Brighton immediately made a substitution, bringing on the tall striker Andone to replace Pröpper. They had no choice but to increase the number of forwards to strengthen their attack.
"Andone is coming on. Their approach will probably still be based around possession play, but they'll add some simpler passes too. Get the ball to Andone, and he can make that kind of role work."
In the 82nd minute.
"There aren't many bodies in midfield. They have to move the ball out quickly."
"They play it to Andone. Brighton are lucky this time that Henderson didn't win it."
"He drives forward with the ball."
"He pulls it back in front of him. Andone shields it."
"He gives it to Murray."
Murray had been moving with Andone the whole time. After receiving Andone's pass, he chose to shoot, but Alisson saved it.
Klopp chose to make substitutions.
Mignolet came on to replace Alisson in goal, while Lallana and Solanke came on for Mané and Firmino.
The Liverpool fans began applauding Solanke and the others. They had also heard some rumours that several of them might leave Liverpool after the season ended.
"Klopp has brought them on in the final moments of the FA Cup final, giving them a dignified farewell."
"These Liverpool players coming on proves that this is a club with heart."
"Solanke has started eight matches for Liverpool this season and made 20 appearances in total, scoring 12 goals. Those are absolutely solid numbers for a rotation striker."
"There are reports that several clubs want to sign Solanke and make him a starter. I think Solanke will definitely become a good Premier League striker in the future."
After the substitutions, Liverpool's style of play did not change.
In the 86th minute.
Solanke was dropping deep. Although he was not especially suited to playing this way, he was working hard to change his role.
Leo Lin's pass gave Solanke the chance to turn with the ball.
He almost failed to hold it up at the first attempt, but at the second, Solanke successfully protected the ball.
After battling hard to keep possession, he moved it out to the right.
Shaqiri received the ball.
He switched it to the far post.
Lallana slid in to finish.
"Lallana scores!"
"Liverpool almost failed to link up properly at the start of that move, but the final switch was beautiful. Since joining Liverpool, Shaqiri's value has gradually risen from the original 16 million to 30 million. He really has played very well."
Lallana rushed toward the touchline with tears in his eyes. He knew this was the last goal he could give Liverpool.
"Lallana!"
"Brighton can only watch their opponents win the FA Cup now."
Solanke hugged Lallana. Leo Lin ran toward Mignolet, wrapped an arm around him, and urged all the fans to chant his name.
"Mignolet!"
"Mignolet!"
Gullit watched Leo Lin, then looked at Solanke and Lallana celebrating, at Klopp applauding from the heart, and at Zubizarreta's happy smile. He felt that in the future, there would be an endless stream of star players wanting to join Liverpool.
"With how Liverpool are performing now, they give enough respect to players who want to leave, and they give enough time to players who have just joined."
"The senior players respect the newcomers, the captain has authority, and the fans are cheerful. Who wouldn't like a team like this?"
"If I were still playing, I'd want to join Liverpool too."
Ashley Cole said, "Liverpool might not want you."
"Exactly. They'd want me." Scholes also liked this kind of team atmosphere.
Ten minutes later, Liverpool and Brighton brought the FA Cup final to its conclusion.
"Leo Lin has won the FA Cup!"
"Liverpool have claimed another title!"
"This is the second cup trophy Zubizarreta has won since arriving at Liverpool!"
"The new arrivals, Rodri and Van Dijk, have become champions!"
"In just one season, Liverpool have proved that choosing to join this club was an incredibly smart decision. Who knows how many people now want to join them here?"
After a simple trophy presentation and joyful celebration, Liverpool still had one final title left to challenge for.
Another brand-new Champions League final.
Another top-level club battle.
Bayern Munich against Liverpool had once again become the hottest talking point in the Champions League.
...
Three days later.
"From Ajax to Barcelona, from the group stage to the final, both sides have beaten many opponents to get here."
"Kovač also said in an interview yesterday that he would not see this final as revenge. He hopes the Bayern players can approach this Champions League final normally."
June 1, with six days remaining before Bayern's Champions League final against Liverpool.
"Liverpool have just won the FA Cup after beating Brighton, so now we have to mention what Leo Lin said in that previous interview. He said they would definitely win the Champions League."
"I don't know how the Bayern players feel hearing Leo Lin say something like that, but even I'm getting a little annoyed. How can this kid be so arrogant?"
Gullit was joking. Of course he was not angry. The more arrogant Leo Lin was, the happier he felt.
"Kimmich believes Bayern will beat Liverpool in this Champions League final."
"But Bayern went through some turmoil not long ago. Veteran coach Heynckes left the team because of important personal matters, and Bayern Munich changed their head coach. Their manager now is Kovač."
"Bayern fans were a little worried at first, but after taking over, Kovač immediately led Bayern to the DFB-Pokal title."
"Bayern don't seem to have been affected by the managerial change at all."
Scholes felt that although Bayern had changed their head coach, their performance in beating Red Bull Salzburg in the German Cup had still been outstanding.
"Spain also changed their manager to Hierro before the World Cup, and then Lin became a World Cup champion."
"So Bayern have changed their head coach this time too. Does that mean Lin will become a Champions League champion again?"
Ashley Cole had never expected Gullit to twist the logic like that.
"So, Gullit, all you're trying to say is that Leo Lin will become champion, right?"
"Why bother trying to trick me with that bit of twisted logic?"
Gullit clamped onto Ashley Cole. He hated this clever guy.
Leo Lin also clamped onto Ashley Cole. He had come over to join this talk session too.
Gullit had originally invited Bayern players as well, but Kovač did not allow them to take part in this kind of talk session before the match. He wanted to keep the team's mentality steady.
"Lin, are you ready for this Champions League final?"
Ashley Cole asked.
"I've been preparing for so long that I'm almost tired of preparing."
"Anyway, I'm not planning to mount a comeback this year. I really want to see Kimmich and James Rodríguez as soon as possible."
"I like playing against them."