With the team's number one and the locker room leader both speaking up, Kovač had to make the substitutions, whether he wanted to or not.
In the corner, James Rodríguez clenched his fists, his face filled with unwillingness.
From Real Madrid to Bayern, he had been unable to escape his predicament.
The fans and those so-called experts would only say that he couldn't adapt to modern football, that his playing style was a product of a bygone era.
He really wanted to tell those people that they were completely wrong.
But the fact was, without an outstanding performance, any explanation was powerless.
A while ago, he had taken the lead in challenging Kovač, publicly expressing his dissatisfaction with his current situation.
That was how he had gotten the opportunity to start in this Champions League knockout match.
If he couldn't produce something, he would really be finished.
He was now 28 years old, right in a player's golden age. This was his last chance.
In another two or three years, when his form declined further, there would be no place for him in the top five leagues.
He was filled with resentment but couldn't speak up at this moment.
Bayern had already given him a chance. For half a match, he had been completely invisible.
His slow passing speed made him an easy target for Liverpool's press.
Often, as soon as he got the ball, Bayern's attack would end before it had even begun.
He had already struggled at Real Madrid. Against Liverpool's rock and roll football, it was even more difficult.
James Rodríguez's current situation was even worse than Antony's would be in the future.
The "discus spinner" just couldn't adapt to the intensity of the Premier League, but at least he had proven his worth in La Liga.
And James Rodríguez?
He really couldn't find a position anymore.
At least, in giant clubs like Bayern and Real Madrid, there was no place for him.
These star-studded teams would not build a team around him, letting him play comfortably, because his style could not bring the team victory.
15 minutes passed.
The second half of the match began.
As Tendou stepped onto the pitch, he saw the changes in Bayern's lineup.
"Blade Runner" Ribéry, "The Flying Dutchman" Robben, and "the Raumdeuter" Thomas Müller had all come on.
Seeing this, the Bayern fans' hopes were rekindled.
Those three, for many years, had brought too many beautiful memories to the Bayern fans.
Klopp saw this and, out of respect, called Robertson over for a few words.
The match began.
Bayern continued to sit back in their own half, waiting for a chance to attack.
Liverpool, on the other hand, used the breakthrough ability of Salah and Mané, focusing on opening up a gap from the two wings.
Liverpool no longer used creating free-kicks as their main scoring method.
The situation on the field was constantly changing.
Bayern had made substitutions. With their defense in the back, their tactics were somewhat different.
Liverpool naturally had to adjust their strategy as well.
"TJ, drop back. Try not to push forward too deep. We're the ones in the lead now!"
Klopp requested Tendou to pull back.
This decision was extremely wise.
Tendou pushing forward could increase the team's attacking power.
But in this match, Liverpool, already two goals ahead, needed to not concede and then look for opportunities to extend their lead.
Especially with Van Dijk on the bench, Liverpool desperately needed Tendou's defensive ability.
"Both sides are back on the field. We can see that Bayern has made personnel changes."
"The familiar 'Robbery' combination has come on, and with them is Thomas Müller!"
"The Bundesliga giants clearly have no intention of surrendering. They are still going to fight!"
Everything was as Klopp had predicted.
After the start of the second half, Bayern first pretended to defend deep. After luring the Liverpool players into their own half, they bared their sharp fangs.
Martínez, Kimmich, and Süle passed the ball around in the back. When the Liverpool players came forward to press, they immediately sent the ball to Müller in the midfield.
Soon, the fans saw the change that the substitutions had brought.
Unlike J-Ro's slow movements, although Müller was not as famous as stars like Messi and Ronaldo and was known as a "spitfire" type of player, he had one ability that was unparalleled.
Spatial interpretation.
When he first learned about this person, Tendou had once thought that the protagonist of Blue Lock, Isagi Yoichi, was drawn based on Müller.
He didn't have an impressive physique, nor did he have maddening dribbling skills or exquisite shooting technique.
But Müller, this "disaster opener," had an unparalleled ability to interpret space.
He was the gear of Bayern.
Thwack!
When the Liverpool captain, Henderson, came forward as usual to apply pressure, Müller, before Henderson could get close, immediately sent the ball out to Ribéry on the wing with one touch.
The "Blade Runner" was already 35 this year. Compared to his peak, his form had declined a lot.
However, this decline was mostly reflected in his stamina.
It was unrealistic to ask him to run for 90 minutes in every match now. But for half a match, he still had plenty of gas in the tank.
Facing the Liverpool defender, the 170cm-tall Ribéry quickly started on the wing and blew past Keïta with a burst of speed.
Keïta immediately turned and, in coordination with the advancing Fabinho, formed a pincer.
Ribéry did not try to challenge Liverpool's double-team. He swept the ball back to the center with his right foot...
If he were still at his peak, he would have tried it nine times out of ten, but now he was old.
Müller received Ribéry's return pass and once again sent the ball out to Robben on the left, continuing to push forward.
Still a one-touch pass, without any hesitation, not giving Liverpool any time to press.
Before they knew it, Bayern had already advanced into the heart of Liverpool's territory.
Fortunately, with Klopp's halftime reminder, Liverpool was somewhat prepared for Bayern's feint.
On the left wing, Robben cut inside with the ball.
The Flying Dutchman's cut-in was a weapon of "cause and effect" in football.
Everyone knew he was going to cut inside, but you just couldn't stop him.
Of course, that was the peak Robben.
The current Robben, like Ribéry, lacked the explosive power of his peak, and his dribbling was no longer as sharp as before.
He passed the ball back to the center.
This time, the one who received the ball was not Müller, but Noel.
The world's number one had the ball in the center. The Liverpool defenders immediately surrounded him like a net.
But he did not shoot. Instead, he sent a diagonal pass. The ball went through the crowd and appeared behind the Liverpool defense, in front of Alisson.
Robertson keenly sensed the danger, because he saw Müller moving into position.
Wanting to play the offside trap, Müller was as cunning as a fox, running along the offside line, making sure he was onside before charging to the back post.
A ghost-like run.
This was also one of Müller's signature moves.
This spatial interpreter could always find these minor details.
"He's practically a complete version of Isagi."
Tendou's pupils split into 8 sections, and lightning exploded from his feet as he charged into the crowd.
He remembered very clearly that when he joined Blue Lock, Ego had said that an egoist is the one who stands on top of 300 corpses.
He would rather lose with a hat-trick than win by assisting a teammate.
Therefore, the final blow of this play would not be from Müller!
Thwack!
As expected, the moment Alisson charged out, Müller immediately chipped the ball over him to the center.
At that position, the world's number one, Noel, suddenly burst out from the crowd.
Facing the empty goal, the Liverpool fans felt as if they had already seen their goal breached. The Bayern fans, on the other hand, were already off their seats, ready to cheer.
However.
Zzzzt!
A blue-white lightning suddenly bloomed in the penalty area. Tendou, the 50 million Euro man, rushed out from the crowd at almost the same time.
BANG!
Thwack!
...
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