"Kane, you've been scoring quite a few goals lately. Planning to make a run at the Premier League Golden Boot this season?"
Salah was chatting with Kane in the tunnel at Anfield. Kane politely replied, "You've been scoring plenty yourself, Salah. Aren't the two of us tied for first?"
"Getting to twelve goals isn't easy!"
While the two were talking, Leo appeared, walked between them, and nodded toward Salah.
"Salah, take a look. Is my captain's armband sitting right? Should I move it a little higher?"
Salah examined it seriously and confirmed that it was fine.
Kane, however, had suddenly gone quiet after chatting away with Salah only moments earlier.
"Kane, aren't you going to say anything to me?"
"We haven't seen each other in a while. Have we grown distant or something?"
Kane didn't even turn around.
Although he and Leo had gotten along quite well lately, Leo was on good terms with far too many Premier League players. There was practically someone at every club he was close to.
"I don't want to talk to you, Leo. If you steal the Premier League Golden Boot from me this season, I'm never coming over to your house for dinner again. And I'm not bringing you any authentic Tottenham smoked duck either."
Amid everyone's laughter, Premier League Matchweek 19 kicked off.
"Both sides seem pretty friendly before the match. Tottenham kick off and move the ball to Winks. To be honest, I was a little concerned when I saw Conte starting Winks today."
"His passing in midfield is good, but defensively he doesn't offer much."
"Winks plays it to Sánchez, and Tottenham switch the ball toward the left. They're looking for an opening down that side."
"Alli comes across to receive!"
Alli dropped into midfield to offer support.
But compared with the previous two seasons, he no longer attracted nearly as much attention from fans in England.
After receiving the ball, Alli tried to find Kane with a pass, but Konaté stepped forward early. Both the timing and the way he made the interception looked remarkably similar to Van Dijk.
"That looked a lot like the way Van Dijk often steps out for the Netherlands. He stays tight behind his opponent, then suddenly bursts around him and gets there first to win the ball!"
After making the interception, Konaté immediately fired the ball into Mac Allister.
Before Mac Allister had even brought it under control, he could already hear Szoboszlai calling for the pass.
Mac Allister still chose to play it to Leo.
A moment later, Szoboszlai began calling to Leo from the left as well, hoping to get the ball.
"Captain, I'm open!"
Leo glanced over, then passed to Salah instead.
Salah received the ball and tried to curl one toward goal. The shot was kept down well enough, but Lloris pushed it away.
Leo immediately went over to Szoboszlai.
"First, you're handsome."
"Second, you're a very good player."
"Third, I know this is your first start in quite a few matches, so you want to show what you can do. But demanding the ball like that isn't going to create chances for you."
"Good opportunities come from making the right run without drawing attention to yourself. You don't get them by standing still, shouting for the ball loudly enough for the defenders to hear you, then trying to keep it at your feet and dribble your way into a chance."
"That's not how we play. You know what kind of movement our system requires."
Leo rattled it all off quickly, and Szoboszlai understood immediately.
He had been so eager to make an impression that he had indeed gone about communicating for the ball the wrong way.
"Mac Allister takes the corner and plays it short to Szoboszlai."
"Back to Robertson. Liverpool haven't been looking to swing corners straight into the box lately. Instead, they recycle possession farther back and build another attack!"
When Robertson received the ball, Alexander-Arnold was already high up the pitch, while Konaté and Gvardiol were positioned nearby.
Without anyone really noticing, Liverpool had already committed most of their attacking players forward.
Robertson passed to Gvardiol.
Gvardiol was comfortable on the ball. After receiving Robertson's pass, he first looked toward the right before playing centrally to Rodri.
As Rodri received it, Mac Allister had already moved alongside him and made himself available.
Ndombele stayed tight to Mac Allister, but Rodri instead slipped the ball into the space behind Ndombele and found Szoboszlai.
Szoboszlai spotted the opening, ran in behind Ndombele to receive the pass, then immediately played it on to Leo.
As soon as he released the ball, Szoboszlai continued his run.
Leo lifted the ball into the air and clipped it over Dier toward the space behind him.
Dier jumped as high as he could and managed to get his head to the ball first.
But because he had stretched so high, he couldn't generate much power behind the header. The ball barely traveled and began dropping only a short distance in front of him.
Leo and Winks both rushed toward it.
Winks was much closer and arrived first. He stuck out his right leg and tried to clear the ball toward the edge of the penalty area.
Instead, he somehow smashed it straight into Leo's shoulder.
The ball immediately ricocheted toward goal.
Lloris threw himself across and managed to keep it out.
Davinson Sánchez hurried over to complete the clearance.
He should have simply lifted the ball high and away, but instead he hammered a powerful low clearance that skimmed across the grass straight toward Leo.
Leo didn't even have time to react.
He could only watch as the ball slammed into his ankle and ricocheted toward goal again.
This time, neither Dier nor Lloris had any chance to stop it.
Leo had barely moved throughout the entire sequence.
Yet after being hit by Tottenham players twice in succession, he had somehow ended up with his eleventh Premier League goal of the season.
"It's in!"
"That goal is definitely going down as Leo's, but Tottenham have practically assisted him twice in the same move! Are they worried he won't catch Kane at the top of the scoring charts?"
"At this point, Leo couldn't avoid scoring even if he tried! He was just standing there. First Winks' clearance nearly turned into an assist for him, and Lloris somehow kept it out. Then Davinson Sánchez followed up with another clearance and finally succeeded in helping Leo put the ball into Tottenham's own net!"
For a moment, Salah and Szoboszlai didn't even know who they were supposed to celebrate with.
Salah nearly hugged Winks before catching himself and turning around to run toward Leo instead.
Leo was still standing in the same place.
He hadn't done anything.
Even after the goal went in, he still looked completely bewildered.
Szoboszlai wanted to score too.
"Captain, how do you always manage to stand exactly where the other team is going to clear the ball?"
"If I could learn that trick, I'd score loads of goals too!"
Leo laughed.
"Seriously, would anyone believe me if I said I genuinely wasn't trying to score?"
Kane was too far away to hear him.
Otherwise, he would have wrapped an arm around both Winks and Sánchez and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!!!"
...
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