Premier League, Matchday 30
Liverpool hosted Burnley at home.
This time, Klopp sent out his "Four Heavenly Kings," giving Burnley no chance at all, and thrashed the opponent 5:0 at home.
In the 16th minute of this match, Tendou broke his assist drought.
Yes.
Not long after Tendou's streak of consecutive matches with an assist was broken, the English media began to sing a pessimistic tune, claiming that the Premier League had already adapted to TJ, and that he would now experience a long data drought.
They said he would find it difficult to get any effective stats, whether goals or assists.
As it turned out, just one match later, Tendou had another assist to his name.
At 15 minutes and 48 seconds, Liverpool's midfield press saw Wijnaldum, in coordination with Tendou, complete a tackle.
Tendou took the ball and immediately sprinted towards the heart of Burnley's territory.
Firmino, as if by telepathy, made a forward run at the first moment.
He ran without reservation, not at all worried about being offside.
Because past matches had proven many times that as long as you run into an open space, Tendou will see you.
His monster-like vision could capture the movements of every living being on the field, with an element of prediction.
This ability was just too freakish!
As expected, the moment Firmino started his run, Tendou immediately sent a powerful through pass.
With a swoosh, the ball shot through Burnley's defensive line at extreme speed and arrived at the edge of the penalty area.
The Burnley goalkeeper and captain had no time to charge out. Firmino hit a powerful blast towards the center of the goal.
1:0!
Just 16 minutes into the game, Liverpool had taken a one-goal lead at home.
After the goal, the Burnley players protested that Firmino was suspected of being offside.
After communicating with the VAR team, the head referee pointed both hands to the center circle. The goal stood.
The slow-motion replay also indeed showed that Firmino was not offside.
Because Tendou's pass was just too fast. Almost at the instant Firmino started his run, the ball was already flying forward, skimming the ground.
By the time Firmino had passed the last Burnley defender, Tendou had long since kicked the ball.
The commentators and hosts once again marveled that Tendou's passing vision and timing were not at all like a newcomer's.
But he was only 18 years old. This talent, even looking back at history, was incredibly rare.
"Unparalleled creativity!"
"TJ can always find every opportunity that appears on the field!"
"Firmino's run was brilliant, and TJ's pass was even more brilliant!"
"This one through pass completely tore open Burnley's defensive line! Heaton didn't even have a chance to come out! Firmino was facing only the goalkeeper!"
"Liverpool's trident's attacking power is definitely at the strongest level in Europe, but in the Premier League, Liverpool's goal count can only rank second. Manchester City this season, their current goal count is 6 more than Liverpool's."
"But my colleague compiled some data for me before the match. In Liverpool's last 10-plus matches, their goal count is the best in the Premier League, even more than Manchester City's."
"And the one who brought about these changes is, of course, TJ, who has already reached double digits in both goals and assists!"
In recent years, there was no need to question Manchester City's dominance in the Premier League.
A record of 6 titles in 7 years meant that they were at the top of all statistics.
For Liverpool to be able to surpass Manchester City in terms of goals can be understood as Liverpool's firepower now exceeding Manchester City's.
And Tendou, who had brought such a change to Liverpool, had become deeply loved by the Liverpool fans during this period.
Now, the 18-year-old Tendou, whenever Liverpool has a match, he will appear in a key position on the posters.
The fans who had previously thought the team had made a bad deal were now waking up from their dreams with a smile.
Although Tendou had only played one match in the Champions League so far, his performance against the Bundesliga giants Bayern would add a lot of points for him.
At the end of this season, if Tendou doesn't suffer a major disaster in the subsequent matches, his Transfermarkt value could very well rise to 70 million Euros.
And.
Although Tendou's new contract details had not been announced, some gossip had revealed that his release clause had reached 200 million Euros.
For the next two-plus years, Liverpool would not have to worry about their prodigy being poached.
To cut a long story short, in the 16th minute of the match, Tendou had ended his assist drought.
But this was not the end; it was the beginning.
During this period, both Liverpool and Manchester City were actually trying to rack up goal difference.
The points between the two sides were very close now. By the end of the season, there was a high probability that the title would be decided by goal difference.
Therefore, in the recent rounds of matches, if Liverpool and Manchester City could win by a large margin, they generally would not be polite about it.
Just 10 minutes later, it was the midfield press again. Henderson and Keïta teamed up to tackle Burnley's winger, Hendrick.
After completing the tackle, Henderson immediately passed to Salah.
The Egyptian Pharaoh on the wing burst past two players, cut inside the box, and swept the ball to the center. Tendou slid in and once again pierced Burnley's goal.
...
2:0!
In the 39th minute, a corner kick opportunity for Liverpool. Arnold took it himself, looping the ball to the center of the box.
Tendou, holding off a Burnley defender, leaped high and, with a "lion's roar" header, violently smashed the ball into the goal.
3:0!
The first half was not even over, and Liverpool was already 3:0 up against Burnley. Tendou with 2 goals and 1 assist had single-handedly created three goals.
5 minutes into the second half, Burnley strengthened their attack, focusing on offense. Wood received the ball in the center and broke through, only to be met by a rough slide tackle from Van Dijk.
The best thing about Van Dijk is not his one-on-one defending ability, but his ability to command the defense is particularly outstanding.
Liverpool with him and without him are two different defensive lines.
The referee did not blow the whistle. Van Dijk had touched the ball first.
...
The ball rolled to Arnold's feet. The Liverpool Crown Prince launched a long ball from the backfield to Tendou in the center.
Tendou received the ball with his back to goal and flicked it up like a shuttlecock.
With a thwack, the ball flew over the heads of both Tendou and the Burnley midfielder, Westwood.
This soul-stirring one-touch control and turn caused gasps from the fans in the stands.
This is inspiration! This is talent! He is God's most outstanding masterpiece!
And then, Tendou turned and got past the defender.
At this time, Liverpool's trident had already launched forward like three arrows. After scanning with both eyes, Tendou locked onto a red line, marked with a 66% probability.
BANG!
Tendou sent out a "Ground Rainbow" pass. The ball accurately found the space behind the Burnley defender.
Salah controlled the ball and cut inside. In the process, he suddenly unleashed a shot, and his left-footed strike once again found the back of the Burnley goal.
4:0!
Liverpool had completely sealed the victory.
In the 67th minute, Klopp made a substitution, taking off Tendou, who had scored 2 goals and provided 2 assists.
The Liverpool fans sent off their little ancestor with the warmest applause.
Regarding assists in football, let's explain it a bit here.
The way assists are calculated in football is much more complicated than in basketball.
The simplest is the person who makes the final pass to the goalscorer.
Next, if the last ball-holder's pass is decisive for the goal, then the assist can belong to two people.
If a shot hits the goal frame and bounces back, and a teammate scores on the rebound, it can also be counted as an assist...
...
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