The Liverpool players and staff were overjoyed with the away comeback victory.
At this moment, the only ones who probably couldn't be happy were a few of the midfield players, like Wijnaldum.
Tendou's one goal and one assist were so good that even they couldn't help but want to applaud.
The creativity and inspiration he displayed were things they could never possess, no matter how hard they tried.
This was talent.
Imagine if I were the head coach of the team, or a fan. Who would I want, Tendou or myself?
Wijnaldum asked himself, and the answer he got made him anxious.
Because he found that even he himself would choose to cultivate that little kid without hesitation.
Physical fitness, footwork, game sense, insight...
At such a young age, Tendou already possessed the powerful weapons that most players longed for but could never obtain.
"Do you know why my salary is higher than yours now?"
"This is the answer. Don't appear in front of me again, or I'll dominate you again!"
Tendou's trash talk infuriated Neves.
But he was already a little afraid of this guy now, not just because of his strength, but also because of that mouth that would greet his family at a moment's notice.
He didn't have the courage of Zidane to give this hateful guy a headbutt during a match!
Neves's mentality was a bit unstable now, which made his defense even more full of holes.
After their 2:1 comeback, Liverpool reined it in a bit.
When they were trailing earlier in the match, they had pressed a bit too fiercely and wasted a lot of energy.
Now that they were in the lead, they planned to defend for the last ten-plus minutes.
In response, Wolves had no choice but to push their entire army forward, their parked bus breaking on its own.
They were desperate to equalize in the final moments and get a precious point.
After all, the teams currently ahead of them were the Premier League's BIG 6.
Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United.
These six teams had no idea how hated they were in the eyes of the other Premier League clubs.
The Wolves fans sang their team's song to cheer them on.
And Wolves indeed did not give up, launching a final offensive in the last few minutes.
However, faced with Wolves' counter-attack, Liverpool appeared at ease.
After their teammates tracked back, the pressure on Van Dijk and Robertson was suddenly reduced, and they defended so well that Wolves couldn't even step into the penalty area.
With no other choice, they took a couple of long shots, both of which ended up flying high over the crossbar and into the stands.
Time was running out. Wolves became more and more anxious, and their attacks became more and more fierce.
Finally, in the 88th minute, Henderson intercepted a horizontal pass from Wolves in the backfield and then gave the ball to Arnold.
When defending, Arnold was Highway 66. When attacking, he instantly transformed into the Liverpool Crown Prince.
After receiving Henderson's pass, he looked up and saw the wide-open Tendou.
BANG!
A powerful through ball. The ball flew from Liverpool's half, across the center circle, and into the Wolves' half.
Thwack!
Tendou controlled the ball comfortably, then immediately took off, launching a frantic charge through the center.
The clever Firmino made a crisscrossing run with Tendou, the two of them acting as decoys for each other.
The two wingers advanced in unison.
In an instant, Liverpool's formation had changed from a 4-5-1 to a 4-2-1-3.
A front trident, with Tendou moving into the attacking midfield position, followed by Henderson and Arnold ready to support at any time.
The Wolves players no longer dared to underestimate Tendou and immediately rushed towards him.
Thwack~ Tendou, capitalizing on the speed of the counter, didn't hold onto the ball for long. After attracting the defenders, he made a diagonal pass to Salah.
The Egyptian Pharaoh on the right wing went on an inhumane one-on-two dribble, forcing the Wolves defenders to leave the central Tendou.
Salah returned the favor.
After breaking into the right side of the opponent's penalty area, seeing the opponent charge towards him, he then sent the ball to the center of the box.
The pass was a bit low, because Salah didn't know what kind of pass Tendou liked, or what his heading ability was like.
But this was no trouble for Tendou.
He was already at full speed. Forcing himself to slow down would only give the opponent a chance to surround him.
Might as well go all in.
Tendou rushed to the vicinity of the penalty area, stepped on the box line, and immediately jumped forward, meeting the flying ball in mid-air with a volley.
"WHOA!"
The ball shot into the bottom left corner at extreme speed. The Wolves goalkeeper was helpless.
He had dived in the right direction, but the ball was too fast, just inches away.
This Liverpool kid, besides his organizing, dribbling, and defending, his shooting also seemed to be beyond his years.
To be able to generate so much power on a mid-air volley requires a very high level of shooting technique.
Thud!
The ball went in, and Tendou landed perfectly.
He immediately ran towards the corner flag, and halfway there, he took off his jersey, revealing a perfectly sculpted body.
The Wolves goalkeeper regretted being just inches away from the save. Little did he know that that tiny gap was a distance he could never hope to cross.
"Liverpool's counter-attack!"
"Beautiful!"
"Henderson intercepts Wolves' pass, gives it horizontally to Arnold, who launches a through ball!"
"TJ receives the ball, bursts through the center, draws the defense, and makes a diagonal pass to Salah!"
"Salah dribbles past two on the right, and crosses from the right side of the box!"
"TJ follows up with a mid-air volley!"
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!"
"It's in again! 1:3!"
"TJ-Magic!"
The Liverpool fans in the stands were jumping up and down, reaching out towards Tendou's direction like zombies, as if they could really touch him.
And the Wolves fans were all deflated.
The efficiency of Liverpool's counter-attack was astonishing. From Henderson's tackle in the backfield to the goal, the entire process took less than 10 seconds.
Pass to Arnold, through ball to Tendou, diagonal pass to Salah, cross back to Tendou.
In the entire process, Liverpool had only used 4 passes to complete this counter-attack, tearing the Wolves' defensive line to shreds.
Klopp was no longer squatting in the technical area. He turned around and excitedly hugged Krawietz.
This was the heavy metal football he wanted to see!
Passion and efficiency, perfectly fused!
Tendou celebrated with a three-striped sliding kneel.
Mané and the others ran over, patting and rubbing him.
This little guy was too much of a surprise. 2 goals and 1 assist on his debut was absolutely a historic-level best debut ever.
After all, this was Tendou's first-ever professional match.
After the celebration, the match soon entered stoppage time.
With no hope of winning, Wolves gave up on attacking, and Liverpool also chose to see out the game.
1:3!
This was the final score of the match.
TWEEET~
TWEEET~
TWEEET~
The referee blew the final whistle. Liverpool had secured a precious victory and 3 points, continuing to nip at the heels of Manchester City in the league table.
"TJ, I think there will be many passionate ladies who would like to spend a pleasant evening with you tonight!"
Salah was in a good mood after the win. After showering, he immediately came out to tease Tendou.
"Then I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint them. My girlfriend is not here, I'm going home."
"Ooooh~"
Strange noises came from the Liverpool locker room.
They clearly hadn't expected Tendou to come to the Premier League with a girlfriend at such a young age.
When they were his age, they were still messing around, like birds without feet, unable to land.
Arnold's mood inexplicably improved.
So what if you're bigger? You only have one cannon mount, while I, the Crown Prince, have countless!
I've won! I've totally won!
Post-match interview.
Tendou, who was chosen as the MVP of the match with 2 goals and 1 assist, attended the press conference with his small trophy.
"TJ, first of all, congratulations on a perfect debut. 2 goals and 1 assist, in any era, this is an incredibly satisfying report card. And it was your first professional match."
"So, I'd like to know, why did you choose Liverpool? As far as I know, many teams had extended an olive branch to you, for example, a certain team whose name is too long for my phone screen, Manchester United."
Hearing this, Tendou almost spat. This reporter's words were really asking for a beating.
But this question was very easy to answer, because the other party was a reporter from Liverpool's mouthpiece.
From his wording, it was clear that he was very satisfied with the club's transfer and was already asking why he chose Liverpool, instead of what use Liverpool had for signing him.
"A miracle."
"A miracle?"
"Yes. 2005!"
Tendou's words were concise, but they were more than enough to satisfy the Liverpool reporter.
A miracle. 2005.
Then it could only be the most classic final in Champions League history, the Miracle of Istanbul, where Liverpool came back from a 0:3 halftime deficit.
That was the masterpiece that the people of Liverpool were most proud of, and the very soul of their team!
...
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