A few days later.
Premier League, Matchday 19.
Liverpool hosted Newcastle United at home.
Forced by the pressure of the league table, Liverpool continued with their full-strength lineup in this match, striving to get all 3 points.
Right from the start, Liverpool launched a fierce offensive.
Under Liverpool's pressure, Newcastle was pinned back in their own half.
But even so, the first goal came early.
In the 11th minute, Tendou received a pass from Henderson and, after beating two players in the center and drawing the Newcastle defense, he sent a through ball to the feet of Firmino.
The Brazilian striker unleashed a violent long-range shot from outside the box, opening the scoring for Liverpool.
Next was the 28th minute.
Salah received a pass and cut inside the box, where he was brought down. The referee pointed to the penalty spot.
Salah took the penalty himself and converted it with ease.
Liverpool had a 2:0 lead at halftime.
Afterward, Liverpool began to slow the pace. Newcastle was able to catch their breath and started to have some attacking momentum.
However, at the end of the first half, the score was still 2:0. Newcastle had failed to create a goal.
Fifteen minutes later, the second half began.
Liverpool firmly controlled the rhythm of the game. The screen showed the real-time possession stats.
Liverpool 67%, Newcastle 33%. A commanding lead.
The Newcastle head coach did not make too many adjustments, still focusing on defensive counter-attacks.
He knew very well that this Liverpool team was strong, very strong.
Especially after the arrival of the Asian prodigy, the lack of creativity in their midfield had been filled.
Now, he could hardly find a weakness in Liverpool.
Playing against a team like this, conceding fewer goals was considered a victory. Wanting to get a point? That wasn't their job. Their job was to avoid relegation!
But even so, Newcastle still couldn't stop Liverpool's attack.
In the 75th minute of the match, Tendou broke through the center again, forcefully carving a path, and then made a diagonal pass to Mané on the left.
Mané went down to the byline and delivered a cross. In the crowd, Tendou out-jumped two Newcastle players to win the header, flicking it to the back post.
Henderson slid in at the goalmouth and scored, piercing Newcastle's goal for the third time.
No shortage of goals.
This was the biggest impression this Liverpool team gave people now.
Their attack was too sharp. A goal could happen at any moment on the field.
Tendou's arrival had unleashed the destructive power of Liverpool's deadly trident.
The two wingers could dribble, pass, and shoot. Firmino, apart from his heading being a bit lacking, was also a very versatile center forward.
In the past, if you were to say Liverpool had a weakness, it might have been their set-piece ability, which was slightly inferior.
After all, the team's striker, Firmino's, heading ability was only just adequate.
But now, it was fine.
Tendou would occasionally appear in the center-forward position. This brilliant flick-on header had made the Liverpool fans' eyes light up.
In the 83rd minute of the match, Klopp waved his hand and made a personnel change.
Tendou, Firmino, and Robertson were substituted off.
When Tendou was coming off, the Liverpool fans did not hesitate to give him the warmest cheers.
Although his streak of scoring in consecutive matches was broken, Tendou still had 2 assists in this match. In terms of stats, it was hard to find fault.
His creative goal-scoring ability had intoxicated the Liverpool fans.
Now, whenever Tendou got the ball, the Liverpool fans couldn't help but cheer.
"TJ, you've already become Liverpool's new favorite!"
Firmino was a little sour.
When he had first arrived at Liverpool, these fans were not so enthusiastic.
But... who wouldn't like such a genius?
"Sooner or later, he'll be the darling of the whole world," Tendou said, putting on his jacket and chatting casually on the bench.
The full-time whistle blew.
The final score was 4:0!
Liverpool had thrashed their opponents by 4 goals at home once again.
The fourth goal was created by Shaqiri, an assist from a free-kick for Lovren's header.
Then, on January 8th.
The third round of the FA Cup.
Klopp, as expected, chose to give up.
Tendou, the front trident, Henderson, Arnold, Van Dijk, and many other key players were on the bench.
Everyone knew what Liverpool meant by this.
They had decided to give up the FA Cup to focus on the league and the Champions League.
This season, they only planned to fight on two fronts, not wanting to waste precious stamina in other cup competitions and reduce the risk of injury.
The result of the match also satisfied Klopp. They lost 2:1 away at Wolves.
After the match, the English media, as expected, angrily accused Klopp of disrespecting the FA Cup, criticizing him for smiling even after losing.
After Liverpool had released their starting lineup before the match, the attention on this FA Cup tie had plummeted.
The Liverpool stars, including the superstar newcomer TJ, were all on the bench watching the game. This had greatly disappointed the fans.
Because the fans wanted them to play, not sit on the sidelines and watch with them.
Especially Tendou. The fans wanted to see his T-Magic!
Klopp was well-prepared.
The reason he gave was also very sufficient, at least the Liverpool fans would definitely be satisfied.
In the next round of the league, they were going to challenge Manchester City away!
This was a crucial battle that could very well decide the final destination of the league title.
Klopp had to ensure that every key player got enough rest.
"...We just played a match against Newcastle 4 days ago. The players' stamina is not enough to cope with the FA Cup, and also the challenge of playing the defending champions Manchester City in Manchester three days later."
Klopp was not hiding anything.
He and Liverpool wanted this Premier League title too badly. That's why they had unhesitatingly chosen to give up the FA Cup.
If Fabinho, Keïta, and the others were not injured, he might have considered competing for it.
The treble achievement, who wouldn't want it?
...
The next day, when Tendou arrived at the base, he could keenly feel that the atmosphere in the team had become tense.
He believed it was the same for Manchester City.
Both sides were too eager to win this match.
At the same time, on the other side, after the Neo Egoist League ended, Isagi Yoichi had returned home and was eating a delicious meal cooked by his family.
Just as he and his family were enjoying their meal, the doorbell rang.
A package with the Blue Lock logo was handed to Isagi.
He opened it and found a large number of DVDs, a plane ticket, and a letter written by Ego Jinpachi himself.
The content was simple: to let Isagi understand football better, to let him find his own path to evolution.
"Let me find it myself?"
"How do I find it?"
Isagi was very troubled. He then opened another envelope. It was a plane ticket to Manchester, and along with it was a match ticket.
Manchester City VS Liverpool.
The Premier League title race showdown.
"Liverpool..." Isagi immediately thought of Tendou. "Does he want me to learn something from Tendou, or does he want me to devour Tendou?"
He put away the match ticket and plane ticket. He was going to personally watch this showdown between the world's top teams.
...
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