"First it's Firmino, now out to the right."
"Salah receives the ball, cuts inside, and shoots!"
"Go, go, go, go, go!"
"2-1! Liverpool have turned it around!"
"They're getting closer and closer to an eighth win. Another three points are almost theirs!"
...
"Beep!"
"Full time. In the eighth round of the Premier League, Liverpool faced Huddersfield, and thanks to Salah's goal, Liverpool came from behind to win 2-1."
"Firmino opened the scoring. It was a hard fought three points, but three points all the same."
"As long as they get the three points, Liverpool should be satisfied no matter how they win."
"The only concern for Liverpool fans is Lovren's injury. The live cameras caught him pointing to the inside of his ankle as the team doctor helped him off the pitch. Let's hope it's nothing serious."
After Lovren was forced off, the team doctor examined him immediately. The initial estimate was that he would be out for three weeks, perhaps even longer, though further assessment was still needed to determine the full extent of the injury.
At first, everyone thought it was just an ordinary injury.
But in the ninth round of the Premier League on October 15, when Liverpool faced Fulham, Henderson went down in agony right in front of Leo Lin after a challenge.
Leo Lin clearly saw Henderson's knee bend at an extremely unnatural angle.
Then, just as the match was nearing its end, Matip suddenly sat down on the pitch without any contact and signaled to be substituted. Klopp's face turned so dark it looked as if it could drip water.
But it still was not over.
In the 11th round of the Premier League against Burnley, Salah went off injured, and Leo Lin was substituted in the 80th minute after feeling discomfort. By then, Liverpool fans could practically guess what had happened.
Liverpool's yearly special event, the injury wave, had arrived again.
October 29, Football Morning Report.
"Multiple Liverpool Starters Injured, the Mysterious Injury Crisis Begins Again!"
"Liverpool Chief Fitness Analyst Dali Fired, Reports Claim Liverpool Are Contacting Barcelona's Chief Fitness Analyst!"
"Fans Joke Liverpool's Team Doctor Is a Veterinarian Fenway Hired on the Cheap to Save Money. With Several Starters Injured One After Another, Someone Must Take Responsibility!"
On the Premier League's official feature program, Scholes, Gerrard, and Ashley Cole looked over Liverpool's injury list. Gerrard let out a heavy sigh.
"After ten rounds of the Premier League, Liverpool are top of the table with 28 points, four points ahead of Manchester City."
"But Liverpool have officially released their latest injury list."
"Captain Henderson is injured and expected to miss a month and a half."
"Fabinho has a muscle strain and is expected to be out for three to four weeks."
"Salah has strained his soleus and hamstring and is expected to be out for three weeks."
"Lovren has ankle discomfort and is expected to be out for two to three weeks."
"Matip is out with the flu and will miss at least three matches."
"Leo Lin has discomfort in his inner thigh muscle and is expected to be out for one week."
Gerrard kept looking over the injury list again and again. A full half of the starting lineup was injured.
"Liverpool's injuries are back."
"And next, they're facing an incredibly important stretch of congested midseason fixtures."
"With a squad this depleted, how are they supposed to get through it?"
Over at Liverpool FC, Klopp was thinking about the same problem.
"The team doctor has just analyzed every player's injury risk again. Robertson and Firmino can't keep starting all the time either. They're at risk of injury too!"
Klopp's anger was visible to the naked eye.
"I just told Mike to fire the chief fitness analyst, along with his two assistants. We need higher level fitness analysts."
"Mike promised me he'd go to Barcelona and buy someone. He's interested in Barcelona's chief fitness analyst, as well as Bayern's head team doctor. Neither side is especially willing right now, but they haven't outright refused either."
"Mike is willing to spend serious money to poach both of them!"
Zubizarreta was more worried about the team's on field leadership.
"Based on the current situation, Lin should be the first starter to recover and return. Henderson will be out longer, while second captain Lovren and third captain Matip won't be back soon either."
"As for the Captain's armband…"
Krawietz looked at Klopp.
"A team can't go a day without a leader."
"The three of us will vote and choose the team's fourth captain!"
It was supposed to be an anonymous vote, but judging by the handwriting, Klopp naturally knew who had written whose name.
Yet when the three of them opened the slips of paper, they all laughed at the same time. The anonymous vote had turned into a completely unnecessary formality, because all three had written the same name:
"Lin!"
On October 28, at a Liverpool meeting, Klopp officially announced the news.
"I know the team has entered a very difficult period recently, but I believe you can get through it."
"To prevent confusion over the division of responsibilities on the pitch, after formal discussion among the coaching staff, we have decided to appoint Lin as the team's fourth captain. From now on, he officially joins the captaincy group!"
"When the other three captains are not on the pitch, Lin will wear the Captain's armband, and he will also be responsible for directing the team on the field!"
Applause immediately filled the meeting room. Rodri clapped hard for his good friend.
Leo Lin looked surprised. He had not expected to enter Liverpool's captaincy group so quickly. Even though he was only the fourth captain, this was clearly a good start.
Amid the applause, Leo Lin smiled and nodded. He believed he would not let Klopp down.
But on November 4, in the 11th round of the Premier League against Chelsea, Leo Lin could not appear on the pitch.
Mignolet temporarily wore the Captain's armband, and Liverpool's starting lineup looked completely different.
Facing a Chelsea side at full strength, Liverpool were at a disadvantage from the very first minute.
With Matip and Lovren both injured, Ocho was forced into the starting lineup to partner Van Dijk. Robertson's physical condition had not reached the point of injury, but he could no longer keep starting and playing the full match, so Moreno replaced him.
Shaqiri took Salah's place. Rodri finally got a start, partnering Wijnaldum, while another player in the lineup was a 17 year old academy youngster, Jones.
Against a powerful Chelsea side, the two young players quickly became Liverpool's two weakest links.
In the 40th minute, Jones misplaced a pass in midfield, allowing Chelsea to launch a counterattack. Mignolet could not rescue the situation, and Chelsea took a 1-0 lead.
In the 60th minute of the second half, Ocho's mistake while playing out from the back was intercepted by Giroud. Hazard then received the ball, faced Van Dijk, and played it toward the far post, assisting Willian's finish.
Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-0, handing Liverpool their first defeat while cutting the gap between them and Manchester City behind them to just one point.
After the match, in the commentary studio, Scholes looked back on Liverpool's performance. It felt as though they had turned into a completely different team.
"Jones can't play in the Premier League yet, and at most, Ocho can only handle matches against lower level relegation sides right now. But now they've both been forced into the starting lineup!"
"Wijnaldum's fatigue was obvious. Because of Henderson's injury, he's been forced to keep fighting on the front line."
"Jones couldn't hold the right side of Liverpool's midfield, and that magnified Rodri's weaknesses without limit. The midfield lost its balance, the front line was isolated, and Firmino barely touched the ball."
"Mané kept getting trapped in one against many situations on the wing, while Shaqiri practically disappeared. Sometimes he even had to drop all the way back into his own half just to receive the ball."
"Moreno offered nothing in attack, and defensively he was a mess. He's been on the bench for too long, and after suddenly being thrown into the starting lineup, he needs time to adapt. As for young Ocho's debut, it was a disaster."
"But many of Liverpool's key players are still a long way from returning. Right now, the only one with any hope of coming back soon is Lin."
"But he'll be isolated too. Even if Lin returns, can Liverpool really climb out of this slump right away?"
"Their next opponent is another formidable side."
"Arsenal!"