May 15th, Matchday 35 of the Premier League.
Liverpool's home ground.
"What tactics do you think Liverpool will use in this match?"
"Either their old specialty, dynamic transitions, or herding press. They might even bring back the high press they haven't used in a while. I think Liverpool will definitely go on the attack, score as quickly as possible, and give Wolves no hope at all."
Gullit and Scholes were both discussing Liverpool's tactics, while Liverpool fans cheered their team on.
"Give us a herding press, then another dynamic transitions, then a heavenly strike or a long-range goal, and take the win nice and easy!"
"I'm sure Wolves' head coach has studied every one of Liverpool's best tactics from top to bottom!"
"Wolves have been in excellent form lately. I think they have a real chance of breaking into the top six. Everyone says Wolves will be the backdrop to Liverpool's title win, but Liverpool might end up becoming the backdrop to Wolves breaking into the top six instead!"
Wolves manager Nuno had indeed studied all of Liverpool's strongest tactics inside and out, then prepared different defensive plans for each one.
Because of that, Nuno was not particularly worried about this match, and neither were the Wolves players. It was like knowing you had spent a long time studying properly before an exam. If the paper was difficult and you scored low, everyone else would struggle too. If the paper was easy, you were bound to get a good score.
Because Wolves did not have to play in the Champions League, and had already been eliminated from every cup competition early on, they only needed to focus on the league.
While Liverpool and Barcelona were locked in battle, Wolves had already begun preparing in advance. As long as Nuno could lead Wolves into the top six, this season would be a great success for the club.
At eight o'clock that evening, only a prime-time slot was worthy of a match that could produce the Premier League champion.
Almost every football fan in England was waiting to watch it.
Leo Lin walked onto the pitch wearing the captain's armband. Henderson was not in the starting lineup, and the feelings Liverpool fans had toward Leo Lin were now completely different from before.
"Priceless Lin! Give Priceless Lin a round of applause!"
"Priceless Lin is here! Make way, make way! Give Priceless Lin the best seat!"
Wolves also sent out their strongest starting lineup. To push into the top six, they were ready to give Liverpool a proper fight.
"Wolves' starting lineup for this match fits closely with their established tactical style."
"Patricio, Ruben Neves, Jota, and the others are all starting. Jiménez, the center forward who has been in excellent form recently and is said to be on several clubs' radar, is also in the lineup."
"For Liverpool, Arnold has finally started two matches in a row this season, while the center-back pairing has changed to Van Dijk and Joe Gomez."
"Robertson is still at left-back. You could say Robertson is the only player in Liverpool's lineup this season who hasn't faced much pressure for his place."
"That's because Moreno has been in and out with injuries. He recovers, then gets hurt again, then recovers again, and his form has been inconsistent, so Klopp rarely starts him lightly."
"In midfield, Klopp has once again gone with Fabinho, Rodri, and Leo Lin, while the front line is still those same three old boys."
If this were any other team, fans probably would not know who "those three old boys" referred to.
But when it came to Liverpool's three old boys, every fan could close their eyes and picture those three dazzling figures up front, linking up and scoring beautiful goals.
After a whistle that was not particularly sharp, the match began, and the opening was not especially intense either.
The Wolves players kept Nuno's tactics firmly in mind. If Liverpool played dynamic transitions, if they counterattacked, or if they used any kind of pressing, Wolves already knew what they were supposed to do. They had trained for it over and over.
But as Leo Lin had said earlier, he knew Nuno would never imagine what tactics Liverpool would use.
Because Klopp had abandoned all of Liverpool's previous specialties and instead asked his players to use the most conventional attacking and the most conventional defending in this match.
"Wolves know what tactics we'll use, but in this match, we're going back to basics!"
So after the match began, Liverpool's attacks did not feature their usual combinations, and their defending was mostly one-on-one, with none of the defensive routines Zubizarreta was best at.
The Wolves players were already starting to lose their rhythm. Not because Liverpool were playing too well, but because Liverpool were playing too simply.
It was like a man covered head to toe in heavy machine guns and sniper rifles walking up to you for a duel.
Then he suddenly raised his fist and said, "Let's have a boxing match. No weapons allowed."
Of course you would be happy to hear that, because you had no weapons yourself. If it really came down to weapons, you would only be beaten by your opponent. But if it was boxing, you might actually have a chance.
The 16th minute of the match.
Wolves felt they had a chance, so Wolves struck. They believed Liverpool wanted to box with them.
And Wolves believed those heavy weapons hanging all over Liverpool would make them clumsy in a boxing match.
After all, Liverpool were used to relying on all kinds of heavy weapons. They had not used their simplest, most basic fists in a long time.
Wolves, meanwhile, had fought their way to this point little by little with their own fists. If it came down to this kind of tactic, Wolves were confident they could beat Liverpool.
"Ruben Neves drives forward, slips it through. Raul Jiménez is cut out by Joe Gomez!"
"Jota counter-presses. Gomez has been dispossessed!"
After Gomez took the ball from Jiménez, Jota won it back before he could play it out.
After the steal, Jota shot immediately.
Alisson made a brilliant save and denied Wolves.
After that, Wolves became even more convinced that Liverpool really were going back to basics, and they continued to attack.
Until Wolves realized that every punch they threw at Liverpool failed to hit Liverpool's body at all. Instead, every blow was blocked by the heavy weapons strapped to Liverpool.
Klopp was a little tense. Liverpool absolutely could not concede at this point, but the team's defenders were performing well.
Gradually, Wolves' fists began to turn bloody and battered.
And at that moment, Liverpool began to change.
Leo Lin suddenly took a heavy sniper rifle from his shoulder and pressed it against Wolves' forehead.
"Had enough fun?"
"I'm getting serious now!"
Wolves were already entering a period of fatigue.
What could they possibly use to stop that bullet?
...
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