"Rodri, you know I love having you over at my place, but next time, please come by yourself, okay?"
"If I want to see Lin, I'll go to his house myself. I don't need him knocking on my door."
Firmino looked at the premium coffee beans he had only just bought, now completely finished off by Leo Lin, and could only suffer in silence.
Leo Lin curled his lip. It wasn't as if he had come empty-handed.
"All right, all right."
"Firmino, do you really think I'd drink your coffee for nothing?"
"Am I, Leo Lin, that kind of person?"
Salah shook his head from the side.
"No."
"You're not even a person."
Leo Lin immediately clamped a hand over Salah's mouth.
"Delores told me she has a niece with a wonderful personality, and she's very sweet-looking too."
The moment those words came out, Firmino's eyes began to shine.
"I was planning to introduce her to a good friend of mine who's been unlucky in love. But apparently, a few coffee beans are enough to make that friend resent me. Honestly, that hurts."
Leo Lin pretended to shake his head and headed for the door. Firmino lunged forward, grabbed him, then turned around and pulled out the top-grade coffee beans he had secretly kept stashed behind the counter for ages, stuffing them into Leo Lin's hands.
"You're my hero!"
"Hurry up, give me her contact information!"
Rodri burst out laughing. Naturally, Leo Lin had brought Rodri to Firmino for exactly this.
Delores's niece, Vivian, came from a good family. More importantly, Leo Lin had met her before. She was a fan of Firmino and loved watching him play soccer.
Vivian had once asked Leo Lin whether he could get her an autographed photo of Firmino. On top of that, she was single and close to Firmino in age. Leo Lin thought it over.
Wasn't this what people called fate?
As it happened, Firmino had recently been heartbroken after his girlfriend cheated on him. The two of them were clearly a perfect match, so Leo Lin handed Delores's niece's phone number to Firmino.
"She's a really nice girl, Vivian."
"Don't rush it. Take your time getting to know her. I'm sure you'll come to appreciate her charm as a person, not just her looks. And likewise, I believe she'll see your own charm too. You're a good man."
To avoid Vivian giving Firmino the good-guy rejection later, Leo Lin took the initiative and handed his good friend a good-guy card first, laying the groundwork for him.
Firmino was so moved that he nearly cried, hugging Leo Lin and making a complete racket. Salah, standing beside them, was just as emotional.
"Lin!"
"Does Delores have any other nieces?"
"I'm single too, Lin!"
Leo Lin smiled.
"Don't rush, Salah. Fate isn't something that just appears because you want it to. I'll keep an eye out for you."
Only then did Salah smile in satisfaction.
The group spent the rest day chatting, visiting each other's homes, and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Then training day arrived, and the players returned to the pitch. ... After opening the season with four straight wins, Liverpool sat firmly at the top of the table. In the fifth round of the Premier League, they would face Tottenham Hotspur, who were third in the league.
Despite not spending a single penny in the transfer window, Tottenham Hotspur had maintained excellent form at the start of the new season.
Liverpool's goal was naturally to beat Tottenham Hotspur and keep hold of first place.
Starting the season with four straight wins despite making no transfer investment had exceeded every fan's expectations. On ESPN's Premier League coverage, Scholes, Ashley Cole, and Henry appeared together, analyzing the reasons behind Tottenham Hotspur's strong start.
"The most important factor, really, is their attacking midfielder, Eriksen."
"Eriksen, the Danish midfielder, has an outstanding sense of the bigger picture on the pitch."
"The 4-1-2-1-2 formation Pochettino has used this season has completely freed Eriksen. With one Defensive Midfielder and two central midfielders behind him, Eriksen, as the lone Attacking Midfielder, has been given a huge amount of room to operate."
"Once Eriksen is activated, Kane and Son are activated too."
Henry saw the situation clearly, and Scholes agreed.
"So Liverpool only need to work out who their defensive focus should be. Do that, and they won't be beaten by Tottenham Hotspur."
At that moment, at Liverpool FC.
Klopp and his coaching staff were speaking with the young man in front of them.
"As long as we shut down Eriksen, we shut down their attacking unit."
"We're putting this difficult task on your shoulders."
Fabinho nodded. Beside him, Leo Lin patted him on the stomach.
"Has anyone told you that when I first joined Liverpool, I managed to make Wijnaldum furious in my very first training match?"
Wijnaldum, who was standing nearby, immediately straightened up.
"Hey, hey, hey."
"Let's not bring up the past."
In the meeting room, the Liverpool players and coaching staff sat together, discussing their tactical plans for dealing with Tottenham Hotspur.
Klopp loved this feeling. He was not communicating with the players from some lofty position as head coach. Instead, he sat with them like a friend, discussing the details of the match.
"What I'm trying to say is that if you want to adapt to the Premier League, you have to be more decisive."
"Take the initiative in physical duels. Know when to make your opponent uncomfortable."
"You're strong, and you have the ability. We all believe you can defend Eriksen."
Leo Lin encouraged Fabinho.
It was the day before the fifth round of the Premier League. Klopp was used to announcing the starting lineup one day before a match.
Fabinho would start alongside Wijnaldum, while Henderson would be rotated out to rest.
For the first time, Klopp decided to take a bit of a risk by starting Fabinho in Henderson's place. He wanted to see how it would work.
Fabinho sat among the players, his gaze slowly drifting away. No one knew what he was thinking. His unfocused eyes seemed to shift like a spinning top.
When that spinning top finally stopped, Fabinho was already intercepting Eriksen.
"Since the start of this match, Eriksen has been the most active player in the Tottenham Hotspur side."
"But against Fabinho, he's finding it very difficult to create chances with through balls."
"Fabinho is like a moat, standing between Eriksen and the two Forwards. He's done an excellent job with his Interceptions."
September 15, the fifth round of the Premier League. The match had already reached the twenty-seventh minute.
The score was 0-0, but Liverpool had taken three more shots than Tottenham Hotspur and held the attacking advantage on the pitch.
The camera cut to Fabinho, who had just completed another Interception. He was now handing possession to Leo Lin.
Leo Lin received the ball, turned, and played a through ball to the right.
Salah took the pass, adjusted with one step, and struck.
Unfortunately, it went just wide of the post.
The live broadcast immediately found Leo Lin, who had a smile on his face.
That was right. Leo Lin was happy.
From the start of the match until now, Leo Lin had been smiling because he had been set free.
Fabinho's Interceptions and sweeping work protected Liverpool's back line, allowing Leo Lin's attacking talent to come alive. He could now focus fully on driving the attack in midfield and the final third.
More importantly, Fabinho's progress genuinely delighted Leo Lin.
The more Leo Lin played, the happier he became. The happier he became, the better his form grew. And on the sideline, the more Klopp watched, the happier he looked too.
After all, playing soccer was supposed to be something joyful.
Running wild across the green pitch, that was what soccer was all about.
...
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