"They've finally broken the deadlock!"
"I don't know how long Watford spent coming up with this tornado tactic, but they clearly overlooked Leo Lin!"
"This is Leo Lin we're talking about!"
"Liverpool's recent explosion in overall strength has actually made opponents overlook the individual ability of many of the stars in their lineup."
"When Watford designed this tornado tactic, they clearly failed to account for Leo Lin. They placed Leo Lin right in the center of the tornado. Isn't that basically opening the door themselves and leaving the chance for him?"
"Leo Lin was never going to miss that!"
Seeing Leo Lin score made Gullit very happy. Before he knew it, he had already become one of Leo Lin's fans, and he loved the moment Leo Lin scored.
"Sometimes, watching Leo Lin score feels like watching myself score on the pitch."
"One-nil. Liverpool lead Watford!"
After Leo Lin's goal, the Watford fans felt disappointed, because they had genuinely seen a little hope of reaching the final.
"I really thought we had a chance to make the final, but if we've executed our tactics this well and still can't beat Liverpool, then we'll just try again next year!"
"It's okay. We've played really well. Come on, Watford!"
"Didn't someone say before the match that anyone still firmly backing Watford at a moment like this must be a die-hard fan, the seriously die-hard kind? Well, let me show you. Watford's record may not be outstanding, but that doesn't mean we don't have supporters!"
While the Watford fans in the stadium felt disappointed, they kept applauding their team. Just as Liverpool fans would cheer their team on when they were behind, the Watford fans also began cheering for their players.
As play resumed, pragmatic football became the main theme of the match.
Fabinho was the most familiar with this style, because he had come from Monaco.
Monaco were especially good at pragmatic tactics. Many clubs with a chance of fighting for European places relied on sensible, hard-working operations to help the team find hope of beating stronger opponents. Watford were doing exactly that.
This style of football might not be that attractive, but it was more practical, and it suited them better.
After Leo Lin broke through Watford's tornado tactic, if Watford wanted to score, they could only rely on corners or free kicks.
Deeney was a strong center forward. When he carried the ball in the front line, he was often challenged physically by opponents, and he was also the main reason Watford could always win free-kick chances in the attacking third.
In the 40th minute!
"Although the tornado formation has disappeared, Watford's main attacking direction is still Lovren's side."
"They want to find more chances down the side with Lovren and Alexander-Arnold. The Van Dijk and Robertson partnership is clearly much harder to break through."
Alexander-Arnold had been working hard to do his defensive job, especially against Pereyra, who had been targeting him throughout this match. It was as if he had figured out Alexander-Arnold's habits when controlling the ball.
This was also part of the preparation done by Watford's coaching team. Whenever Alexander-Arnold was about to control the ball, Pereyra would immediately rush up, predict the direction of his first touch, and be ready to tackle at any moment.
Liverpool's attacking tactics needed Alexander-Arnold's long switches, but thanks to Pereyra's blocking, Watford had not yet suffered any threat from Alexander-Arnold's long diagonal balls in this match.
Finally, the first half ended. Liverpool led Watford by one goal and were closer to reaching the FA Cup final.
"This score is actually not what many fans expected. Before the match, most fans thought Liverpool would definitely score early and then build a big lead over Watford."
"But Watford have performed well. Their head coach came up with an excellent new tactic, and their players have also delivered an excellent performance on the pitch."
"I think even if they lose this match, Watford fans will still feel proud."
Klopp felt the battle had not yet reached its most intense stage, because for Watford, they definitely wanted to reach the final.
So Watford were bound to launch a fierce fightback in the second half. They would suddenly explode forward and see if they could equalize, and Liverpool had to survive it.
"I don't know when it will happen. It could be the 50th minute, the 60th minute, or the 70th minute. Watford will suddenly attack in numbers."
"They'll put all of their focus into attacking, and you'll suddenly feel the pressure they bring."
"Once you feel that pressure, I need you to use your own rhythm to take all of that pressure away."
"First drop the shape back, then push it forward. Then drop back again and push forward again. Through that constant movement back and forth, break down Watford's final fightback, then take the win."
"I actually don't want to bring this up, and I refuse to talk about it in front of the media, but I need to remind you of something. Up to this point, we are still alive in every title race."
Klopp felt the time had come. He felt it was time to use the temptation of trophies to keep these lads burning with fighting spirit.
"We still have a chance to win every competition we're in, so we still have a chance to become septuple winners."
"It's a beautiful dream, a dream no one has ever achieved, a dream most clubs wouldn't even dare to imagine."
"I don't like dreaming. I'm a realistic coach, so I want to do something real."
"Go and beat Watford for me!"
How high were the odds of becoming septuple winners?
You could say one in a thousand, or one in a hundred million. You could even say 99 percent. But you could never say 100 percent, because no one had ever done it before.
Never.
After the second half of the FA Cup semifinal began, Liverpool's advantage became more and more obvious.
In the 56th minute!
Shaqiri delivered an excellent cross. At the far post, Salah's header was blocked by Cathcart's arm as he instinctively swung it out, and the referee awarded a penalty.
"Cathcart was careless with that defending!"
"Penalty! Liverpool have the chance to make it 2-0!"
Leo Lin stood in front of goal and looked at Gomes. He suddenly thought of his teammate Joe Gomez. Their names did sound a little alike.
Once he was sure he was ready, the referee blew the whistle. Leo Lin took a light run-up.
He struck it.
The ball flew with fierce speed, and the angle was vicious. Gomes guessed the right way, but he could not keep it out.
With a ball like that, even guessing the right direction was not enough to save it.
"Leo Lin scores the penalty!"
"Liverpool are still fierce!"
"Salah is still fierce!"
"And Leo Lin is still fierce!"
...
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