The first tumor in football

Chapter 236 The Confidence of the Strong
Liverpool dressing room.

Although Liverpool had a one-goal lead in the first half, the atmosphere in the team did not become more relaxed.

Because they all knew that Song Wen didn't move at all in the first half.

And the second half will be the real purgatory for them.

Klopp leaned his back against the tactical board, allowing his sweaty suit to leave dark water marks on the white coating.

The locker room was filled with the pungent smell of mint spray. Henderson was wrapping new muscle tape around his knees, Salah was staring at the grass clippings in the gaps between his studs, and Van Dijk was repeatedly looking through the panoramic replay of the goal on his tablet - Godin's left shoulder sank 2 centimeters when he jumped, and it was this imperceptible flaw that allowed his header to find the only channel.

"Gentlemen," Klopp suddenly slapped the tactical board, startling three pigeons that had strayed into the ventilation duct, "Do you know what is buried under Anfield?"

He ran his fingers over Matip’s calf, which was tattooed with tribal totems. “It’s not a water pipe or an optical cable, it’s a boot stud from Shankly’s era!”

The locker room suddenly became quiet; even the hissing sound of the team doctor spraying refrigerant on Robertson could be heard clearly.

The German suddenly pulled off his tie, revealing a scar in the shape of the Champions League trophy below his collarbone - a tattoo he got after Dortmund lost the 2013 final.

"Song Wen can indeed predict tactics," he grabbed a tactical pen and drew a burning track on the 4-3-3 formation diagram, "but he can't calculate how turbulent the Mersey River flowing in your veins is!"

Arnold's socks suddenly made a tearing sound. The young man, nicknamed "Executor of Plan A of the Death Triangle", stood up suddenly and said, "Boss, I can go deeper in the second half."

Before he could finish his words, Klopp kicked him lightly in the butt with his grass-stained leather shoes: "Fuck the plan! Think about when you were seven years old and playing football in Merseyside County Park - you didn't wait for Van Dijk to clean your butt at that time!"

The laughter exploded like sparks splashing into a gasoline barrel.

Salah stroked the Arabic prayer on the inside of his shin guard and suddenly looked up: "If I cut inside with my left foot..."

Before he finished speaking, Mane intercepted him and said, "It doesn't matter if you use your left foot or your right foot, just get the ball into the damn net!"

Klopp took the opportunity to splash the energy drink onto the tactical board. The red liquid meandered into a river of blood along Atletico's 4-4-2 formation: "They thought they had locked up the heavy metal storm? No! I want you to turn into magma-"

"Forget all the tactics I told you before the game. From now on, play your talents and have fun playing football!"

And on the other side in the Atletico Madrid locker room.

Oblak wiped his gloves a third time, the synthetic leather hissing against his palms like a venomous snake.

Godin buried his head in a towel printed with the Reds' hot zone map, and Savic was drawing a clown nose on Lovren's virtual portrait with a marker - until Song Wen knocked on the ice bucket with his knuckles.

“Do you know why Anfield has 96 exits?”

The man, who was called "the undertaker" by the media, opened the tactical tablet and pulled out the 3D model of Van Dijk's header. "Because the 96 souls of the Hillsborough disaster are guarding the passage -" He suddenly rotated the model 180 degrees, revealing the data black hole behind Liverpool's defense, "and now, they want to show the visiting team a way out."

Cork almost burst the energy gel in his hand: "But we have blocked all the passing routes."

“But there’s no time lock.”

Song Wen's fingertips traced a snapshot of Klopp's body language in the last 15 seconds before halftime. "When the fourth official raised the extra time card," the picture froze at the moment when Arnold kicked the ball, "at this time, there was a resonance gap of one thousandth in your defensive matrix."

There was a series of metal collision sounds in the locker room - Griezmann was shaking his shin guards unconsciously.

The French striker, who is known for his precision, suddenly threw the bandage to the ground: "If I could have returned to defense earlier..."

"Then you fell into Klopp's trap." Song Wen picked up the bandage with the tip of his shoe and threw it back to him, "Do you know why they deliberately missed three counterattack opportunities in the first half? "Salah's running is much less than usual. Klopp is using our iron-blooded defense to cool down his nuclear weapons! "

Juanfran suddenly ripped open his jersey, revealing the hideous cross tattoo on his chest: "Then let Anfield see the real purgatory."

“No,” Song Wen poured the water from the ice bucket onto the tactical board, and the water droplets condensed into frost along Liverpool’s offensive arrows. “We are going to turn purgatory into an amusement park.” He clicked on the bone stress analysis chart when he broke through Van Dijk. “When the Dutchman jumped, his right gluteus maximus would have a 0.7 second contraction delay—” His finger suddenly poked at Costa, “and you were chewing gum at the time!”

The locker room erupted in long-lost laughter.

Godin finally looked up, his eyes burning with the wildfire of the Iberian Peninsula: "So in the second half we..."

"Forget the tactical board," Song Wen threw the tablet into the ice bucket, and the splashing water bloomed blood lotus on the reflection of Klopp's suit. "Mr. Simeone said that the best defense is to make the opponent forget how to attack."

"I think Klopp had the same idea at the time. Their last attack in the second half had no tactics at all, just relying on the individual abilities of the players."

Song Wen stared at the Atletico Madrid players with burning eyes.

"In the second half, it's your turn to show off."
-
Anfield in the rain was like a boiling furnace. Song Wen tapped the ball to Costa, but he himself pierced the rain like an arrow.

Van Dijk opened his arms like a hawk, but the boy's ankles suddenly turned inward 15 degrees - this is marked as a "prelude to a fake move" in Klopp's tactical manual.

"Left!" The Dutchman roared and moved sideways, but found that Song Wen used his toes to lift the ball over his head.

The arc of this rainbow pass is more dazzling than the sunlight at Camp Nou.

Arnold and Henderson formed the second meat grinder, but Song Wen used the "heavy metal variation" taught by Klopp himself to tear apart the defense line.

He first knocked the ball to the right with the outside of his foot, but his body tilted strangely to the left.

The moment Henderson's center of gravity was torn apart, the young man had already completed the space folding with a Cruyff turn.

"Van Dijk!" Zhan Jun's tactical board hit the glass, "He blocked the shooting angle in advance!"

The moment Song Wen swung his leg, he suddenly retracted his force and lightly pushed the ball to the empty space on his ribs with the instep of his foot.

This feint to the east and attack to the west caused a gap in the cheers from the kop stands - Griezmann cut in like a ghost, and shot a curved ball with his left foot that brushed Lovren's hair and went straight into the blind corner!
"Atletico Madrid has equalized!" Fan Zhiyi smashed the seventh teacup, "How can this be called a goal? This is like putting Liverpool's tactical board into a shredder!"

Song Wen turned around and made a "telescope" gesture to Klopp, and the notes on the German coach's tactical board suddenly twisted into a Möbius strip.

This was a deadly boomerang of psychological warfare - he used Klopp's best space-tearing technique to carve a wound in the heart of Anfield.

Zhan Jun's tactical board smashed against the glass with a clang, and the water marks from the wolfberry tea spread blood on Klopp's 4-3-3 formation diagram: "See! The ankle joint turns inward degrees to catch the rainbow pass. This is playing with Klopp's tactical manual like origami!"

Fan Zhiyi's marker pen directly pierced through the electronic screen: "How can this be a rainbow? This is a roller coaster track with Van Dyke as a slide!"

"46 minutes and 01 second!" Zhan Jun called up the bone stress analysis chart, "Song Wen's gastrocnemius explosive force reached 967 Newtons when he started, 43% higher than the average of the group stage! Van Dijk's knee joint pressure exceeded the standard alarm three times when he moved sideways!"

The bullet screen was instantly flooded with red alert icons: [The Human Knee Protection Association strongly protests]

[It is recommended that UEFA install a speed limiter for Song Wen]

[Van Dyke's meniscus is singing "Liangliang"]

"Klopp folded the tactical board into a paper airplane!" Fan Zhiyi suddenly slammed the table and laughed wildly. In the picture, the German coach was making a Mobius ring gesture in the air. "I asked you to learn Song Wen's space folding. This time, the folds will be ironed out for you!"

Zhan Jun also smiled and said:

"This is Song Wen! Although we knew he would perform well in the second half, no one expected that he would score a goal in just one minute!"

On the sidelines of the court, Simeone, in a suit, was running as fast as a child.

Facing the camera that was approaching, he frantically pushed his face towards it, yelled "Song" a few times, and then, under the horrified gaze of the cameraman, he directly turned the camera towards Song Wen.

"Don't take photos of me! Take photos of that hero!!"

Liverpool bench on the other side.

Klopp's face was full of despair.

He had just adjusted his mentality in the first fifteen minutes of the half, but it was completely broken just one minute into the second half.

"This is a fucking monster! How can we win against a monster like this?!!"

He kicked the mineral water bottle at his feet away, but did not complain to his players.

Because he knew that his players really couldn't be blamed for the loss.

At this moment, the Liverpool players were looking at each other.

Obviously he hasn't recovered from losing the ball so quickly.

When they realized this, they all spread their hands helplessly.

What else can they do besides throwing up their hands?

This guy scores goals as easily as he's shopping.

Kropi was the first to come back to his senses from his despair.

He walked to the sidelines, clapped his hands, and shouted:

"It's okay, guys! Now you just need to play the football you want to play! Forget about the damn score and the desire to win!!"

The game between the two sides continued.

Costa carried Van Dijk with his back to the goal and the sound of their muscles colliding could be clearly heard through the rain.

The Dutch central defender suddenly withdrew his strength, and the moment Costa staggered, Arnold intercepted the ball with surgical precision.

"Look at this attack and defense transition!" Zhan Jun called up the bone stress map, "Van Dijk used judo techniques to resolve brute force, and Arnold started 0.3 seconds faster than Griezmann!"

Liverpool's full-back dribbled the ball like riding a raging wave, but his behavior suddenly changed when he encountered Saul.

He first lifted the ball half a meter with his toes, but then leaned his body in the opposite direction - this was the "Nile Fake" taught by Salah himself. Saul's pupils shrank suddenly, and the conditioned reflex formed by years of defensive experience became a deadly trap at this moment.

Arnold seized the 0.5-second gap and sent a cruise missile cross, and Firmino engaged in an aerial fight with Godin at the back post.

The Brazilian suddenly curled up his body to give up the ball, Mane shot towards the top like a cobra, and Oblak's glove thread broke when he lifted the ball with one hand!
"Goalkeeper!" Fan Zhiyi's marker pierced through the tactical board, "But the second point is dangerous!"

Henderson's shot was blocked by Koke's chest, and Salah appeared like a ghost on the deflection line. The Egyptian Pharaoh flicked the ball over the fallen goalkeeper with his left foot, but Juanfran, who was chasing back, hooked it out of the baseline with his heel! The 34-year-old veteran's shin guards scraped five sparks on the goal line, as if burning out the last of his youth.

In the 63rd minute, Wijnaldum and Koke staged a heavy metal symphony in the center circle. The Dutchman failed to break through after three changes of direction, and suddenly knocked the ball into the no-man's land with his heel. This was a "bait tactic" designed by Klopp, deliberately exposing the passing line to attract Griezmann to steal the ball.

"Counter trap!" Song Wen's roar pierced the rain curtain.

Griezmann braked and turned, sweeping the ball to the side with the outside of his foot. Saul skimmed across the grass like a bulldog, but was knocked down by Robertson's studs just before he touched the ball. The Scottish full-back's studs plowed deep grooves in the grass, and the referee's whistle and the boos from the kop stand formed an eerie chord.

"Master of psychological games!" Zhan Jun pointed at Savage's little trick, "He deliberately blocked the referee's sight, making Robertson's tactical foul a 50-50 penalty!"

In the 68th minute, Salah held the ball on the right, and three water droplets reflected cold light on his eyelashes. Juanfran fought and retreated, and suddenly found that the Egyptian's leg swing was 5 degrees smaller than usual - this was a precursor to a reverse-foot shot!
"Fake move!" The veteran blocked the ball with his body, but Salah knocked the ball to the bottom line with his heel. Mane passed by like a red lightning, and the water curtain created by Koke's flying tackle formed a short rainbow.

Van Dijk turned into a battering ram at the back post, overpowering Godin with a header. Oblak's glove thread broke completely when he hit the ball with one hand, Lovren's follow-up shot was blocked by Savic's thigh, and Henderson's shot hit the crossbar!
"Anfield goalpost guardian!" Fan Zhiyi's wolfberry tea splashed all over the data screen, "But Atletico's counterattack. Look at Song Wen!"

In the 70th minute, Song Wen intercepted the ball in the center circle and suddenly lifted the ball twenty meters with his toes.

This long pass that defies physics found Costa who was making a forward run. The Spanish beast carried Van Dijk and forced a turn, but he missed the ball to Griezmann the moment he kicked the ball!

The Frenchman faked a shot and passed the ball to fool the entire defense, and Saul's shot from the back was cleared by Arnold on the goal line.

The moment the corner kick was taken, the electronic timer jumped to 71:00 and the referee stopped the game - the Atletico Madrid fans suddenly unfolded a giant TIFO, and Song Wen's No. 17 jersey burned like a bloody battle flag in the heavy rain.

"The tie went into the last 20 minutes," Zhan Jun's voice had a metallic tremor, "but Atletico had already planted the seeds of fear - when Song Wen was willing to hold back for the team, that was the beginning of the Reds' real nightmare."

Fan Zhiyi nodded and said:

"It can be seen that Song Wen seemed to be holding back in the second half of the game."

“It’s like he’s handing the stage over to his teammates!”

Zhan Jun smiled and said:

"To be honest, I really can't understand it. Is this the confidence of a strong person?"

(End of this chapter)