Although Noel's shot was blocked by Tendou, it served as a wake-up call.
After the match restarted, Liverpool's attack slowed down somewhat.
Without the stabilizing presence of Van Dijk, they were also wary of Bayern's surprise attacks.
But Klopp was not satisfied with a one-goal lead, and once again urged his team to attack.
The Liverpool players did as they were told.
Visibly, Liverpool's offense became ferocious again, and the Bayern fans were once again on the edge of their seats.
In the 24th minute, Liverpool attacked.
Salah, Mané, Firmino, and Tendou all quickened their pace, with more passing and dribbling.
With a combination of dribbling and passing, Bayern's defense was suddenly full of holes.
Tendou broke through the center with the ball. Martínez and James Rodríguez tracked back.
But Tendou sent a through pass to Salah on the right a step ahead of them.
It was so elegant.
On the sidelines, Kovač was practically drooling.
Although Tendou was playing as a full-field free man for Liverpool now, and his teammates were gradually getting used to his ghost-like presence anywhere on the pitch, most of the time, his position was that of an attacking midfielder.
He enjoyed a lot of possession and organized the team's attack.
As the team's hub, Tendou now had the most time on the ball in the entire Liverpool team.
However, he was not a classic attacking midfielder. Although he also loved to dribble and break through, his passes were always sharp and efficient.
This was something James Rodríguez did not possess.
J-Ro was considered by many to be a classic attacking midfielder. His organizational skills were first-class, but his speed was slow, and he lacked the toughness in counter-attacks, making him unsuitable for modern football.
After transferring from Real Madrid to Bayern, James Rodríguez's performance had been a struggle.
Swoosh!
The ball was like a scalpel, slicing through Bayern's defensive line.
Salah feigned a breakthrough, drew two Bayern defenders, and then distributed the ball to Firmino.
Firmino passed it on his first touch, tapping it horizontally to Mané on the left.
In just a few breaths, Liverpool had moved the ball from the right, to the center, and then to the left.
Mané cut inside into the box without stopping the ball. The Bayern defenders did not dare to let Mané pick up speed and break into the box.
As the last line of defense, Süle, without thinking, went for a fierce slide tackle, bringing the man down just outside the box.
Mané was tackled to the ground, clutching his foot, his face contorted in pain.
The referee immediately blew the whistle.
A foul by Süle!
The players from both sides immediately swarmed over to "show their strength" and at the same time, put pressure on the referee.
For a referee, officiating matches between these giant clubs is always a huge test.
The fan bases of both sides are too large. Any call could be seen as biased, resulting in his entire family, and even his ancestors, being "kindly" greeted.
He immediately pressed his earpiece, requesting VAR intervention.
He didn't want this responsibility.
After a period of confirmation, the VAR team confirmed that Süle had fouled Mané at the edge of the box.
Liverpool was awarded a second free-kick, but Süle was not shown a yellow card.
It was just to the left of the top of the penalty arc, only 20 meters from the goal.
The Liverpool fans were ecstatic, and then they fell silent.
On the big screen, Tendou once again appeared with a resolute gaze.
He bent down and placed the ball, then took a few steps back and stood firm, his eyes fiercely staring at the Bayern goal.
The Bayern players were on high alert.
Neuer was also nervously arranging the wall. He did not want his goal to be breached twice by this annoying kid's free-kicks.
No. He didn't want to see anyone score against him!
The referee blew the whistle.
Tendou took a few steps and smashed his foot into the ball.
BANG!
The Bayern players were prepared this time and jumped at the first moment.
However, the ball did not fly over their heads.
Neuer, who was originally watching the left and right sides, suddenly saw a round object shoot out diagonally from under the wall.
"A tactical corner?!"
Neuer whipped his head around and, sure enough, saw Mané suddenly burst out in the direction the ball was heading and follow up with a powerful shot.
BANG!
The ball flew past Neuer's grasp for the second time.
The distance was too close, the ball speed too fast. The German god-keeper was helpless.
An unexpected "ground-cutter" pass had helped Liverpool to a 2:0 lead at home!
BOOM!
In the stands, the Liverpool fans were jumping up and down with excitement.
After scoring, Mané pulled Tendou to the corner flag to celebrate, making a double-gun gesture with his hands and shooting at each other.
Mané thought it was cool.
But the fans thought they looked like two kindergarten dads playing together!
"We did it, gaffer."
"Yeah, but opportunities like this will become fewer and fewer."
Klopp forcefully hugged his assistant coach.
They had been studying this set-piece tactic for a long time, specifically to deal with teams that like to park the bus.
"GOAL!"
"The second one!"
"Liverpool leads Bayern Munich 2:0 at home!"
"A beautiful tactical free-kick!"
"TJ assists Mané to score! In this match, he has once again gotten both a goal and an assist!"
"2:0 at halftime! Liverpool's goal is clear: to settle the battle in the first leg!"
The host and Gerrard on Sky Sports were both incredibly excited, roaring that this was the power of the Premier League, the power of Liverpool.
What they really wanted to express was that English football is greater than German football!
Kovač was stunned again.
He didn't understand.
He had already made adjustments, and the players hadn't made any mistakes. Why had Liverpool still scored?
If Klopp knew what he was thinking, he would definitely tell him.
Pre-match preparation.
And also, morale.
Last year, Liverpool had regrettably lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final. This year, they were determined to win it.
Didn't you see that on the Champions League stage, the Liverpool players were playing with even more energy than in the league?
This is the magic of motivation!
The Liverpool players and fans were celebrating wildly.
The Bayern players, on the other hand, looked lost.
As the most famous "disaster-making machine" in Europe, were they going to be thrashed today?
The first half wasn't even over, and they were already two goals down.
And the head coach's instruction was to defend...
Could they really hold on?
Of course, they couldn't.
In the 39th minute of the match, the unstoppable Liverpool once again attacked the Bayern defense.
Salah on the right wing got past both Thiago and Kimmich and charged straight into the Bayern box, where he was brought down by Hummels.
The referee did not hesitate this time, directly showing Kimmich a card.
Liverpool got another free-kick opportunity.
Tendou placed the ball for the third time. The Bayern fans, seeing his expression, already began to feel a sense of dread. Who would dare to mock him now?
A direct shot, or another tactical play?
The Bayern players couldn't guess.
And Tendou, he very slyly made a tactical gesture. When the referee blew the whistle, he aimed at the goal and took a shot.
BANG!
A huge arc. The ball flew high over the wall and then suddenly dipped.
Thwack~
The quality of his shot was still very high, but Neuer managed to save it this time.
He hadn't paid any attention to Tendou's gesture, convinced that this kid would shoot himself.
This allowed Neuer to make the save.
But the Bayern fans had already broken out in a cold sweat.
Two shots, both on target. This was too frightening!
...
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