At first, Firmino was still hugging Leo Lin as they celebrated, while the teammates around them tried to snap him out of it.
They had planned a few fun celebration moves, but the moment they looked into Leo Lin's eyes, they reacted just like Rakitić. Just like Busquets.
Even after the goal, Rakitić still had not walked away. He was still staring at Leo Lin's eyes.
"Leo?"
"Leo?!"
Only after Firmino called him twice did Leo Lin break free from his thoughts. For the first time, he felt as if his mind had been drawn along by something.
When he came back to himself and looked at Firmino, then back at the pitch, the grid-like patterns in his vision had already vanished. But Leo Lin felt his grasp of the pitch had become even more detailed than before.
"I'm fine. I just got a little excited after scoring another goal and didn't react for a moment."
His teammates had thought Leo Lin was injured, and only relaxed after hearing that he was fine.
But Rakitić would never believe that explanation. He would never forget the eyes he had just seen.
With another goal scored, the rest of the match had lost all meaning. In the end, Liverpool defeated Barcelona across both legs and eliminated them by a huge margin, sending the last La Liga team out of the Champions League.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich also defeated their opponent and advanced smoothly to the Champions League final.
"This Champions League semifinal has officially come to an end. Liverpool have eliminated Barcelona. For the second season in a row, they have beaten Barcelona, and once again, they are through to the Champions League final!"
"Last season, Liverpool relied more on comebacks, on surviving when there seemed to be no way out. That was because their overall strength wasn't quite there yet."
"But now, they have taken that next step."
"They are going after the Champions League title again. Last season, Bayern Munich suffered a miraculous comeback at Liverpool's hands, and this season, they will face Liverpool once more. This will be their chance for revenge."
...
The moment the Bayern coach heard that Liverpool had eliminated Barcelona, he immediately told every player in the dressing room.
"Lads, I've got good news. Liverpool have made it to the Champions League final too. Do you remember how we lost to Liverpool last season?"
"Remember that defeat!"
"This time, we have the best possible chance for revenge. We can beat them in the Champions League final!"
Heynckes even felt this was an opportunity granted to Bayern by the heavens, a chance for Bayern to defeat Liverpool in the Champions League final.
...
At Camp Nou, Barcelona fans were gradually leaving the stadium. Leo Lin threw his shirt to the fans in the stands, and almost every Liverpool player who had one to give tossed theirs to the supporters as well.
For fans to follow the team all the way to Barcelona, the round-trip flights and accommodation alone cost a fortune.
On the way back, reporters kept appearing, all hoping to interview Leo Lin. More and more of them gathered, until they had almost completely blocked the path in front of him.
The Liverpool fans laughed as they watched Leo Lin get surrounded by reporters. With cameras filling the space in front of him, even Leo Lin could only smile helplessly.
"All right, looks like you won't let me back to the dressing room unless I answer two questions today. Can't you just ask me at the post-match press conference?"
The reporters all laughed. The post-match press conference had entry requirements, and anything from there would only appear in post-match news reports.
But interviewing a player on the pitch was a live interview. The two types of coverage appeared in different sections and brought in different traffic.
"Lin, after eliminating Barcelona in this fashion, is there anything you'd like to say to Barcelona's star players?"
Leo Lin looked toward Suárez, who was entering the tunnel not far away, then spoke to the cameras.
"Actually, every team, especially a giant club, will face this day sooner or later."
"One day, our current squad will gradually grow older too. Then we'll need to sign new players, make the team younger, and bring one young player after another together again to form a brand-new Liverpool."
"So reaching the Champions League semifinals is already an incredible achievement. I respect the effort they put in on the pitch for the Champions League."
Another reporter asked a more aggressive question.
"There really aren't many teams that can beat Barcelona like this in the Champions League. Looking back over the past few years, perhaps only you have managed it."
"Does a win like this mean you've already won the Champions League, just like you wrapped up the Premier League title early?"
Leo Lin laughed. He could not believe a proper reporter had actually asked that.
"Where are you from? I'm going to call you out by name."
"That is the worst question I've heard since I started my professional career."
"As far as I know, the team waiting in the final is Bayern Munich, right? That's Bayern we're talking about."
"I still haven't forgotten losing 2-0 to them last season."
"They have far too many outstanding stars, so we'll give everything we have in the Champions League final."
After he answered the questions, Zubizarreta arrived with staff and rescued Leo Lin from the crowd of reporters.
These days, once a match ended, Leo Lin would be surrounded by reporters if he moved even a little too slowly.
...
On the other side, Bayern's players were also being interviewed. Compared with Leo Lin's answer, their ambition was clearly even greater.
"Kimmich, after Liverpool came back against you last season, you received a lot of criticism."
"This season, you're meeting Liverpool in the Champions League final. Will you see this as a revenge match?"
Kimmich answered calmly.
"The reason we were determined to reach the Champions League final this season is because I believed Liverpool would definitely make it there too."
"Now we've completed the task we set before the season, meeting Liverpool in the Champions League final."
"I want to tell you this: you must make sure that you and your players are fully prepared to face us, because we are no longer the Bayern Munich of last season."
Kimmich's post-match interview quickly spread across the internet to the other side. Leo Lin was also giving his own post-match interview, and soon a reporter relayed Kimmich's words to him.
Leo Lin glanced at Klopp. Klopp nodded, signaling that he could say whatever he wanted.
In that case, Leo Lin had no reason to hold back.
"Revenge? Of course."
"I support Bayern Munich's revenge, because football has always been a place where strength does the talking. So I'm really looking forward to facing Bayern Munich in the Champions League final."
"I know how painful it was for them after we overturned them in last season's Champions League, and I have enormous respect for Bayern Munich as a club. They have always been an important presence in Champions League history and in German football."
"However."
Leo Lin looked into the camera and smiled.
"We'll be bringing another Champions League trophy back to Liverpool very soon."
"Sorry, but right now, I really am that outrageously arrogant."
...
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