The Red Devils' fans were enraged by the mockery from their mortal enemies.
"No comeback, not the Red Devils."
This was once their pride, a label they were happy to wear.
But damn it.
How had they fallen to the point where their comebacks only happened in post-match press conferences?
And it was the head coach, not the players!
The more they thought about it, the angrier they got. The angrier they got, the more they thought. They ended up cursing every underperforming player on their team.
The Belgian "neurotic" center forward, Lukaku.
The French genius midfielder, Pogba.
The 500,000-per-week Mr. Sánchez.
And so on...
Not a single one was spared.
In the past, they had cursed the "Black Four Demons"—Nani, Valencia, Ashley Young, and Welbeck.
Now they realized that those four were better than the current lot.
It was unbelievable.
Manchester United's loss made them a hot topic of ridicule.
However, the English media quickly dropped the underperforming Manchester United.
On February 13th, at 4 AM domestic time, Tottenham hosted the Bundesliga giants, Borussia Dortmund.
From the first minute of the match, Tottenham held the absolute advantage.
Son Heung-min, Vertonghen, and Llorente each scored a goal, and Tottenham won a big 3:0 victory at home.
Next was Ajax hosting Real Madrid. With a near-winner from Asensio, the Galácticos艰难地 chewed down the Eredivisie giants away from home.
The results of the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 were generally in line with the predictions of fans and the media.
There were no major upsets.
The English media criticized Manchester United because they were a Premier League team.
In Europe, most of the media, including the fans, believed that Paris Saint-Germain would advance to the quarterfinals.
The match between Liverpool and Bayern was a week later.
The Premier League number one against the Bundesliga number one was the grand finale of the round of 16.
Before that, Liverpool still had a league match to play.
Klopp made an important decision.
In the match against Burnley, he made large-scale personnel rotations.
The trident, Tendou, Arnold, Van Dijk, and many other core players were all on the bench.
The final result was 1:1.
Liverpool struggled to a draw at home, nearly suffering an upset.
Manchester City took the opportunity to close the points gap to just one point.
Burnley's performance this season was not ideal. They were currently ranked fifteenth, not yet out of the relegation zone.
However, those who are familiar with the Premier League also know that every year in the middle and late stages of the league, the teams at the bottom of the table can explode with astonishing fighting power.
Only after they have successfully avoided relegation will they return to their normal level.
This is because, in order to stay in the Premier League, the club owners will frantically spend money, promising players relegation bonuses and so on, which makes the players full of fighting spirit and burst out with 120% of their strength.
Regarding this result, the Liverpool fans were divided into two factions.
One faction believed that the team should go all out for the league and secure the more easily obtainable Premier League title first, then consider the Champions League, which is full of uncertain factors.
The other faction, however, supported Klopp's approach, believing that Liverpool should focus on the upcoming match against Bayern.
Because in the last round of the league, Bayern had also chosen to rotate their squad.
Of course, there were also people who believed that they should go for both the Champions League and the league, without any regard for the players' physical exhaustion.
But in any case, Klopp had already made his choice.
And the great battle with Bayern was imminent.
...
February 19th.
4 AM, domestic time.
The blockbuster match of the Champions League round of 16 was finally about to kick off at Anfield.
Liverpool hosted the Southern Kings, Bayern Munich.
More than 60,000 fans poured into Anfield today, and several thousand away fans had traveled with Bayern.
Before the match had even begun, the smell of gunpowder was already in the air.
Needless to say about the relationship between England and Germany. Now, with the Premier League number one against the Bundesliga number one, it was bound to be a fight to the death.
Amanai Riko had also come to watch the game today.
She was mixed in with the Liverpool WAGs. The collagen on her face made her look very different from the other married women around her.
When the camera panned to her, she was holding Tendou's jersey and cheering loudly.
The fans also knew that this beautiful little girl was the girlfriend of their genius, TJ.
Seeing that even the little girl was cheering so hard, they certainly couldn't be outdone.
"Kill those Germans!"
"Show them what we're made of!"
"This is Anfield! This is our turf!"
"..."
The fans' momentum was fierce.
Besides both being the leaders of their respective leagues, the two teams also had another very interesting statistic.
That is, so far, both Liverpool and Bayern have 5 Champions League titles each.
They are the third-most successful teams in the history of the Champions League, behind AC Milan and Real Madrid...
Liverpool's last Champions League title was in 2005, while Bayern's was in 2013.
"Today's match is like this. Unless absolutely necessary, I will not make any substitutions."
In the Liverpool locker room, Klopp made a final emphasis on the tactics for the match against Bayern.
Just break through!
Mané on the left, Tendou in the center, Salah on the right.
Firmino would act as the pivot.
"After we take the lead, if we can take the lead and the opponent comes out to attack, then we will switch our tactics to a deep counter-attack."
"When defending, keep an eye on Noel. Don't let him get the ball easily in the box. And J-Ro. The whole world knows his weaknesses. If he gets the ball, press him immediately!"
The Liverpool players responded loudly.
It was time to go on.
Tendou followed at the back of the line, walking out of the locker room and into the players' tunnel.
The Bayern team was already lined up.
Noel, that poker-faced guy, remained expressionless, but he couldn't help but glance in Tendou's direction.
He hadn't expected that Tendou, who was an amateur player not long ago, would be able to compete on the same stage as him so quickly.
And he was playing so well, already firmly established in Liverpool's starting lineup, and his tactical importance seemed to be growing.
The magnificent Champions League anthem began to play.
The teams moved.
Tendou followed, walking forward.
The next second, with a boom, huge cheers rained down from all directions, making one's scalp tingle.
Before his eyes was a huge TIFO prepared by the Liverpool fans, covering the entire stand.
A red liver bird.
"A giant TIFO has been unfurled at Anfield, a red liver bird."
"And under the liver bird's feet is a coin with the Bayern Munich crest..."
"I think what the Liverpool fans want to express needs no further explanation from me."
"Alright, the players from both sides are beginning to enter the field."
Zhan Jun was in the broadcast room as usual, commentating on the match for the fans in his Liverpool accent.
"Nice idea!"
"They're literally stepping on Bayern!"
"Heh, the hot favorite is bound to die. Just wait for Bayern to upset Liverpool away from home!"
"How many drinks have you had to be this drunk? Liverpool will definitely win!"
"Exactly! What kind of crooked melons and split dates does Bayern have now? They still think they can beat Liverpool?"
...
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