4–0!
A thunderbolt of a long-range strike tore through Real Madrid's defence yet again, and the roar of Anfield swept across the stadium like a tidal wave.
By now the broadcast commentators, turning it over and over, couldn't find a single splendid word to describe Julien in his explosive form. All that was left was the simplest praise: "I don't know how to describe this anymore!
"I'm genuinely lost for words!
"This is the dominance of a generational superstar!
"Tonight Julien De Rocca is unsolvable, invincible!
"And this Liverpool side is the invincible force of all Europe!
"No team can stop them from marching on…"
On the touchline, Klopp was pumping his fists wildly, threw his arms up roaring.
Four goals in a slaughter of Champions League giants Real Madrid—of course he was going to celebrate every one of his team's goals without restraint!
"Julien!"
"Julien!!"
In the stands, tens of thousands of Liverpool fans chanted as one, calling Julien's name without pause, a vast sound that rang to the heavens.
Chant after chant echoed through every corner of Anfield.
A sea of people were surging, blood boiling!
Every fan was using the most ardent means possible to salute the superhero who ruled tonight's match.
In stark contrast to the jubilant Liverpool, the entire Real Madrid side had sunk into gloom.
Player after player stood with head bowed, shaking their heads helplessly.
They had been overwhelmed in every department for the whole match.
The defence torn apart again and again, the attack shut down completely, no answer at either end of the pitch.
But Madrid's nightmare was far from over.
In the 74th minute, Liverpool's terrifying attack struck once more!
Julien took the ball on the wing and set off, his extreme explosiveness leaving the defenders behind in an instant, and he cut inside at speed into the heart of the Madrid penalty area.
Facing Arbeloa's tight marking, Julien showed top-class rhythm on the ball.
Feint after feint, changes of pace and direction, a silky run of tricks flowing like water—it left Arbeloa out of position and off balance, his centre of gravity thrown into complete confusion.
In his panic, Arbeloa's composure collapsed, and in desperation he recklessly stuck out a leg, bringing down Julien as he drove toward the depths of the box!
Peep!!
The referee had a clear view and made a decisive call, blowing his whistle at once.
His finger pointed firmly at the penalty spot!
Penalty!
Liverpool had won a golden penalty chance!
Whoosh!
Anfield instantly erupted again, every fan on their feet was roaring.
Everyone knew that this penalty would very likely give Julien his hat-trick.
Sure enough, while the Madrid players were still protesting the decision over and over, Julien, bearing up under the fervent atmosphere of the whole stadium, calmly stepped up to the penalty spot.
Shortly, the Madrid players had accepted the penalty decision.
Peep!
Soon the referee signalled that the kick could be taken.
Julien took a deep breath to settle himself and, facing Madrid's legendary goalkeeper Casillas, gave him a glance.
Then, after his run-up, he struck decisively—but just as he was about to hit the ball, he paused for a moment, and only then slotted it home.
And that pause fooled Casillas.
Swish!
The ball flew to the opposite side from where Casillas dove!
It's in!
5–0!!!
Julien converted the penalty and completed his hat-trick in this match!
Tonight, with an unstoppable performance on every front, he had utterly dominated this pinnacle Champions League clash!
At the moment the ball went in, Julien finally let every emotion loose, sprinting with arms spread wide, taking in the cheers of the whole stadium.
At the touchline he was hugged tightly by teammates who came rushing over. And at this moment, the frenzy in the stadium reached its peak.
The commentator roared with all his strength: "This is Julien!
"This is Liverpool!
"This is Anfield!
"The invincible red tide has swallowed the Galactic Armada whole—Reeaaall Madrid have fallen!"
On the touchline, facing a five-goal deficit and a team crushed in every department, Ancelotti, a veteran manager who had seen every kind of battle, could no longer stand at the side of the pitch and direct play.
He turned and sat back down on the bench, slumping into his seat. His eyes were empty as he stared at the pitch, and he made no further tactical adjustments.
With the situation on the pitch collapsing around him, he had no answer at all, and could only silently accept this brutal defeat.
The Madrid players on the pitch were even more completely lost.
Every one of them had lost their composure.
After the greater part of a match under intense pressure and goal after goal conceded, their stamina, fighting spirit and belief had all been ground away.
Cristiano Ronaldo said nothing just tried his best in his department. Benzema, Modrić and other key players also tried to stem the tide, but everyone's mindset had changed, and it was hard for the team to pull together again.
The back line was even more dazed, having completely lost its match form.
The Madrid team stood blankly on the Anfield turf, as if its soul had been lost.
With the opponent in total collapse, Liverpool took the initiative and made substitutions.
Klopp made change after change, taking off several starters, letting key players—Julien, who had done the damage, and Sterling, who had run relentlessly—leave the pitch to rest, conserving their energy for the fixtures ahead.
At the same time, he let the substitutes come on to get used to the tempo of the match.
After all, Liverpool's squad depth was now thick enough that there was no need to squeeze the core players dry.
After the substitutions, the tempo of the match slowed right down.
For the rest of the game, the situation on the pitch settled, with both sides attacking and defending in turn.
Liverpool, holding a huge lead, calmly controlled the pace. They no longer pushed forward in force, steadying things with passing and possession and only occasionally trying an attack in the final third.
Madrid, for their part, found back a little of their form in desperation, unwilling to stay silent throughout.
They launched a few counterattacks of their own, trying to salvage some face.
They also created a few sporadic chances, but their efficiency at both ends remained low, and they never broke through Liverpool's solid defence, failing to score a single goal.
After several rounds of back-and-forth, neither team was able to change the score again.
Time flowed by second by second, and the Anfield fans never lost their fervour, singing and shouting on, celebrating this epic victory.
Soon after—Peep!
With the referee's long final whistle, the match was officially over!
The final score was locked at 5–0. At home, Liverpool had stunningly crushed Champions League giants Real Madrid and taken a huge victory!!
With that, Liverpool had won all three of their games in this season's Champions League group stage—three matches, three victories, in unstoppable form—sitting securely at the top of the group table.
With a perfect record, the team could more or less be said to have secured qualification from the group early.
They might even go through as group winners!
After the match, the afterglow of Anfield's revelry lingered long, and the big 5–0 victory that had bloodied Madrid kept the red tide of the whole stadium boiling through the night.
The fans were still discussing it.
"This is truly unbelievable, hahaha—I haven't had enough yet, that was so brutal!"
"We're really so strong. Is this still Liverpool? It feels like I've gone back to the last century. If I were a fan of the other side, I'd be wrecked already, hahaha!"
"Sweet! One word—sweet! This is football! This is Liverpool!"
"Madrid are nothing special, are they?"
Beyond the fans' discussions, this crushing victory, worthy of a place in the annals of the Champions League, had thoroughly rewritten all of European football's perception of this season's Liverpool.
At the post-match press conference, countless reporters gathered jostling to ask their questions.
Klopp, by comparison, remained fairly calm. "This victory is something everyone should be happy about. The players' execution, focus and performance on the pitch were taken to the extreme, and I'm proud of them.
But I must make this clear: this is never the finish line. It is only one victory on our long journey.
We still have the Premier League, the rest of the Champions League group stage, the knockout rounds and the final after that. There are countless hard fights still to face, and more victories that we must go all out to win.
A winning streak and big wins are not enough to make us proud or complacent. Our goals go far beyond this.
The team will always keep a humble, hard-fighting attitude and take every match one step at a time."
In contrast to the manager's composed restraint, morale within the Liverpool squad was soaring.
Several players said quite a lot when interviewed by the media after the match.
Suárez, who had provided an assist in this match and helped the team to the big win, spoke frankly to the camera: "The atmosphere inside our team is one of a kind. Every player is desperate to win; we love the feeling of winning; we love the process of fighting on the pitch and crushing our opponents.
"We are united, all of us, and whoever the opponent is, whatever the situation, we firmly believe we can win. In every match we will give everything to carry on the team's winning momentum."
Kroos, who had joined the team this summer and firmly controlled the midfield tempo in this match, also gave an exclusive interview after the game.
In a rare move, he assessed his own transfer decision and highly praised Liverpool's overall strength.
When the media asked about his decision to turn down Madrid's interest and join Liverpool, Kroos was blunt: "To this day I can say one hundred percent that joining Liverpool has been the most correct, the most perfect decision of my career so far.
"Compared with other top clubs, Liverpool is a higher-class team.
"The tactical system, the teamwork, the club's stature, the depth of the players' pedigree—these are all the very best.
"Here, every player sacrifices for the team and fights for victory, with no selfishness and no infighting. Everyone moves toward the same goal, and that is the core reason we can win big time after time and crush strong opponents of every kind.
"It is my great honour to be part of this team."
That night, the entire English sports media fell into a frenzy, the whole web's front pages flooded with nothing but Liverpool.
Every major sports platform, football column and sports headline was taken over by news of the Reds' big win, with blanket coverage wildly hyping this unbeatable Red army.
The Timez, sports section—"The Unstoppable Reds Descend on Europe! This Season's Liverpool Already Have No Rivals!"
The article stated:
"From relentless slaughter in the Premier League to a 5–0 victory over the Galacticos of Real Madrid in the Champions League, this season's Liverpool have shown a class-apart dominance. No weak spot at any end of the pitch, starters and substitutes both able to carry a whole match, superstars of unstoppable individual ability, teamwork honed to perfection—a team like this has reached the ceiling of the Premier League and of European football alike. Look across all of Europe: no one can stop Liverpool's climb to the summit."
Sky Sportz went further, running the headline: "Julien Is a God! The Reds Are Invincible! European Football Welcomes a Red Dynasty."
The report focused on praise for Julien's explosive performance, stating bluntly that this match's hat-trick was only a microcosm of his god-like season, and that Julien, alongside an all-erupting Liverpool, now made up the most terrifying title-winning line-up in European football.
No defence could restrain Liverpool's attack, no strong team could match the Reds' collective strength, and Liverpool's era had officially arrived.
In addition, many Premier League outlets and Champions League specialist media followed with their own reports, praising Liverpool's dominance in one voice: "Three wins from three, no defeats, a mountain of goals scored, crushing strong opponents of every kind—Real Madrid, West Ham, Everton—this season's Liverpool have fully unlocked an invincible state."
"Real Madrid, the most successful giants in the Champions League, were bloodied by five goals from the Reds—enough to prove that Liverpool's strength is now a full tier ahead of all Europe, and that no team can rival it."
"In every dimension—tactics, stamina, talent, mentality, squad depth—Liverpool have reached the extreme. This season they are destined to sweep every honour and achieve a legendary Grand Slam!"
For a time, all of European football was swept up in Liverpool fever.
Football legends and pundits of every stripe spoke out in amazement, saying that they had never seen such a terrifying Liverpool.
Soon after, having crushed Real Madrid 5–0 on the Champions League stage and established their top-tier dominance in Europe, Liverpool had fully opened their level.
The team's form climbed to its very peak.
The Reds had entered an unstoppable winning mode, their stride was fierce and irresistible, and no team could block the advance of this red legion.
Killing on multiple fronts without let-up, they swept across every major arena in Britain.
After the Madrid match, the Premier League schedule moved on, and Liverpool faced Hull City.
In this match Klopp continued with the attacking and defensive system the team knew well; the whole side was in form, and their transitions between attack and defence were very fast.
Facing a stubbornly resisting Hull City, Liverpool held firm control of the initiative on the pitch.
They kept up the pressure on the opposition's defence, creating scoring chances again and again.
Though the opponent defended deep and countered throughout, doing everything to restrain the Reds' attack, and even pulled one goal back to save a little face, they still could not stop Liverpool's march to victory.
The whole team played steadily and soundly, and with solid teamwork won by a narrow 3–1 in the end.
Three points were securely taken, they continued to consolidate their lead at the top of the Premier League table.
Yes.
Now, for Liverpool, even a 3–1 already counted as a narrow win.
Many Liverpool fans went further in their assessment: "Look at the matches now. There's no point saying this Liverpool is the best in club history any more, because this Liverpool can already be called top level in the entire football world! Perhaps there's still room to strengthen a few positions.
"But in the team's most crucial area, the midfield and forward line, no team in all Europe can compare with Liverpool!
"Julien alone is enough to make plenty of teams die from envy.
But can you imagine that besides Julien, Liverpool also have Suárez, Coutinho, De Bruyne, Pogba, Kanté, Kroos and more?
"Liverpool have assembled a dream squad!"
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