"Pep Guardiola texted me last night. Said he'd pay five pounds to have you taken out in the locker room."
Early on February 3rd, the moment he stepped into the club, Klopp walked straight up to Leo Lin, high-fived him, and pulled him into a hug, joking as always.
"I swear, the second Pep saw his daughter repost your Madrid Ski Festival endorsement, his whole world must've collapsed."
Leo Lin laughed and hugged him back.
"So five pounds didn't tempt you?"
Klopp shrugged.
"Of course not. But I told him if he raised it to ten quid, I might consider it."
"Unfortunately, Guardiola wouldn't meet my price. Stingy guy."
"Back when we played Bayern in the Bundesliga, I asked him to grab me a coffee and he wouldn't even do that."
With an arm slung around Leo Lin's shoulders, Klopp burst out laughing as they headed into the cafeteria.
With international duty over, club competitions resumed.
After 21 rounds of the Premier League, Liverpool still sat top of the table. Having already lifted the EFL Cup, they now turned their attention to the FA Cup, which kicked off as well.
The FA Cup was taken seriously. From the third round onward, teams began fielding strong lineups in pursuit of the trophy.
On February 5th, the FA Cup third round began, with Liverpool facing a League One side.
Given the clear gap in quality, Klopp opted for partial rotation. Salah, Firmino, and Leo Lin started on the bench, while Lovren and Matip were deployed in central defense to keep things steady at the back.
Klopp clearly didn't want any surprises.
After kickoff, young Ibe looked lively up front.
With Danny Ings' aerial presence and Solanke's clever movement stretching the back line, the opposition defense was under constant pressure.
In the 27th minute, Danny Ings rose to meet Moreno's cross and powered home a header to open the scoring.
In the 60th minute, Solanke made a smart run off the ball, received a pass from Danny Ings, and unselfishly squared it for Ibe, who finished to make it 2–0.
Klopp's side advanced to the fourth round with minimal fuss.
Just three days later came Premier League Round 22 against Bournemouth. Sitting 13th this season, Bournemouth looked weak on paper—especially their defense, which fans joked was as thin as paper.
February 8th, at Bournemouth's home ground.
Klopp sent out his strongest lineup.
From the first whistle, Liverpool imposed themselves completely, pinning Bournemouth back with relentless attacking pressure.
13th minute.
"Liverpool still dictating the tempo here, another run through the middle."
"Henderson drives forward and feeds it to Leo Lin."
"He turns and switches it wide—Salah on the right."
"Salah cuts inside, driving toward the center!"
"Diagonal ball to the back post!"
"Chance for Mané!"
"Pulled back across goal—Firmino in the middle!"
"Hits it first time!"
"Low shot—goal!!!"
"Beautiful! A superb combination from Liverpool's front three!"
"Firmino with a clinical finish, showing his sharp edge in front of goal."
37th minute!
"Salah wins a corner. Mané takes it—near post delivery."
"Chance for Leo Lin! He glances a header!"
"The keeper gets a touch—Leo Lin follows up!"
"It's in!"
"Leo Lin gets on the scoresheet! 2–0! He reacted quickest and made sure this time he didn't waste the opportunity!"
After the break, Liverpool eased off slightly and focused on controlling the tempo.
In the 65th minute, Klopp made a change—Wijnaldum on for Leo Lin.
Salah and Mané were also taken off. Wijnaldum's expression didn't look particularly pleased.
In the broadcast booth, Jim Beglin noticed him standing by the touchline with a dark look on his face.
"Judging by his expression, Wijnaldum isn't too happy with his current situation."
"Since Leo Lin burst onto the scene, Liverpool's regular midfield three has become Henderson, Emre Can, and Leo Lin."
"Wijnaldum used to be an automatic starter. Now he's struggling even for rotation minutes, mostly appearing in early FA Cup and EFL Cup ties."
As Leo Lin came off, he reached out for a high-five, but Wijnaldum pretended not to see it and jogged straight onto the pitch.
Danny Ings quickly stepped in to high-five Leo Lin instead, easing what could have been an awkward moment.
Klopp frowned immediately on the sideline, clearly unhappy with Wijnaldum's reaction.
Leo Lin, however, didn't take it to heart. He acknowledged the applause from the Liverpool supporters and sat down calmly on the bench.
Later, Danny Ings headed home again to seal a 3–0 victory.
Liverpool claimed the three points in Round 22—but there was no time to breathe.
The toughest stretch of the title race had arrived. Just two and a half days later, they would travel away to face Huddersfield Town.
Klopp focused on recovery. The players had to be at their sharpest.
For Round 23 against Huddersfield, rotation was unavoidable.
Because in Round 24, Liverpool would face second-placed Manchester City.
The gap between the two sides remained slim. If Manchester City wanted to reclaim top spot, Pep Guardiola's sole objective was clear—win the league.
Guardiola had long been regarded as the master of league campaigns. Among managers across world football, few were better at securing league titles than him.
After Round 24, only 14 matches would remain. The Premier League had entered its decisive second half.
Klopp knew exactly how powerful Guardiola's Manchester City could be—especially given their dominance in recent seasons.
So against Huddersfield, Liverpool fielded a heavily rotated lineup.
From the start, the tempo was slow.
Liverpool controlled possession but couldn't find the breakthrough.
Plenty of buildup, no end product.
Ibe, in particular, made excellent runs and repeatedly found himself clean through on goal.
But each time he pulled the trigger, Klopp's blood pressure seemed to spike.
"This Ibe…"
"The movement is great—but the finishing's not there."
"If he doesn't improve his shooting soon, this might be as far as he goes."
At halftime, it remained 0–0.
Watching Ibe miss three one-on-one chances, Jon Champion couldn't help but comment:
"Liverpool just need to take one chance. One goal, and the balance tips firmly in their favor."
The second half began, and Klopp still held off on substitutions. He chose to trust his bench.
Finally, in the 80th minute, Ibe broke through again and was brought down by a defender. The referee pointed to the spot.
Liverpool fans let out a collective breath.
But when they saw Ibe standing over the penalty, their hearts tightened all over again.
Given his earlier misses, anxiety returned instantly.
If this didn't go in, three points might slip away entirely.
This was Klopp's decision.
From the sideline, he roared:
"Let Ibe take it!"
He wanted this penalty to restore the young player's confidence.