Mané stride for stride.
But instead, Mané slammed on the brakes, cut inside to deceive Walker, then delicately rolled an outside-of-the-foot pass.
Leo Lin arrived to meet it, cushioning the ball with the inside of his foot.
After killing the pace, he shifted it onto his right and threaded a diagonal through-ball that tore open the right side of City's defense!
Salah collected it and drove toward the byline.
One quick cut inside to create the angle—he was winding up to shoot.
Leo Lin had already made a late run into space, completely unmarked.
But Salah chose to go himself!
From a tight angle, he lashed it straight at Ederson, the rebound spilling out to Leo Lin!
A massive chance, laid on a plate—but Otamendi and Stones slammed the door shut!
With Ederson included, three bodies hurled themselves in front of Leo Lin, throwing everything on the line to block every shooting angle.
Leo Lin leaned slightly, adopting a textbook shooting stance.
Then, in the next instant—he chopped the ball instead. A perfect fake shot.
All three defenders were sent the wrong way.
With space finally opening up, Leo Lin swung his left leg—
—and Fernandinho hauled him down from behind!
"Aaah!" Leo Lin crashed to the turf in agony.
Fernandinho had shoved him straight over.
To stop the goal, he had no other choice.
The referee's whistle rang out immediately.
"Beep!!!"
Jon Champion cried out in shock.
"Red card—and a penalty!"
"Fernandinho sees red and concedes the spot kick!"
"Liverpool have a penalty that could kill this game!"
"The balance of victory is tipping their way. Leo Lin has won a priceless penalty for his team!"
"If this goes in, Liverpool have a great chance of reaching the EFL Cup final—of marching toward the temple of English glory, Wembley Stadium!"
A penalty that could decide everything. Klopp stood motionless on the touchline.
Originally, Leo Lin wasn't the designated penalty taker.
After a brief moment of thought, Klopp made his decision and shouted toward the pitch captain.
"Henderson!"
"Let Lin!"
"Let Lin take this penalty!!!"