"There's no way Firmino misses a chance like that!"
"Rodri launched the counterattack, Leo Lin drove it forward, Mané delivered the killer square ball, and Firmino finished it off!"
"Perfect execution from back to front! So patient!"
"That patience is the scariest thing about Liverpool!"
"Rodri's passing ideas are getting clearer. He's become a very reliable outlet at the back for Liverpool. Compared with De Jong, Leo Lin's ball progression is obviously faster and sharper. I'm not trying to put anyone down. De Jong carries the ball quickly too, but he's still young, and his progression isn't quite mature yet."
After Scholes said that, he suddenly realized there was a problem with the wording. When it came to being young, Leo Lin was actually the younger one.
"Actually, Leo Lin's biggest advantage when driving forward is that he has no weak foot on either side. That's the benefit of being a Two-Footed Monster!"
Gullit watched Firmino carrying Leo Lin as he rushed toward the touchline, with Mané chasing behind them and trying to jump onto Firmino's back. The Liverpool players looked so happy they hardly seemed to be playing a Champions League match. They looked more like they were out on a camping trip.
"Before the match, the media made Ajax sound so terrifying that I thought Liverpool would definitely feel the pressure. But not only do they look pressure-free, they're full of motivation!"
"Lin's progression is so oppressive!"
"He's strong. Ridiculously strong. It's like a mountain suddenly grew legs, rose out of the ground, and came charging straight at you."
"How are you supposed to stop a mountain that's sprinting at you?"
"The only thing you can do is climb onto it, hope you find a fruit tree, and pick a couple of peaches to eat. Other than that, there's nothing you can do."
That was the only way Ashley Cole could describe Leo Lin's dribbling. He couldn't think of anything better.
"There it is! Turbocharged De Jong!"
"Ajax do have some excellent players in certain positions, but Liverpool seem to have opened up Ajax's system. They've found the weak points and are attacking them!"
"They're still too dependent on De Jong's progression. I think Ajax need to come up with something better!"
After play resumed, Ajax's midfield was still heavily reliant on De Jong carrying the ball forward.
That was because Van de Beek spent more time staying high up the pitch on his own, waiting to receive the pass after De Jong advanced before he began organizing Ajax's attack in the final third.
That approach could have brought out Van de Beek's attacking ability, but it also turned De Jong into their only engine for progression.
Rodri continued to track De Jong with the same defensive approach as before. He had already gotten a feel for it, and his defending kept working. Ajax's midfield progression was being cut off by Rodri.
"Rodri is like a blocking agent. Once he cuts off De Jong, Ajax's midfield is cut off too. Van de Beek needs to drop deeper and help take some pressure off De Jong!"
On the touchline, Ajax manager Ten Hag began adjusting his tactics, but he did not ask Van de Beek to drop back. Instead, he sent Ziyech deeper.
"Ziyech, come back and help De Jong with the ball. Use your left foot. Hit the far side. Curl it long!"
Ten Hag looked confident. He believed there was no way he would lose this match. Even if he lost on the pitch, he definitely wouldn't lose the post-match press conference.
As far as he was concerned, overturning the game was already in the bag.
Although Ziyech was a wide player, he was not a traditional winger. After dropping back along the right flank, Ziyech began using his curling passing ability, switching play to the far side again and again. Neres became more active and started getting more chances.
30th minute.
"Ziyech always reminds me of Robben, but their styles are different. After cutting inside onto his left foot, Ziyech uses his trademark curling passes more often!"
"Ziyech again. He curls it to the left. Neres is on the move!"
"Alexander-Arnold is rushing over too. The two of them collide!"
"Neres is stronger! He just about controls it! Crosses!"
"Matip clears it! But not far enough! De Jong follows up with a shot!"
"Rodri turns his body and blocks it!"
"Neres still has the advantage against Alexander-Arnold, but Rodri is defending the area in front of the back line extremely well!"
Leo Lin watched Ajax change their attacking method, shifting from De Jong to Ziyech, and from the center to the right. To limit Ziyech, simple man-marking would not be enough. They needed a smarter defensive approach.
Leo Lin began running in the opposite direction, changing from helping Mané to helping Salah.
After watching Ziyech play a few curling passes, Leo Lin actually felt less worried, because he thought it would be difficult for that method to produce a goal.
Ziyech's curling passes looked threatening, but Ajax still could not score. They even struggled to find shooting opportunities inside the box, with most of their chances coming from forced headers or long shots from outside the area.
That was because Ziyech's curling passes were always aimed too wide, constantly being lofted toward the left. But what mattered in a curling pass was not the width. It was the curve.
40th minute.
Leo Lin first stayed in the middle, then sprinted to the right after Rodri received the ball. De Jong and Schöne kept following Leo Lin, which gave Henderson the chance to carry the ball.
Henderson kept dribbling, moving out of the defensive third. After drawing the defense, he passed it wide.
Mané had just tried to break down the wing when Schöne arrived in time to cover. This time, Mané did not force the dribble. After adjusting his steps, he played it back into the middle.
The player receiving the ball was not Henderson, but Leo Lin, who had completed a dummy run. By then, Henderson had already returned to the defensive midfield area.
As Leo Lin received the ball, he leaned back slightly, glanced to the right, then suddenly swung his leg, using the inside of his ankle to curl the ball.
The ball began to spin and rise. What Leo Lin had just produced was a textbook curling pass.
Ajax's back line instinctively assumed Leo Lin was looking for Salah, because Salah had started his run.
But Leo Lin's curling pass did not fly toward the far post. Instead, it followed an arc that looked high at first, only to dip sharply toward the front-middle area.
He was looking for Firmino.
De Ligt hurriedly turned, but Leo Lin's curling pass carried a wicked curve. It was like a blade, yet also like a spear, and even after landing, it still kicked forward, helping Firmino shake off De Ligt.
Firmino was facing the goalkeeper one-on-one.
"He's through!"
"Chip!"
"Firmino chips it over the onrushing Onana!"
"Two-nil!"
"That curling pass!"
"Look at that curling pass!"
"Just look at that curling pass!"
Gullit was already lost for words.
"That was the real deal!"
"This is what a curling pass is supposed to do. Ziyech's curling passes couldn't put Neres one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but Lin's curling pass sent Firmino straight through!"
"There's just too much Lin can do. Not only does he know a lot, he's mastered it all!"
"For the entire first half, Lin has used his performance to tell everyone!"
"What I do is real ball progression!"
"What I play is a real curling pass!"
"I am the genius!"
"A super genius!"
...
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