"Maybe we should try moving Rodri to center back and Mané into midfield. Football is all about experimenting. Maybe it would work better!"
"Have Liverpool fans already started talking this kind of nonsense? That would only get them beaten even worse. But Jones really can't keep starting. He doesn't have the ability to play in the Premier League."
"We still have Arsenal next. Right now, I can sum up how I feel in one word: panic!"
"Manchester City are only one point behind Liverpool now. They have a chance to take back top spot in the Premier League, but that depends on whether Arsenal can do them a favor!"
...
On November 7, in the 12th round of the Premier League, Liverpool still sent out many of their key players. Leo Lin was close to returning, but he would still miss at least two or three more matches.
Matip sat on the bench. The official update said he would miss at least two or three games, but Klopp understood that even after recovering, Matip could not immediately return to the starting lineup. The team could no longer afford any more injuries.
The 12th round of the Premier League took place at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal's home ground.
Compared with the previous match, Liverpool's starting lineup had not changed at all. Ocho and Jones were still starting, and looking across the entire bench, there was simply no one available.
Fans of other teams could guess Liverpool's starting eleven with their eyes closed.
Leo Lin was still sitting on the bench watching the match. He hoped the team could put in a better performance, at least earn a draw, take one point, and withstand Arsenal's attack.
After the match began, Arsenal firmly controlled possession and were clearly the stronger side on the pitch.
Liverpool defended with everything they had and performed extremely well, looking better than they had in the previous match. By the end of the first half, the score was still 0-0.
Although Arsenal had taken four more shots than Liverpool, Klopp had every reason to be satisfied with the players' fighting spirit in the first half.
The biggest question, however, was whether they could keep up that level of performance for the full 90 minutes.
Leo Lin could see how visibly nervous Ocho was. After they returned to the dressing room, Leo Lin comforted him.
For 17 year old Ocho, starting two straight Premier League matches right after being promoted to the first team, with the second match coming directly against an opponent like Arsenal, was an enormous challenge. He desperately wanted to become famous in one match, just like Leo Lin had back then, but he knew he did not yet have that kind of ability.
A lack of belief would make a player lose confidence, and once a player lost confidence, his performance on the pitch would drop sharply.
Jones was not doing much better either. His biggest problem was that he was also only 17, and his body was extremely slight. Klopp had only forced him into the starting lineup because he had no other choice.
He wished he could put a shirt on Krawietz and send him out there, if the rules allowed it.
In that case, the bald Zubizarreta might even have been able to show off his defensive talent at center back. He might usually only talk tactics on paper, but if Zubizarreta really went on, the result might not be any worse than Ocho.
But none of that was going to happen. As the second half began, Liverpool continued to focus on defending.
Their goal was crystal clear. Taking one point from Arsenal would count as a victory.
But as Arsenal's dense short passing appeared more and more often and their attacking chances kept increasing, the pressure Liverpool had to bear was steadily growing.
Every Arsenal attack left the Liverpool fans who had traveled away with the team on edge, making them gasp instinctively. Klopp, standing on the touchline, was watching with his heart in his throat, sweat breaking out across his forehead.
On the bench, Leo Lin prayed for his good friend Ocho, but it had no real effect.
In the 89th minute, the moment that filled every Liverpool fan with despair arrived.
Xhaka won the ball from Jones and sent a long pass over the top. Ocho's attempted header gave Lacazette a chance.
Van Dijk covered in time and blocked Lacazette's first shot, but Aubameyang arrived at full speed and finished the rebound, making it 1-0.
Arsenal struck late to beat Liverpool, handing Liverpool their second straight Premier League defeat.
When the final whistle blew, the broadcast camera found Klopp, then the injured players in the stands, and finally Leo Lin, whose face was clearly filled with anger and frustration.
The Liverpool fans still stood firmly beside the team, singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" and giving the players applause and cheers.
They remained behind the team, just as they had through countless difficult moments in the past.
And precisely because of that, Leo Lin's desire to return became even more urgent.
With more systematic and comprehensive rehabilitation treatment, along with more detailed recovery work, Leo Lin once again began showing a recovery speed beyond ordinary people.
Although Leo Lin believed he could return after just one more match at most, Klopp still decided to bring him back after two matches.
Next, Liverpool would face Napoli in the third round of the Champions League group stage, followed by Watford in the 13th round of the Premier League.
Klopp did not dare let Leo Lin return before he had fully recovered, because on November 24, in the 14th round of the Premier League, the league leaders and second placed team would meet. Manchester City versus Liverpool, a direct clash between title rivals.
On the surface, it was worth three points. In reality, it was a six point showdown between two powerful sides, and Klopp wanted Leo Lin to face Manchester City in peak condition.
On November 11, in the third round of the Champions League group stage, Leo Lin did not appear on the bench. He stayed at the club, continuing to receive muscle rehabilitation massages while watching the match, with Matip lying beside him.
In the end, when the 90 minutes were over, Liverpool drew 1-1 with Napoli. After the match, Ocho, who had started again, once more received the lowest rating on the pitch.
But Ocho's nightmare was not over yet. On November 18, in the 13th round of the Premier League against Watford, Mané was also placed on the bench. Klopp could not let him start so many matches in a row.
After the match began, Jones proved himself on the pitch for the first time. In the 60th minute, he played a through ball to Firmino, successfully breaking the deadlock.
Then Arnold scored directly from a free kick to make it 2-0, and Liverpool fans thought the dawn of victory had finally arrived.
But in the 82nd and 88th minutes, Liverpool were hit by two straight Watford goals and were heartbreakingly held to a late draw.
After the 13th round of the Premier League ended, major media outlets published their front page headlines. The image they used was Ocho walking toward the dressing room with his head lowered after Watford's equalizer. The headline read:
"Four Matches Without a Win. Liverpool Draw Two and Lose Two, With Two League Defeats and One Draw. They Hand Over Top Spot as Manchester City Surge Ahead, Now Leading Liverpool by Two Points!"
Manchester City had only trailed Liverpool by four points. Over the past three league rounds, Liverpool had lost twice and drawn once, taking only one point, while Manchester City had won twice and drawn once, taking seven points. They successfully overtook Liverpool in the table and climbed to first place, two points ahead.
Arsenal also seized the chance to rise to third, narrowing the gap to Liverpool ahead of them.
Soon, under posts from major media outlets, Liverpool players who had performed poorly recently came under criticism from fans, especially Jones and Ocho. And of the two, Ocho was singled out the most, with some extreme fans even insulting him.
"I don't know what gives Ocho the right to stay in Liverpool's first team. Once Matip comes back, terminate this guy's contract by force. He isn't worth a single penny!"
"People used to say he had a chance to become a decent rotation player for the first team. Look at his performances. I could play better than him with one leg!"
"Do you know how fast ten aircraft carriers tied together turn around? Go watch Ocho."
Soon, many fans began copying comments like that, and plenty of people who were not even Liverpool fans came over to join in the mockery. They treated making fun of Ocho as a form of entertainment.
Ocho was only a young player, and Leo Lin did not know what kind of impact those comments and the public reaction would have on him.
After sending a text message and getting no reply for a long time, Leo Lin left home and headed to the hotel where Ocho was staying together with Rodri.
...
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