Leo Lin brought the ball down steadily with his chest, and his approval of Van Dijk grew even stronger.
This was exactly the kind of center back Klopp wanted. Someone with precise distribution from the back, vision of the whole pitch, and eyes that did not stop at the defensive third but could spot open space farther ahead, allowing him to choose the right attacking direction for his teammates.
Van Dijk had done it.
On the touchline, Klopp nodded to himself as well.
Leo Lin cushioned the ball with his chest, quickly pushed it back, then sent it to the right for fullback Arnold.
As Arnold received the ball, he scanned with the corner of his eye. This time, Fabinho had moved into a more advanced position on the left.
A quick diagonal pass.
Fabinho received it, took one touch to adjust, and before Thomas could close him down, played a pass out to the left for Mané.
Liverpool's fluid attack began to reveal itself. This was their new tactical system.
By having one fullback push forward, they opened up space for the midfield to advance. Then, through aggressive passing from midfield, they created one-on-one chances out wide.
At that moment, Thomas had been drawn toward Fabinho and could no longer help cover the flank. Mané had the ball, one-on-one against Lucas Hernández.
If there was a good one-two available, play the one-two. If there was no good combination available, beat the man alone. That was Klopp's new role for the wingers this season.
Before Mané even received the ball, he had already assessed the situation. There was no good passing option, but he had a one-on-one chance to drive forward. In that case, he would do it himself.
He stopped the ball with his right foot and steadied the rhythm, then suddenly dropped his shoulder, dragged the ball forward in one explosive step, and tried to overpower Lucas.
But Lucas was no ordinary defender. He turned at the first movement and stayed with Mané's rhythm.
On the next step, Mané used his left foot to stop sharply and cut the ball back, turning the ball he had pulled with his right foot toward the opposite side.
A beautiful change of direction and burst of pace.
He successfully beat Lucas Hernández.
"Great play!"
"Beautiful breakthrough down the left by Mané!"
"He's into the box! Chance!"
"He goes for goal!"
"Oblak makes the save!"
With his sharp reactions, Oblak successfully kept out Mané's shot.
"Liverpool's attacking move this time was extremely smooth. No hesitation at all. Every player's decision looked as if it had been planned in advance, and Liverpool completely pulled the tempo their way."
"But Oblak is still performing brilliantly. I think Oblak is the best goalkeeper in world football today. He's incredibly reliable."
"He's reliable, but from time to time, he also produces extraordinary, almost superhuman sequences of saves. In La Liga, Oblak has put on plenty of shows where he makes two saves in a row, even three. That's one of the reasons Atlético's back line is considered one of the best in Europe today."
"Because they have an exceptional goalkeeper. He is the anchor of that defense."
Simeone stood on the touchline and applauded Oblak.
Liverpool had a corner, and Mané stepped up to take it.
Van Dijk reached the first ball, but his header was slightly off target and failed to produce a goal.
Van Dijk shook his head and quickly ran back. Leo Lin followed beside him and patted him on the back.
"Good play."
Van Dijk froze for a moment, then smiled at Leo Lin. Receiving encouragement from Leo Lin made him very happy.
The match continued. Atlético defended with everything they had and did not seem eager to attack.
When they had a counterattack opportunity, they usually looked for Diego Costa, using him as a target man to lay the ball off to Griezmann, who would then create space to shoot.
They were especially focused on Set piece opportunities. Griezmann kept trying to force them through his dribbling, and Atlético desperately wanted to win Set pieces in the attacking third.
"In La Liga, Atlético often score through Set pieces. That's their specialty."
"Liverpool need to be careful. They can't give Atlético those kinds of chances."
In the 16th minute of the match.
"Juanfran goes long down the right. It's Diego Costa again!"
"He flicks it on with his head for Griezmann!"
"Griezmann controls it with his back to goal, shielding possession, while Van Dijk presses from behind."
The moment Griezmann brought the ball under control, he lowered his center of gravity and looked ready to break left.
Then came a sudden stop, a drag back, and a turn. This was his favorite way of spinning away with his back to goal.
But in the next second, a huge force surged in from behind, forcing him to stumble several steps and lose control of the ball.
Van Dijk's timing on the challenge was perfect.
"Brilliant!"
"Van Dijk against Griezmann. He didn't lose out at all in that defensive duel. That was excellent."
After completing the interception, Van Dijk did not pause. He quickly played a direct pass to Henderson.
Henderson moved it on with one touch to Fabinho, who received the ball and pushed it out to the left.
Mané took it and immediately switched play with a long diagonal ball to the right.
All one-touch football.
Like a sudden storm, swift and relentless.
Salah brought the ball down cleanly.
Liverpool completed the transition from defense to attack in an instant and moved possession into an area where Atlético's defense was relatively weaker.
Juanfran was one-on-one against Salah.
This was Salah's chance. The Pharaoh carried the ball inside with excellent rhythm, using a series of quick, tight feints that left Juanfran too afraid to stick out a foot.
Everyone thought Salah was going to drive forward himself, but after two consecutive feints, Salah suddenly slipped a through ball inside.
Leo Lin had already made a hidden run from the right, pushing forward close behind Salah, then using his burst of speed to shake off Saúl's marking.
Saúl was also Leo Lin's teammate in the Spain national team, but at this moment, he simply could not keep up with his good friend.
By the time Leo Lin received Salah's pass, he was already close to the byline. There was no room for him to keep dribbling forward or shoot himself, but he had never intended to do that anyway.
His crossing attribute had already broken through the 90 mark, becoming another ace weapon. Leo Lin glanced toward the middle of the box and saw Firmino staring straight at him.
"Bang!"
He wrapped the inside of his right ankle around the ball and sent in a beautiful curling cross.
Firmino stood where he was. He had originally planned to pull back, then move around Godín in front of him to get a heading chance.
But Godín, who had leapt high into the air, failed to clear it with his head. Leo Lin's curling cross took an unbelievable path around the defense and arrived right above Firmino's head.
Firmino jumped from a standstill, his waist driving his whole body through the motion.
He hammered the header down.
Oblak dived sideways and barely touched the ball with his palm, but only half his hand made contact.
Firmino's powerful header was slowed by Oblak's palm, but after the deflection, it still dropped into the net.
"Nice!"
"Leo Lin assists Firmino's headed goal!"
"Firmino's header was brilliant, of course, but Leo Lin's cross was ridiculously accurate!"
Firmino immediately carried Leo Lin on his back and celebrated wildly, bouncing around in pure joy.
As all their teammates crowded over, Leo Lin burst out laughing from Firmino's back.
Scholes watched the replay of Leo Lin's cross.
"That guy."
"That terrifying guy."
"That handsome, terrifying, gifted guy who keeps surprising you."
"He's learned another trick."
"He's improved again."
"Day after day, he just keeps getting better."
...
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
p-@-treon/GhostParser (65 Chapters Ahead)
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.