"Leo Lin comes on for Wijnaldum in midfield. Salah replaces Solanke, and Firmino takes Sturridge's place."
"All three of those players have struggled today and haven't played to their usual level."
"If you want examples, I could list countless matches where a team dominated for ages, failed to score, and then got punished at the end."
Watching Sturridge walk off, Jon Champion felt his frustration flare once again.
"Last season, Manchester City played Leicester City. They had 70 percent possession, thirteen shots, eight on target—and still lost 0–1."
"So never, ever waste your chances."
"There are about thirty minutes left in the second half. If Liverpool want to keep their winning run going and stay in the title race, they have to take this game against Crystal Palace."
"Manchester City brought in the serial winner Pep Guardiola for one reason—to win the league."
"And the key to Guardiola's success is simple: he never drops points against mid- and lower-table sides. The points you should take, you must take."
Liverpool fans were growing increasingly anxious. Time was running out.
After coming on, Leo Lin first focused on steadying the tempo in midfield.
Crystal Palace's midfielders were big and powerful. Jason Puncheon and Luca thrived on physical battles, and they had long heard of Leo Lin's reputation.
In today's Premier League, when it came to physical confrontation, no one dared claim they could outmuscle him.
But the Palace manager had prepared a targeted plan. They wouldn't engage Leo Lin physically. Instead, they deliberately left him passing space.
After studying his previous matches, the Palace staff had concluded that while Leo Lin was strong in challenges, his passing accuracy wasn't particularly high, and his forward balls lacked real threat.
So they would rather let him pass than allow him to drive forward through the middle.
On paper, it was the right approach—
as long as Leo Lin didn't have Pirlo's Extraordinary Passing.
With that new skill in his arsenal, Palace's seemingly clever defensive setup had turned into a gift.
After coming on, Leo Lin carefully scanned the field, looking for sensible passing options.
But the more he looked, the more he realized something was off.
Why were there so many options?
The Palace midfielders were doing everything they could to stop him from carrying the ball, yet they barely bothered to block his passing lanes.
Clear routes appeared one after another in front of his eyes, and Leo Lin slowly began to smile.
That strange smile sent a chill down Jason Puncheon's spine. His confidence wavered instantly—he had no idea what the young man in front of him was about to do.
73rd minute!
Crystal Palace tried a long ball, but the quality was poor and Mignolet claimed it easily.
After a brief look up, Mignolet hurled the ball powerfully into the middle, straight to Leo Lin.
Jason Puncheon charged forward at once, long legs churning as he chased from behind, desperate to stop Leo Lin from driving ahead.
But Leo Lin had no intention of advancing.
He shifted his body slightly and caught sight of Salah on the right with the corner of his eye.
His right hand lifted and gave a small wave.
Salah understood immediately and exploded into motion.
Blistering pace—he shrugged off Van Aanholt and darted in behind Tomkins!
At that instant, Leo Lin twisted his body and forced a through ball, sharp as a cold blade leaving its scabbard.
It flashed with icy brilliance as it stabbed straight into Palace's weak side,
cutting through Van Aanholt and then slicing past Tomkins.
The pass surged toward the right side of the box, finding Salah perfectly on his reverse run.
"What a ball! Splits two defenders—Salah is clean through into the area!"
"Cuts inside!"
"Shoots!"
"Beautiful!!!" Jon Champion let out in delight.
"It had to be Leo Lin, and it had to be Salah!"
"The connection between them is simply exquisite! The Egyptian Pharaoh finally breaks the deadlock—Liverpool lead 1–0!"
Jon Champion was buzzing.
"This is how football should be played. On the pitch, you have to be sharp, decisive, and calm."
"Only then can you overcome every obstacle and put that ball into the net!"
Live chat exploded.
"When did Lin start playing through balls like that? Does he still have passing skills he hasn't shown us?"
"That's the difference between starters and substitutes—starters make an impact the moment they come on!"
"A blade-drawn through pass! A perfect finish!"
After scoring, Salah ran to the touchline for his trademark celebration, then pointed toward Leo Lin and pulled him into a hug. The two burst out laughing together.
Salah was clearly delighted with the assist.
The entire stadium erupted. In such a difficult match, breaking the deadlock felt like a release, and Liverpool could finally see the light of victory again.
The game went on.
Palace hadn't expected Leo Lin to produce something so decisive. Their midfield stepped up the pressure, throwing more bodies at him and trying to shut down his forward passing lanes.
But a 1–0 lead was far from safe. On the sideline, Klopp showed no joy at all, remaining as composed as ever.
"Drop a bit deeper!"
"Milner, when Lin carries the ball forward, stay level with him!"
"Centre-backs, keep your staggered shape—don't all step up. Watch the space behind!"
Time slipped by minute by minute. By the 80th, Crystal Palace began pushing up aggressively. They refused to accept a third straight league defeat to start the season.
The tempo increased, and the pressure on the pitch grew heavier.
84th minute!
Leo Lin kept searching, and at last, he spotted another opening.
Mignolet launched a long goal kick. Firmino dropped deep to contest it and nodded the ball back to Salah.
The Egyptian Pharaoh carried it inside, probing for a breakthrough but finding none.
Left with no choice, he played it back to Leo Lin.
Without hesitation, Leo Lin crisply knocked it straight back to Salah.
Salah froze for a split second—then understood.
A diagonal through ball!
Their quick one-two sliced straight through Palace's defensive line.
Leo Lin made a clever delayed run, bursting down the right flank.
Without even looking up, he opened his body and lifted the ball high toward the middle of the box.
What seemed like a simple cross carried a subtle drop, floating over the centre-backs' heads and crashing down toward Firmino.
Yes—crashing.
So precise that Firmino almost thought he was seeing things. He had only just looked up when the ball was already flying straight at him.
He watched it.
Watched it clear the defender.
Watched it drop into his path.
Twisting his waist and swinging his body through the motion, Firmino met it with the upper part of his forehead.
"BANG!!!"
"WHOOSH!!!"
"GOAL!!!!" Gerrard roared, throwing his arms into the air.
"Firmino scores with a header!"
"Lin grabs his second assist!"
"Off the bench, but directly involved in both goals!"
"He's still the Lin we believe in!!!"