Genius - Chapter 500: The Challenge to the Title Comes from Leo (Patreon)

“A lot of fans may have forgotten this. Liverpool didn’t win anything last season, but for many seasons before that, football fans in England believed that if you wanted to win a trophy, you had to get past Leo Lin.”

“You had to face Leo, because he appeared in almost every final. Last season was the exception.”

“Liverpool reached the FA Cup semifinals last season before being eliminated. They went out in the EFL Cup quarterfinals, and with ten Premier League matches still to play, they were already mathematically out of the title race.”

“That made last season a happy one for plenty of fans across England. Some even thought Liverpool might never recover the title-winning form they had shown before.”

“But in this EFL Cup semifinal against Arsenal, Liverpool are playing at the same peak level they showed in those previous seasons. In fact, I think they look even better now.”

“Gakpo has found the style that suits him. He cuts inside from the left onto his right foot, and his finishing has clearly improved as well.”

Szoboszlai was playing through the middle, but whenever Salah received the ball on the right, Szoboszlai would move over to support him. He also combined with Ødegaard through quick passes and return balls, while Ødegaard’s distribution remained excellent.

Since leaving Real Madrid, Ødegaard had continued to improve. Although he still wasn’t getting a great deal of playing time, Klopp had been doing everything he could to give him opportunities.

Arsenal began dropping even deeper. As Liverpool pushed higher up the pitch, the space available to Arsenal’s players became smaller and smaller.

Lokonga had no chance to show his strengths. All he could do was defend in midfield and keep chasing Leo.

The problem was that he was struggling to keep up with him.

In the 29th minute!

“Holding has it in the middle. He plays it forward toward Lacazette.”

“Van Dijk wins the header and finds Gravenberch!”

Gravenberch collected the ball, turned, and accelerated past Lokonga. Just as he was about to continue his run, Lokonga brought him down.

The referee was about to blow for the foul, but the ball kept rolling forward and fell perfectly to Leo.

Leo twisted his body and shifted the ball onto his right side. After a single step into his run-up, he unleashed a powerful shot.

The ball flew toward Ramsdale.

The young England goalkeeper produced a strong save, pushing it away into an area where no Liverpool player could reach it.

Tierney immediately brought the ball under control and cleared it.

He didn’t dare try to pass his way out from Arsenal’s defensive third.

“Since Wenger left Arsenal, do you think they still play with the same style they had before?”

“Their combinations aren’t particularly fluid anymore. They have a lot of young players, and the way those players attack is very different from the Arsenal of the past.”

“Right now, Arsenal’s main attacking approach seems to be getting the ball into the final third and then giving it to Martinelli or Saka so they can take defenders on out wide.”

“In a lot of matches, Arsenal have only been able to create chances because of Martinelli and Saka beating players on the wings. Otherwise, they often struggle to create goals from settled possession.”

“And now that they’re a man down, scoring becomes even harder. With one fewer player, they’ll get fewer one-on-one opportunities out wide because Liverpool will always have an extra defender available to cover.”

Tierney’s clearance sent the ball upfield, but Martinelli didn’t even have time to bring it under control before Alexander-Arnold won possession.

The ball was quickly worked back to Gravenberch, and once again the Dutch midfielder drove Liverpool forward on the counterattack.

Ødegaard couldn’t match Gravenberch’s pace, but Leo had no trouble keeping up.

In fact, he liked the tempo Gravenberch brought to Liverpool’s attacks.

In the 33rd minute!

Ødegaard carried the ball through the middle, using a series of short passes to find Salah or Gakpo before receiving the ball back from them.

Liverpool’s quick passing forced Lokonga and Holding deeper and deeper, while Arsenal’s defense gradually became concentrated on the two flanks.

Aside from Lacazette, Arsenal had nobody left up front.

Tierney kept a close eye on Leo, and whenever Martinelli wasn’t attacking, he also dropped back to help mark him.

Arteta had assigned his two fastest players to deal with Leo.

Once Arsenal’s defense had been drawn toward the wings, Ødegaard passed to Gravenberch.

Leo turned and accelerated again, attacking through the center while Arsenal were focused on protecting the flanks.

Gravenberch drove forward with the ball.

At first, Martinelli stayed with Leo, but Tierney also had to respect Gravenberch’s threat from long range. The two Arsenal players were forced to split their responsibilities.

That was the moment Gravenberch released the pass to Leo.

Leo didn’t dribble when the ball reached him.

Instead, with his very first touch, he redirected it diagonally behind him and to the left.

Gakpo burst forward again.

He received Leo’s pass, cut inside, and used his excellent right-footed dribbling to beat Ben White.

Gabriel tried to step across and cover, but Gakpo had already fired toward goal.

Leo watched the shot strike Gabriel and deflect toward Arsenal’s net.

The deflection completely ruined Ramsdale’s timing and left him with no chance to make the save.

Liverpool’s supporters were finally celebrating a goal in an EFL Cup semifinal again.

After the disappointment of last season’s elimination, Liverpool were determined to make amends this time.

“Gakpo has scored his first-ever EFL Cup goal, and it comes in the semifinal!”

“Look at him sprinting away in celebration. He’s absolutely delighted!”

“Leo sets up Gakpo, and Liverpool lead Arsenal in the EFL Cup semifinal!”

“Arteta’s team are finding it harder and harder to see a path to the final!”

Arsenal supporters were wondering how Arteta could solve his team’s problems, but Gakpo’s goal seemed to provide the final verdict on the first half.

By halftime, Liverpool had already managed nine shots against Arsenal.

If not for Ramsdale, Arsenal might have been completely out of this EFL Cup semifinal before the second half even began.

“Ramsdale made eight saves in the first half. Over those forty-five minutes, he was unquestionably the standout goalkeeper.”

Scholes believed Ramsdale was the only Arsenal player who had truly impressed.

“Martinelli and Saka failed to beat their men out wide even once in the first half. Gravenberch hasn’t just helped Liverpool move forward quickly, he’s also helped Robertson deal with Saka.”

“The combinations between Szoboszlai and Salah have given Ødegaard plenty of clean passing options, while Leo has been as dominant as ever.”

“Leo has created another goal and forced Arsenal into even more mistakes. Right now, Arsenal don’t look capable of competing with Liverpool.”

“And Liverpool haven’t even brought on Rodri, Mac Allister, or Díaz yet.”

“If Klopp sends on more of his regular starters in the second half, Arsenal can forget about reaching the EFL Cup final.”

Scholes seemed to have read Klopp’s mind, because Gullit soon noticed Liverpool preparing changes.

Mac Allister came on for Ødegaard.

Díaz replaced Salah.

And Gakpo moved over to the right wing.