Goal!
2:0!
Tendou tackled De Bruyne, turned with the ball, drew the defense, and sent a long pass to find Salah.
A precision outside-of-the-boot curveball, like it was guided by satellite, aimed for the space behind the Man City defense and landed at Salah's feet.
The Egyptian Pharaoh, on a one-on-one, cut inside and scored at the near post!
Liverpool had a 2-goal lead away from home!
In the stands, the Manchester City fans held their heads in their hands, then began to furiously curse Liverpool and Tendou.
"You know to boo me now?"
"Hmph, too late!"
Tendou raised both fists in celebration, as if afraid that these blind Manchester fans couldn't see him.
Although he hadn't scored a goal himself, he had played a crucial role in both of Liverpool's goals.
At this moment, the spotlight seemed to be fixed on him.
Guardiola squatted down on the sidelines, deep in thought.
"He's even better than I imagined."
He was coveting him.
The whole world knew that Guardiola's "dream lover" was Messi.
His love and appreciation for Messi surpassed that of any player in history.
If you put Maradona and Messi together, he would choose Messi without hesitation.
And Tendou.
Guardiola believed that if he could get TJ, he might be able to build a European dynasty.
Pairing him with De Bruyne in the midfield could surpass Real Madrid's "Ceremony Trio."
"But he's a Liverpool player now."
"Yes, TJ is a Liverpool player," Guardiola said with some regret, but then he suddenly couldn't help but ask, "What do you think the release clause is in the contract Liverpool signed with TJ?"
The thought of activating the release clause to bring him to Manchester City had already risen in his mind.
He believed that his own wealthy owner would definitely support him.
"His annual salary is 8 million Euros. The release clause should be above 40 million Euros."
"40 million, is that expensive?"
"Not expensive, but Liverpool will not stand by and do nothing."
For a player like Tendou with assists in consecutive matches, a 40 million Euro release clause was certainly not expensive. Even at 50 million Euros, the giant clubs would activate it without hesitation to sign him.
The premise was whether the player was willing to leave.
And besides, the Liverpool management had a group of capable people. With Tendou's explosive performance, they would definitely give him a raise again and, at the same time, increase his release clause to a level that would be difficult for other clubs to accept.
In fact, the Liverpool chairman, Tom Werner, who was watching the game in a private box, was already considering this matter.
"We should talk to TJ about a new contract."
At the beginning, no one at Liverpool was optimistic about this deal.
If it weren't for Klopp's insistence, they would never have offered a 17-year-old Asian player an 8 million Euro annual salary and made concessions on the image rights. This was also because they weren't optimistic about his future.
Who knew that after just a few matches, Tendou was already on the verge of becoming the new duo of superstars with Loki.
He could now say with certainty that the 50% image rights concession was most likely a loss for Liverpool. This concession would cost them a lot of money.
But what was done was done; it was impossible to change it now.
What they needed to consider now was how to keep him at Liverpool.
"With TJ's current performance, how much do you think he's worth?" he asked the club's CEO, Peter Moore.
"These few matches, just looking at these few matches, TJ is worth a top salary."
That is, 350,000 pounds per week.
But it was impossible for Liverpool to give a newcomer a top salary right away. The other players wouldn't be convinced. It would require a process.
In the end, Tendou's foundation at Liverpool was still too shallow.
"Contact Jonathan. Talk to him. Try to negotiate the release clause to one hundred million Euros."
Last year, Real Madrid had sold the king of the Champions League, CR7, for only 100 million. If they could negotiate Tendou's release clause to 100 million Euros, it would make the other clubs think twice.
...
The match continued.
With a 2-goal lead, Liverpool's morale was high.
But Manchester City was also a team used to big occasions. There was still enough time; they would not surrender just like that.
Tendou moved around the midfield, keeping a close eye on Manchester City's movements.
After going two goals down, Manchester City's attack did not weaken in the slightest, nor did it become more ferocious.
This point alone was enough to prove that Manchester City was indeed a team of champions.
The two full-backs, Danilo and Laporte, frequently pushed forward to assist.
Bernardo Silva and Fernandinho no longer made random forward runs, instead concentrating on sweeping the wings to cover the space left behind by the advancing full-backs.
Liverpool's two counter-attacks had both come from Tendou accurately hitting the ball into the space behind them. They had to be wary of it.
Soon, Manchester City's high press began to show its power.
In the 25th minute, Sané dribbled down the left wing and formed a passing triangle with De Bruyne and Agüero.
Sané was a very complete player. He could play on the left and also on the right.
Depending on the tactics, he could appear anywhere in the attacking third.
Guardiola called him a rare genius. Last season, Sané had delivered 15 goals and 15 assists, single-handedly creating 30 goals, the most of any player on the team.
His dominant foot was his left. Guardiola had sent him to the left wing for this match, and the purpose was self-evident.
Sané brought the ball to the edge of the box and crossed.
Agüero at the back post overpowered Robertson and went for a header, which went slightly over the bar.
In the 28th minute, Manchester City penetrated into Liverpool's half with their ground passing.
They were not in a hurry, constantly shifting the ball around to stretch the Liverpool defense.
Faced with this kind of fast, accurate, and error-free passing, even Van Dijk, the world's number one defender, was having a tough time.
De Bruyne appeared like a ghost at the back post, then swept the ball to the center. Prince followed up with a sweeping shot.
The ball was heroically blocked out for a corner by Alisson.
"Manchester City is gradually taking control of the game."
"The real-time possession is 61% to 39%. Liverpool is completely on the back foot."
"Liverpool wanted to replicate their previous two successes, but Manchester City was well-prepared. Bernardo Silva and Fernandinho are no longer pushing forward, not giving their backs to Liverpool."
"If this continues, Liverpool will probably concede a goal sooner or later."
Zhan Jun's palms were sweating as he watched.
This was, after all, the super team that had won the title last season with a record-breaking 100 points.
This current Manchester City, their players' total market value had reached 1.1 billion. They were the most expensive team in the world, bar none.
3 minutes later, Manchester City came again.
Agüero took a long shot from 25 meters, and the ball hit the crossbar.
The Liverpool fans in the stands broke out in a cold sweat.
And the "Happy Beans players" were already shouting at the top of their lungs.
["Score a goal! I need over 2.5 goals by halftime!"]
["Hold on! Don't score!"]
["Useless Man City! Why don't you score!"]
["Scammers! Man City, go die!"]
["If there aren't 3 goals by halftime, both teams are going to die tonight!"]
["..."]
A nationwide carnival.
...
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