Chamberlain chased back immediately after losing the ball. All the players of the Red Team also began to retreat immediately. Robertson, the left-back, quickly pressed forward. Michael Carter was not idle either. With the influence of god-level prediction, he quickly adjusted his position as Salah got the ball.
He positioned himself in an awkward spot for Salah, blocking the route to pass the ball to Firmino. If Salah forced a pass to Firmino, even if it wasn't intercepted by Michael, Van Dijk would intercept it. Therefore, Salah could only dribble the ball himself.
"Strong sense of position, good position selection!" Klopp observed Michael from the beginning of the game. He had watched Michael's video, where he restricted Dembele completely. There were 16 attempts to get past him, and Dembele did not succeed once. There were also five one-on-one defenses against Messi, where Messi couldn't break through and was forced to pass the ball. Such strength is absolutely top-notch and exactly what Klopp needs most. But watching videos is one thing; Klopp still wanted to see Michael's specific strength with his own eyes.
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Surrounded with no passing line and teammates blocked one by one, Salah was not panicked at all. Facing Robertson, who rushed forward to challenge for the ball, Salah skillfully executed a nutmeg. Taking advantage of the gap when Robertson stretched his legs, he quickly slipped the ball through and bypassed Robertson with a beautiful move. Known as the second Messi, the Pyramid Pharaoh's footwork is very delicate, and his dribbling ability is not inferior to Messi's.
After getting past Robertson, Salah continued to move forward with the ball. As if he noticed Robertson's movements behind him, Salah made a sharp turn, causing Robertson to miss and stumble.
"Cut inside..." At the moment Salah turned sharply and changed direction, Michael saw through his intention. He was going to dribble the ball and cut inside — a common offensive move for wingers. As expected, Salah dribbled the ball and cut inside.
At the same moment, Michael suddenly exerted force and rushed out like an arrow, positioning himself on the path Salah had to take. This made Salah's cut inside move seem to slow down for a moment.
The next second, Salah began to make a fake move with the ball. But Michael, like a rock, was unaffected by the fake move. Then Salah suddenly shifted his center of gravity to the left.
"Go through the legs..." But with his god-level foresight, Michael saw through Salah's intentions immediately. Shifting his center of gravity to the left was also a fake move. Salah's real purpose was to dribble between Michael's legs.
After seeing through everything, Michael chose to play along. He also moved to the left, deliberately stretching his leg to the left and front, seemingly trying to steal the ball. Noticing Michael's action, Salah's eyes showed a cunning gleam. He kicked the football through Michael's legs and quickly tried to bypass him from the right.
The whole audience saw this scene. Klopp on the sidelines shook his head in disappointment. "I underestimated the enemy! Fooled by a fake move..."
But the next second, Michael took action quickly. Using his right foot as a pivot, he turned like a compass, immediately blocking Salah with his body. Salah was knocked and staggered, but Michael took advantage of the situation, moved forward, caught up with the ball that passed through his legs, and knocked it horizontally to Henderson. Turn, block, steal, and pass — all in one go!
[Negative emotion value from Salah +800]
A gratifying notification sounded in his mind. Wow, 800... Salah is really generous! Michael's mouth drew a smirk, and the look he gave Salah was a little more meaningful.
Covering his chest, Salah, who was jogging back to his position, suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. Hmm? What's going on? Why do I feel like there are villains who want to harm me? He looked around and found nothing unusual. He took two deep breaths and rubbed his chest, which was still a little painful.
He just couldn't understand! He successfully executed a nutmeg and was about to break through, but the new kid was able to react. It was as if everything was planned by the opponent. He deliberately let himself go through the legs, then used his body to block the route, preventing the pass and completing the steal. He seemed to be dominated. And... that guy looked so thin. Rushing into him felt like hitting a wall.
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On the sidelines, Klopp was stunned. The assistant coach smacked his lips and said, "Just now... It seems... It was all planned by Michael... Being nutmegged was intentional... He wasn't deceived by Salah's fake move; it seemed that Salah fell into his trap..."
They are all people who understand football. Even the assistant coach is world-class. Naturally, he can see the connections in it. Klopp's eyes were extremely hot. "We found a treasure! He predicted Salah's thoughts in advance and boldly showed loopholes, making Salah fall into his trap! This predictive ability is terrible! His football IQ is also top-notch! Strong defensive ability..."
Klopp now looked at Michael as if he was looking at his most beloved asset. He knew very well what Michael's defensive ability could bring to his team... Van Dijk, Michael, this combination of central defender and defensive midfielder, plus the assistance of Lovren and Henderson. His team's defense line is worry-free...
Klopp began to quickly arrange the lineup in his mind.
But the situation on the field suddenly changed. After the red team's attack ended, the yellow team immediately started to counterattack. Salah made a comeback, dribbling at high speed. With a simple change of direction, he broke through Chamberlain and full-back Robertson in an instant.
Just when Salah was about to pass the ball, Michael, who saw through everything, took action again. He did not step forward to restrict Salah. Instead, at the moment when Salah passed the ball, he appeared on the path of the pass. He jumped high and pushed hard, destroying Salah's pass.
Salah succeeded in the first strong point. Just when he wanted to dribble the ball into the penalty area, the next second, Michael appeared again with a fierce interception on the ground, forcing Salah to jump up and dodge. But at the moment when he jumped up and controlled the ball, it was as if he was being dominated by Michael, and the football he picked up just fell on Michael's hooked foot, successfully intercepted by Michael!
It's Michael again! Guessed again! Salah's mentality was shaken! He was like being dominated by Michael, cooperating with Michael to perform defense and interception performances.