"Three days ago, Liverpool struggled to a draw at home against Burnley, securing one league point."
"Manchester City took the opportunity to close the gap between the two sides to just one point."
"Now, Liverpool is under great pressure in the league. For them, the ideal result in this knockout round is to settle the battle in the first leg."
"That's right, but their opponent today is Bayern. They, like Liverpool, also chose to rotate their key players in the last round of the league."
"In today's match, it won't be so easy for Liverpool to win."
The host and the guest commentator did not dare to offend the fans of either side.
Both Liverpool and Bayern have a large number of fans worldwide.
In Blue Lock, Isagi Yoichi got up in the early morning, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he turned on the TV.
He really did not want to miss this match between Tendou and his idol, Noel.
He wasn't the only one who didn't want to miss this blockbuster match. There were also Chigiri Hyoma, Itoshi Rin, Raichi Jingo, and others...
Click.
The lights came on.
Isagi turned his head and found that his teammates were all up.
"Why are you guys up too?"
"Same as you, don't want to miss this match."
Chigiri Hyoma walked over and found a comfortable place to sit.
"Teammates who fought alongside us before, a master striker, and now they are competing against each other on the Champions League stage. I don't want to miss this moment."
"Indeed. Last time Man City played against Bayern, Tendou almost broke through Bayern's goal but was blocked by Noel. I wonder what the result will be this time."
Tendou was of a similar age to them.
Noel was the current world number one.
For them, this match had an extraordinary significance.
"Not sleeping yet, Mr. Ego?"
"You're not sleeping either."
Ego Jinpachi said without turning his head.
He, like Teieri Anri and Isagi, really did not want to miss this match.
Their new generation's number one, challenging the world's number one for the first time.
How could he sleep?
Teieri Anri said she was also very concerned about the result of this match.
She asked, "Can he win? Tendou!"
"I don't know. On the Champions League stage, anything is possible."
In terms of lineup, Liverpool was stronger and more expensive.
Not long ago, Transfermarkt had updated Tendou's player value.
On his first entry, Tendou's market value had reached 50 million Euros.
Now, Liverpool's team value had surpassed Manchester City's, becoming the most expensive team in the world.
But a century-old club like Bayern could not be underestimated at any time.
The starting lineups:
Liverpool was still in a 4-3-3 formation.
Goalkeeper: Alisson.
Defenders: Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Fabinho, Robertson.
Midfielders: Keïta, Tendou, Henderson.
Forwards: Salah, Firmino, Mané.
The main defender, Van Dijk, had suffered a strain not long ago and was unable to play in this match.
Bayern, on the other hand, sent out a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Goalkeeper: Neuer.
Defenders: Alaba, Hummels, Süle, Kimmich.
Double Holding Midfielders: Thiago, Martínez.
Attacking Midfielders: Coman, James Rodríguez, Gnabry.
Lone Striker: Noel.
A different world, different people.
The current Bayern did not have the divine striker Lewandowski, but they had the world's number one, Noel.
The 35-year-old duo of Robben and Ribéry were waiting on the bench.
Sitting on the bench with them was also the "disaster opener," Thomas Müller.
...
The match began.
Liverpool kicked off.
Right from the start, Liverpool showed a strong desire to win.
On their first attack, Firmino took a probing long shot, which failed to break through Bayern's dense defense in front of their goal.
Bayern came out to challenge for the ball.
But once the ball was at the feet of a Liverpool player, they immediately retreated, giving Liverpool absolutely no chance to penetrate.
The moment Klopp saw this, he knew Bayern's plan.
The ideal situation was to sneak one or two goals against Liverpool. If that didn't work, they would settle for a draw.
Then in the second leg, back at the Allianz Arena, they would use their home advantage to find an opportunity to defeat Liverpool.
Klopp scoffed at this.
Bayern's manager this year, Kovač, had been widely criticized by the fans.
The league was already halfway through, but Kovač was still trying out different tactics.
Coupled with the poor results, even the Bayern fans couldn't help but complain that this guy was a fraud and had no tactics at all.
And, his attack was quite conservative. This unreasonable stubbornness made the Bayern players unhappy.
Although the Bayern fans had been talking big before the match, facing Liverpool, they really had no confidence.
At Anfield, the boos and curses were deafening.
But it had no effect at all. Bayern was determined to sit deep and organize their defense.
In the opening 10 minutes, they had not attacked past the halfway line once.
The Bayern fans watched as Liverpool surrounded their goal, looking as if they wanted to smash it to pieces, and couldn't help but feel terrified.
Getting a draw at Anfield and then using their home advantage in the second leg at the Allianz Arena to defeat Liverpool sounded good.
The question was, could they really do it?
They didn't know the answer.
All they could see now were the Liverpool players. Whether it was Salah, Mané, or TJ, as soon as they got the-ball near the box, they would use all sorts of methods to relentlessly attack the Bayern penalty area.
This was too dangerous.
After all, these three from Liverpool were not Harry Maguire. Their charges were not like an aircraft carrier collision.
Under the terrified gazes of the Bayern fans, Tendou broke through the center with the ball. Bayern had prepared for his explosive power, but in the end, they found they still couldn't stop him.
Speed, strength, technique, vision... this kid lacked nothing.
Martínez, under pressure, stuck a foot out from behind and tripped Tendou.
The referee immediately blew the whistle.
Liverpool got a direct free-kick opportunity from 26 meters from the Bayern goal.
"A free-kick opportunity for Liverpool."
"From a distance of about 25 meters from the goal."
"They can try a direct shot."
"Since joining Liverpool, TJ has already scored two direct free-kicks!"
"Kovač's wishful thinking is probably not going to work out. Klopp has already figured out his tactics!"
"From the start, the entire Liverpool team has been attacking the Bayern penalty area, precisely to break through the dense defense with a set piece!"
"TJ's arrival has completed Liverpool's set-piece arsenal!"
"..."
The Liverpool fans were very excited.
In the technical area, Kovač's face was written with astonishment.
Clearly, he hadn't expected Liverpool to play like this.
A free-kick tactic?
Liverpool hadn't played like this in their previous matches.
"Could it be that he guessed my tactics from the very beginning?"
Guessed?
Klopp could say with certainty that Kovač would absolutely not dare to have an attacking showdown with Liverpool at Anfield.
Although Bayern had tried many different tactics this season, none of them had been effective.
The fans often complained that the players on the field were just playing randomly.
The thing that Bayern did best was to speed up and then give the ball to Noel, letting the world's number one striker use his individual ability to create a goal.
Now, seeing this, the Bayern fans' vision went dark.
Their team's tactics had been completely annihilated by Klopp.
This match would definitely be more difficult than they had imagined.
The stadium fell silent.
Tendou slowly walked to the spot.
On the field, Tendou's gaze was sharp, looking straight ahead. At the same time, he breathed deeply, adjusting his body to its optimal state.
This time, no one was teasing him about his "fierce but cute" look. No one thought he was putting on a show.
The Liverpool fans just thought he was incredibly handsome, his gaze resolute, as he waited to unleash the dragon!
The referee blew the whistle.
Tendou took a few steps and whipped his right leg at the ball like a whip.
BANG!
...
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