The first half came to an end in near-deathly silence among the Liverpool players. In the livestream chats, Liverpool fans were left confused and furious.
"What on earth are Liverpool doing? Have they completely lost their heads?"
"I said it ages ago—Conte's fast counterattacks are tailor-made to restrain Klopp!"
"Disgraceful! Leading by one and then conceding three straight—an absolute humiliation!"
Back in the dressing room, not a single word was spoken. An eerie quiet filled the space.
Klopp stood in front of the players, clapping hard.
"I can say this with my hand on my heart—you did nothing wrong in that first half!"
"The only thing you lacked was belief in yourselves!"
"In the second half, stick to our plan. Play out the counter-running twin towers. I want you attacking all the way into their box!"
After finishing, Klopp turned his gaze to Leo Lin. In the first half, he had been the player with the strongest fighting spirit.
"Leo Lin, say something."
Leo Lin froze for a moment. He hadn't expected Klopp to call on a young player at a moment like this. But he stood up anyway, motioning for his teammates to gather around.
His expression was deadly serious, tinged with anger.
"My grandmother once told me there are two things a man must never do."
"First, never make a girl cry. Second, never waste an opportunity."
"But we wasted too many chances in the first half. That's why we got turned around. We're two goals down—but we still have 45 minutes!"
Leo Lin roared, waving his arms to pull everyone closer.
"We are Liverpool!"
"We never surrender—and that's how we win!"
"Don't think the match is over! If they can score three in fifteen minutes, so can we!"
"Come on!"
"We fight for the Liverpool shirt we're wearing!!!"
...
"Ladies and gentlemen, the second half is underway."
"After a punishing first half, Liverpool scored first but then conceded three straight goals to Chelsea. The score stands at 1–3, with Liverpool trailing by two."
Leo Lin fully committed to the rotation-based attacking approach, relentlessly pressing Chelsea's back line. Through constant movement, he pinned Chelsea deep and denied them the chance to launch quick counterattacks.
Emre Can did the same, while Firmino was completely fired up. With sharp passing and close control, he gradually helped Liverpool stabilize the tempo in the attacking third.
The match settled into a tense stalemate. Both sides had chances, the game wide open—a pure test of attacking and defensive execution.
53rd minute!
"Once again they look for Hazard, trying to force a breakthrough down the wing!"
"Mané tracks back and teams up with Robertson—double-team successful, ball won!"
Mané turned and drove forward at pace down the left.
Up against Azpilicueta, he powered past him and burst all the way to the byline!
Leo Lin muscled past Kanté as he surged forward. Firmino pushed his position almost right onto the goalkeeper, barely moving but clearly creating space behind him.
Mané's low diagonal pass arrived!
"Whoosh!!!"
Leo Lin held his breath—then exhaled violently as he struck!
The motion mirrored his earlier feint, but this time it was the real thing.
Like a baseball batter swinging flat, Leo Lin planted his right foot and lashed a left-footed shot!
The inside of his left ankle whipped through the ball, sending it curling toward the bottom-left corner!
Courtois threw himself at full stretch, but it was a true dead angle—no chance!
"Swish!!!"
Leo Lin pumped his fists, then immediately charged into the goal, scooped up the ball, and sprinted toward the center circle!
Gerrard watched the scene, momentarily lost in a daze.
Carragher spoke up beside him.
"The way Lin grabbed the ball and ran it back… it really looks like you back then, scoring the first goal when you led the comeback against AC Milan."
Gerrard said nothing, only nodded quietly.
It was as if he were seeing his younger self—full of swagger, burning with fighting spirit.
"Leo Lin scores again in the second half—he's got two!"
"Liverpool pull it back to 2–3! They're telling everyone this match isn't over yet!"
As Leo Lin ran toward the center circle, he kept pumping his fists, urging his teammates on and lifting their spirits.
Chelsea hadn't even fully processed what had happened before Liverpool hit them with another counter.
Conte crouched by the touchline, replaying the conceded goal in his mind. He could feel that Leo Lin was exerting a very different kind of influence on the match.
Once play resumed, Leo Lin continued adjusting his attacking runs.
In the rotation-based system, Liverpool's players usually surged toward the box in seemingly chaotic patterns. Now, Leo Lin added a layer of structured pressing to those movements.
He wasn't just crashing into the center backs—he was using the rotation to constantly threaten the space behind them.
Liverpool's attacking movement shifted once more, and they reclaimed control of the tempo.
63rd minute!
"Chelsea's quick counterattack patterns are gradually being figured out—Liverpool are defending very well now."
"Meanwhile, Liverpool's own counterattacks have grown more varied, and Chelsea are starting to lose track of runners."
"Arnold pushes up—Leo Lin sends a long pass through the middle."
"To the right flank, perfectly finding Arnold!"
"A through ball to Salah, cutting in from the right!"
"Curled effort!"
"Courtois tips it behind! Salah went for the near post!"
Corner kick for Liverpool. Leo Lin went over to take it.
Firmino gave a subtle signal in the middle. Leo Lin read it instantly and whipped the ball toward the center!
Firmino made a sudden late run!
Completely unmarked—Chelsea didn't spot him at all!
Firmino rose high!
A thunderous header!
Courtois stood frozen—too close, no time to react!
Jon Champion burst out laughing.
"Oooooohhhhh!!!"
"Another one!!!"
"Oh my word!"
"Firmino has equalized—both teams are level again!"
Firmino was about to run over to celebrate with Leo Lin when he saw him already sprinting back toward his own half, waving his arms.
"Bring the ball back!"
Leo Lin shouted as he ran.
"There's still time! We still have a chance!"
Leo Lin knew it clearly—Liverpool had to win to stay top of the table. If Chelsea forced a draw and Manchester City won their match, City would reclaim first place.
He didn't want Manchester City starting the second half of the season as the league's mid-season leaders. After all, their second-half form was always steady and ruthless.
Back in their own half, Leo Lin continued discussing tactics with his teammates, making sure they could link up even more cleanly.
Jon Champion couldn't help but praise him.
"So young, yet already showing extraordinary mental strength!"
"You can see the fighting spirit surging through Leo Lin—an incredible, fiery presence!"
"This is what a Liverpool player should look like!"
"This is the spirit a Liverpool player should have!"