During halftime, Klopp and the players kept discussing their tactics for the second half.
Klopp, Krawietz, and Zubizarreta all looked slightly tense.
Because the three of them had decided to make another extremely bold attempt.
The herding-style reverse-run tactic had worked in back-to-back matches against Chelsea and Ajax. That meant, with Liverpool's current overall ability, this pressing tactic was playable, and its results were excellent.
Last season, after Klopp went through that league battle with Manchester City and found himself suppressed by Guardiola's brand-new tactics, he learned from the pain and eventually developed a new tactic of his own. Dynamic Transitions, which proved just as outstanding.
Although it had only been in its early stage last season, Dynamic Transitions had already shown tremendous power. It quickly helped Liverpool win several titles and defeat many powerful opponents.
After this season began, Klopp's initial tactical idea was to stop using Dynamic Transitions.
For Liverpool, that tactic from last season was somewhat outdated. If they kept using it too often, Liverpool might fall into a comfort zone, and their opponents would also find chances to study more and more ways to limit Dynamic Transitions.
But while Klopp was working out the herding-style pressing tactic, an extremely bold idea suddenly came to him.
The herding-style pressing tactic forced the team in possession to lose the ball and made their own positioning more chaotic. If it could also be combined with Dynamic Transitions, Liverpool could first use the herding-style pressing tactic to force the opponent into losing possession and falling into disorder, then immediately use Dynamic Transitions while the opponent was still in chaos. With the speed of Dynamic Transitions, they could catch the opponent completely off guard and score before they recovered. Wouldn't that allow these two rare tactics to fuse together?
After Klopp came up with this tactical pattern, Zubizarreta was the first to raise both hands and feet in objection. Krawietz was the second to raise his eight-pack in protest.
"Boss, how is that even possible?"
"Forget combining the two. Other teams would already struggle to play even one of them well. Other than us, can you name a single team that can even manage a basic form of Dynamic Transitions?"
"None. Only we can do it!"
"And this herding-style pressing tactic. Other than us, what other team can execute this kind of pressing tactic?"
"No one. Only we've done it, at least for now!"
Krawietz had meant to refute Klopp, but as he kept talking, he suddenly realized that he had not refuted anything at all. Instead, he had ended up proving Klopp's point from the side.
When Krawietz finished speaking and realized he had talked himself into confusion, Klopp laughed.
"See?"
"You said it yourself just now. No one besides us can play Dynamic Transitions well, and no one besides us can play the herding-style pressing tactic well. Since we can play both of these tactics well, why wouldn't we be able to combine them?"
"Why can't we do it?"
Klopp was excited. Every time he developed a new tactic or upgraded a traditional one, he felt this same excitement and sense of achievement.
It was just like when he turned Dynamic Transitions from a small idea into a real tactic. That sense of accomplishment was something every football coach dreamed of.
And now Klopp knew that if he could perfectly fuse the herding-style pressing tactic with Dynamic Transitions, it would no longer be a simple matter of achievement. It would instantly lift Klopp to a whole new level.
It would be difficult, but Klopp was willing to test it on the pitch.
Truth was discovered and proven through practice.
Liverpool were already far ahead on aggregate, so they had no pressure.
Klopp decided to use this fused tactic for the remaining 45 minutes. So Leo Lin and the Liverpool players returned to the pitch with a mixture of intense excitement and nervous anticipation.
No one knew what it would look like once they tried to fuse the two. It might flow incredibly smoothly, or it might become completely disjointed and end up weakening their own game instead.
The match soon entered Liverpool's experimental stage.
Klopp knew that only by trying this tactic in a match of this level could they test whether it was truly practical.
In the 52nd minute, De Jong attempted a through ball, but Rodri read it and intercepted. The ball then luckily fell back to De Jong again.
Ajax could only pass the ball backward. The chance had arrived.
Leo Lin immediately charged forward first. Then the Liverpool players carried out the herding-style reverse-run tactic, and Ajax's passing options gradually disappeared.
Onana hurried to send the ball out, seizing the last remaining opportunity.
Neres received it, but Joe Gomez's excellent tackle destroyed Ajax's attacking plan once again.
Liverpool immediately launched Dynamic Transitions. First came the outstanding collective movement forward, followed by constantly changing transition combinations.
There was no real problem at first, until Leo Lin gradually sensed that Liverpool's transition system had also become chaotic because Ajax's players were in chaos.
The reason Dynamic Transitions were stronger than traditional transition tactics was that they were dynamic. They could change anytime, anywhere.
And those changes were based on the opponent's defensive space. Originally, the initiative was in Liverpool's hands, because the opponent's defensive space was fixed. The opponent's spaces were laid out in front of them, and Liverpool could choose which defensive space to attack, constantly adjusting their own transition tactics accordingly.
But now, the opponent's defensive space was no longer fixed. Ajax's defensive space had become chaotic because of Liverpool's herding-style pressing tactic.
Once the defensive space became chaotic, Liverpool could no longer adjust their transition tactics based on that messy defensive space. Instead, they lost the initiative.
This Dynamic Transitions attack not only failed to achieve the expected result, it was also intercepted by Schöne. He immediately sent a long ball forward on the counterattack to Ziyech.
Ziyech produced a brilliant breakthrough and cross, almost setting up Tadić for a goal.
If not for Henderson's crucial clearance, Liverpool might actually have conceded because of this attempt.
Klopp noticed the problem, and the Liverpool players also found where the issue lay. That was the benefit of practice.
Only after trying something yourself could you understand most directly where the problem was.
Just as Klopp was about to tell everyone to temporarily give up on this attempt, Leo Lin suddenly called out to him.
"Wait. I want to try it one more time!"
Klopp knew Leo Lin too well. If Leo Lin had not found what he believed was a way to connect the two tactics, he would never have asked to try again.
Hearing Leo Lin ask for another attempt, Krawietz and Zubizarreta's eyes lit up, and they immediately agreed.
The way to perfectly fuse these two rare tactics might be hidden in Leo Lin's next choice.
...
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