After defeating Huddersfield at home, Liverpool only had two opponents left in the league.
They would face the Magpies, Newcastle, in the 37th round, and then Wolves in the 38th round.
Newcastle was currently ranked 13th in the league, while Wolves was ranked seventh.
Both opponents were mid-table Premier League teams. It didn't look too difficult, but who knows what will happen in the end?
In terms of points, Liverpool, with two rounds left, had a total of 94 points, with a record of 29 wins, 7 draws, and 1 loss.
If they could get all 3 points in the last two matches, then Liverpool would become another team to break the 100-point mark in the league after Manchester City.
In second place was, naturally, Manchester City, with 93 points, nipping at Liverpool's heels.
If nothing unexpected happens, the Premier League title this season will be decided in the final round.
And, no matter who finishes second, they will become the second-place team with the most points in Premier League history.
One must know that in previous seasons, 90 points would have been enough to lock in the title early.
But this year, Liverpool and Manchester City were in a deadlock until the final round.
This terrifying competition had left many fans jaw-dropped.
...
May 2nd.
The fire of the Champions League reignited.
Today, Liverpool would host the challenge of Barcelona.
Before this match began, Tendou had received calls from his friends in Blue Lock, who had all called to cheer him on.
"Don't lose, genius."
"Instead of worrying about me, you should worry about yourselves."
It was already May.
In about twenty days, the U-20 World Cup would officially kick off.
A different world, a different group stage.
In this world, the Japanese team was placed in the group of death, with opponents being France, England, and Nigeria.
Tendou had seen the discussions of the fans online. They were not very hopeful.
The few who were full of expectations had started to analyze the points needed to advance.
First, the opponent Nigeria, they had to defeat. They were considered the punching bag of this group.
Then, the best-case scenario would be for them to defeat either France or England, which would ensure their advancement from the group stage.
But this was very difficult.
England and France are both football powerhouses.
Every year, countless football geniuses emerge from these two countries.
Many of the famous stars in history came from these two countries.
Who knows if the next famous star will appear in this U-20 World Cup?
If they really can't win, then they should aim for a draw.
They need to get at least 5 points to have a chance of advancing.
"If you could come, I'm confident I could beat even France," Chigiri Hyoma was still fantasizing about playing in the World Cup with Tendou.
"That would be my strength, not yours," Tendou said with a smile into the phone, showing his most handsome side to the audience. "My battlefield is not there. Good luck, Red-Legged Falcon."
"Hmph! You don't need to tell me that!" Chigiri huffed arrogantly.
In fact, at Tendou's level, he really didn't need to play in the U-20 World Cup to prove himself.
Besides, Liverpool still had the Champions League to play and had to compete with Man City for the Premier League title.
Where would Tendou find the time to help them bully kids?
"If I have time, I'll go watch the match live."
"Eh?" Chigiri was stunned.
"Really?"
"Really. That's all. I have to prepare for the match," Tendou said and then hung up.
Going to watch the U-20 World Cup live was something he had planned for a long time.
Just imagine, when the real-world audience sees him acting cool in the stands, while the protagonist and the others are playing on the field, the camera focuses on him, and the passersby are all surprised and worshipping...
Isn't that a ton of popularity points?
It was just the price of a plane ticket, but it could get him several lottery draws.
A huge profit, wasn't it?
...
On the other side, in Blue Lock, Chigiri Hyoma, of course, did not know of his devious intentions.
Hearing that Tendou was coming to watch the game live, he instinctively felt that he was coming to cheer for him.
He had to perform well to show Tendou his progress.
Little did he know, Tendou actually felt that if Blue Lock lost, the effect might be better. Wouldn't that better highlight his own awesomeness?
"Tendou is coming?"
"Yeah, he told me himself."
Isagi and the others suddenly perked up, feeling that they could not lose the match even more.
"If that's the case, we have to win for him to see!"
"That's right! I don't want him to say things like, 'Can't you guys win without me?'"
Mikage Reo's Nagi-sickness had improved recently.
Speaking of which, Tendou had occasionally checked for updates these past few years and found that Nagi Seishiro had not left the stage after being eliminated.
After a few days of颓废in his daily life, he had suddenly discovered his inner desire.
In short, a series of things had happened, and he still had a chance to be selected for the Japan U-20 team and become a member of Buratsuta Hirotoshi's team.
Oh, right.
Because of the success of BLTV, Buratsuta had also copied the idea and created another similar competition.
The final winner could join his Buratsuta team for the U-20 World Cup.
For this, he had even invited Tendou to be a master striker, with an appearance fee of 200,000 Euros.
Tendou had refused without a second thought.
He had said at the time, "Mercedes-Benz just sent me a few cars to drive, three of them are 300,000."
After saying that, he had hung up directly, leaving Buratsuta hanging.
If Tendou had refused him with the reason of needing to play a match, he would have felt better. But this bastard actually looked down on him for offering too little.
And what was with that tone? It sounded like he was looking down on him.
"Ah, let's continue training. Chigiri, you were running very fast just now, but you were still a step too slow. You should have started earlier," Isagi said to Chigiri. "The opponents are all world-class. If you're a step too slow, you'll be locked down."
"Don't you lecture me, Isagi. If it were Tendou, that pass would have already pierced through the opponent's defense," Chigiri felt that what he said made sense, but he was unwilling to show weakness. "Your pass was too slow."
"That's right. You're too strict, Isagi," Karasu also chimed in. "But to use the general as an example for everything is a bit..."
They might already be among the top youth football players in the world.
But Tendou is a top player in the world!
"What nonsense are you talking about? Our goal is the championship! What's wrong with pursuing the ideal!"
"Huh? Chigiri wasn't slacking off! What reason do you have to say we don't have a sense of urgency? You idiot!"
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Fortunately, there was Oliver Aiku, who timely stopped the two, and the team's atmosphere became harmonious again.
Aiku could see that these kids had been too severely stimulated by Tendou.
While they were worrying about getting out of the group stage of the U-20 World Cup, Tendou was already competing for the championship.
This is what they call "comparison is the thief of joy."
"But when you communicate, please remain calm. Understand?"
"Tch~"
The two of them both turned their heads away.
And Itoshi Rin, on the side, had not said a single word.
His goal was now even more distant.
In the past, he only wanted to take down his older brother, Itoshi Sae. But now he had a new goal.
To catch up to Tendou.
After all, his older brother still hadn't played in a first-team match.
So lame!
"I know you're all very fired up right now. After all, that guy Tendou is about to play against opponents like Barcelona and Messi on the Champions League stage."
...
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