When Ashley Cole said the fans did not understand Leo Lin's true value, most of it was just him getting carried away.
That was right. He did not have any especially unique insight himself either. To keep the fire from spreading to them, Gullit and Scholes each gave Ashley Cole a punch and made him shut up.
Scholes could still laugh, but Gullit could not laugh at all. After all, he was Dutch, and seeing a Dutch team fall so far behind in the first leg of a Champions League quarterfinal was not something he could smile about.
Ajax knew where the problem was, and Ten Hag knew too, but Ten Hag did not make any substitutions. He only adjusted the players' positioning to make sure the team would not concede again in the same way.
Once play resumed, the main attacking approaches of both teams still did not change. Ajax desperately wanted to pull one back. Even one goal would be a symbol of dignity.
De Jong pushed forward with everything he had, and Van de Beek gave his all to organize the attack, but the steel defensive line led by Van Dijk left Van de Beek unable to find any chance for an assist.
De Jong's long-range shots were either blocked by Rodri or disrupted by Leo Lin before he could even shoot.
Tadić was called the All-Rounder by Dutch fans and was Ajax's fan favorite, but he had been almost invisible in this match. Matip's seasoned defending had left Tadić trapped in trouble.
"Matip goes shoulder-to-shoulder with Tadić. There's a bit of pushing and pulling, but not enough for a foul."
"Tadić drags the ball back. He wants to turn!"
"He steps in! Beautiful tackle!"
"Blind and De Ligt should really learn from how Matip is defending Tadić!"
"Those two should use Matip's defensive rhythm to deal with Leo Lin or Firmino."
"Matip doesn't try to body him up directly. Instead, he uses Tadić's own momentum against him. He keeps adjusting his defensive positioning according to the direction of Tadić's turn, while constantly using small touches with his hands to stop Tadić from completing the turn smoothly!"
The match was almost over. Tadić's forced attack was once again dealt with by Matip, and Van Dijk still maintained absolute dominance in the air.
Onana was still worried about being hit by another Leo Lin long-range shot, and Tagliafico was afraid Salah would get another chance to break down the wing.
At Ajax's own home ground, Liverpool had beaten the sharp edge out of this youthful storm.
When stoppage time ended, the match was over, with disappointment written across the faces of Ajax fans throughout the stadium.
"From the fan shots on the broadcast, it isn't hard to tell that the ones smiling must be Liverpool fans, because Ajax fans definitely can't smile right now."
Because the Ajax fans had shown Liverpool plenty of respect before the match, the Liverpool fans did not want to mock Ajax too much. They did their best to keep their smiles from looking too unrestrained.
But sometimes, joy simply could not be controlled, especially when their team had won such a crucial match in such an outstanding way.
Leo Lin, who had led Liverpool's big win, was chatting with De Jong. The match had only just ended when De Jong hurried over to Leo Lin in a few quick strides.
"Lin, can I swap shirts with you later?"
Leo Lin had heard that request many times before. The first time he faced Van Dijk, Van Dijk had said the same thing to him.
"Of course, as long as you promise you'll come play for Liverpool someday."
Leo Lin made a joke, and De Jong burst out laughing.
Leo Lin was reluctant to leave the Cruyff Arena. He liked the atmosphere there. After returning to the dressing room, Leo Lin sat in his chair and laughed as he watched his teammates celebrating in front of him.
Before he knew it, Leo Lin realized Liverpool had become completely different from before he arrived.
Against strong opponents, Liverpool had begun shifting away from a passive style of falling behind and looking for counters. They were becoming a team that took control and struck first.
The players had more confidence, and their mentality was better. Everyone looked like they were enjoying everything in front of them, instead of simply playing for the sake of chasing victory. That was the clearest change Leo Lin could feel.
Leo Lin liked this atmosphere. Seeing Rodri calling him over to join the dancing, Leo Lin waved his shirt, sang the battle chant, and twisted his way onto the dance floor.
In the Ajax dressing room, De Jong could not wait to take a photo while holding Leo Lin's shirt. After making sure he looked handsome enough, he immediately posted it on his personal page.
[Very happy to have had a direct conversation today with the best midfielder in world football. Looking forward to our next meeting.]
The post quickly received a huge number of likes. First Gullit appeared in the comments, and then a crowd of star players followed.
Gullit: "Congratulations, De Jong. You've become one of Lin's fanboys too. But you're still behind me, because I'm his biggest-name fanboy!"
Gerrard: "Biggest-name? Move aside, little brother. I was the one who did Lin's first exclusive interview!"
Saint Iker: "What biggest-name fanboy? What are all these monsters upstairs talking about? When it comes to supporting Lin, who can compare with me?!!"
...
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