Klopp was ready to have the team temporarily abandon this style of play, because he felt its feasibility still needed to be examined.
But Leo Lin then told Klopp that he wanted to try it one more time, because a sudden flash of inspiration had come to him.
That inspiration came from the feeling he had found when he tackled De Jong just now. The way he had tackled De Jong was by first retreating to delay the timing, then suddenly stepping in once De Jong was forced to slow down and a gap gradually appeared between him and the ball.
Since that was the case, after Liverpool used the herding-style pressing tactic to break Ajax's central axis, could they first put on the posture of Dynamic Transitions and scare Ajax a little?
After that, Ajax would definitely try to reorganize their chaotic defensive line as quickly as possible, because they would be afraid of Liverpool finding a chance through Dynamic Transitions.
And precisely because of that, once Ajax quickly set up their defensive line again, fixed defensive spaces would reappear.
Then Liverpool would regain the conditions needed to play Dynamic Transitions.
In that way, they could counter the countermeasure from both directions, and in the end, Liverpool would still be the ones countering Ajax.
No sooner said than done. Leo Lin immediately began putting it into practice.
After telling his teammates what he had in mind, the Liverpool players began building their tactics around that idea.
In the 70th minute!
Ajax finally put together their first successful combination, this time through De Jong and Ziyech.
De Jong shifted the ball from the middle out to the far right. After receiving it, Ziyech did not choose to break through. Instead, he played a wide tactical combination with Van de Beek, and this move finally cut the defensive connection between Robertson and Matip.
After receiving the ball, Van de Beek originally wanted to look for Ziyech directly, but after a quick glance, he noticed a huge amount of shooting space. So this time, Van de Beek took a full adjustment before striking.
It was not a high shot, and it was not a low drive either. It was almost half-height, dipping slightly as it flew toward goal.
The ball was traveling very fast, spinning violently through the air.
This kind of ball was the hardest to deal with. Van de Beek had deliberately struck it that way to make the save as difficult as possible for Alisson.
Ajax fans were full of confidence. They felt this one was definitely going in.
But Alisson caught the ball cleanly with both hands while it was still spinning at incredible speed in midair.
He controlled that spinning ball with both hands, then moved like he was putting a shot. In the fans' eyes, his right hand seemed to enlarge without limit, becoming unbelievably agile and long.
Alisson's terrifying counterattack throw.
The throw was almost too long. Leo Lin chased forward to contest it with Schöne, and Firmino chased after it as well. The two of them trapped Schöne between them and successfully won the ball.
Now came the crucial moment. If Ajax were still in a chaotic state, Liverpool could not play Dynamic Transitions.
But Leo Lin deliberately gave Ajax a chance to breathe. On the sideline, Klopp was still waving for the players to hurry up and launch the counterattack, but when he saw Leo Lin suddenly pause, Klopp froze as well.
From what he knew of Leo Lin, this guy would never do anything on the pitch that slowed the team's rhythm.
But Klopp did not blame Leo Lin, because just as Gullit had said before, if it was Leo Lin, there had to be a reason.
The reason soon surfaced.
De Ligt waved his arms at the back, directing his teammates and quickly reminding them to get into position, rebuilding an excellent defensive shape.
On the sideline, Ten Hag watched with great satisfaction. He felt this was the result of his coaching, a perfect defensive tactic.
Facts proved that there was nothing wrong with Ten Hag's tactics. They were outstanding.
There was nothing wrong with the Ajax defenders' tactical execution either. They were excellent.
Leo Lin used Ajax's excellent defensive tactics against them and finally linked herding reverse runs with Dynamic Transitions.
Almost the moment Ajax stabilized their defensive shape at the back, Liverpool's Dynamic Transitions followed.
Looking at the fixed defensive spaces in Ajax's back line, Leo Lin first passed to the left. After Mané received the ball, Ajax's defensive line shifted with him. Right after that, Firmino moved to support Mané, while Rodri pushed forward into the right side at the top of the penalty arc.
With Firmino's help, Mané sent a long pass to Rodri.
Schöne hurried forward to press again, but Rodri nodded the ball on, this time finding Salah on the right.
Liverpool's attack was so hard to read that even the fans watching the match could not follow the pattern. The Ajax players caught inside it were even more lost.
And in that almost desperate state, Salah received Rodri's pass and went one-on-one. His beautiful strike completely shattered Ajax's final psychological line of defense.
The Ajax players could no longer hold it together.
The Ajax fans could not bear to keep watching. A few in the back rows had even already left the stadium.
"Liverpool continue to extend their lead!"
"They are far ahead on aggregate now. Ajax can't come back anymore. They won't be able to create another miracle like they did in the previous knockout rounds!"
"I respect Ajax, their tactics, and their performance, and I respect Ten Hag as well, but their Champions League journey may end here!"
"And defending champions Liverpool will continue forward!"
Klopp looked at Zubizarreta, and the two of them smiled at the same time.
Krawietz was rushing to save the replay from just now and immediately began analyzing it without stopping.
"This is definitely a viable approach. Although this kind of connection does have a prerequisite. The opponent must have the ability to quickly restore a chaotic defensive line back into a normal defensive shape. Otherwise, we won't be able to combine the two."
After analyzing it, Krawietz also saw how Leo Lin had connected the two tactics. After hearing Krawietz's analysis, Klopp laughed even more freely.
"Exactly. If the opponent doesn't have that ability, then we really can't connect it with Dynamic Transitions."
"But if the opponent doesn't even have the ability to reform a chaotic defensive line, then we don't need to play Dynamic Transitions anyway."
"We can combine the herding-style pressing tactic with a simple attacking pattern, such as attacking down both wings, committing multiple players forward, or breaking through on the flank."
"That way, with the herding-style pressing tactic as the foundation and the core, and with Dynamic Transitions and other tactics as supporting pieces, our overall tactical system can bloom in every direction."
"From this moment on, whether the opponent is strong or weak, we can use the herding press as the base to put together an extremely destructive tactic against them."
Through this Ajax goal conceded, the commentators also saw Liverpool's leap forward on the tactical level.
"Once Liverpool successfully fused these two tactics, there was no longer just one Leo Lin on the pitch."
"Every Liverpool player could be Leo Lin. Thousands upon thousands of Leo Lins."
"And Leo Lin could also be every other Liverpool player. Thousands upon thousands of Liverpools."
...
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