Genius - Chapter 504: You Can Choose How You Lose (Patreon)

“Six hundred million followers?”

“If we’re talking about football, who cares how many followers someone has?”

“I know Liverpool want to catch Manchester City. They’re fourth right now, four points behind City, but I think we’ll win the next match.”

“We’ve been playing very well lately, and we have an outstanding striker in Ivan Toney. In my eyes, he’s worth more than Lin!”

It had been a long time since Leo had heard an opposing manager say something like that about him.

Ever since his first season, opposing managers had almost always praised him, talking about how well he played and how naturally suited he was to football.

That finally changed this season, ahead of Matchday 21 of the Premier League, when Brentford’s manager decided to discuss Leo, football, and player valuations before the match.

The Brentford manager believed that the football world had elevated Leo far too much. In his opinion, no player should be worth 300 million.

On January 20, he explained his reasoning when reporters asked him about it.

After all, 300 million was worth more than Brentford’s entire squad combined, including every player on the bench.

“I thought about this when Liverpool played Inter Milan. Inter have been excellent. They’re Serie A champions, they reached the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League, yet their star players are only valued in the tens of millions.”

“Lautaro Martínez isn’t even valued at 100 million, although I think he’s worth that much now. Lin is valued at 300 million. Do you really think he’s worth three Lautaro Martínezes?”

“Of course not. He’s only one player. On the pitch, he can only do what one player is capable of doing. That’s why I think there should be a ceiling on footballers’ market values.”

“Maybe 200 million, perhaps a little higher. But 300 million simply doesn’t make sense. I’ll say it again. He can only do what one player can do.”

“And then there’s something else everyone has been talking about lately. His 600 million followers. Six hundred million?”

“Do you know how many followers all the Premier League clubs have combined?”

“Where did his 600 million followers even come from?”

“I honestly don’t know, and I don’t think he should have 600 million followers either!”

Brentford’s interim manager had obviously made those comments to provoke Leo.

If he could lead Brentford to victory over Liverpool and pick up more points during his brief spell in charge, there was a good chance he could turn his interim position into a permanent one.

So he was willing to try anything that might help Brentford beat Liverpool.

What he didn’t realize was that, after thinking it over so carefully, he had chosen the one approach he should have avoided.

As Klopp put it, “Why would you choose to antagonize Lin?”

“You’re much better off letting him play without giving him any extra motivation. That benefits you, not Liverpool.”

On the evening of January 20, Leo was adjusting his kit at Brentford’s stadium.

Even though Liverpool were the away side, Brentford supporters kept calling out to him as he jogged along the touchline during the warm-up, with plenty of them asking for autographs.

Zubizarreta was used to it by now. He had seen the same thing years earlier at the World Cup and European Championship, when supporters of other national teams had approached Leo as well.

A little over ten minutes later, Leo led Liverpool onto the pitch as usual.

But after stepping onto the field, he looked straight at Brentford’s interim manager.

Then Leo held up three fingers, followed by six.

Three for his 300 million valuation.

Six for his 600 million followers.

“Lin didn’t even wait until he scored to respond. He answered the Brentford manager’s recent comments the moment he walked onto the pitch.”

“Well, he certainly has the right to respond. Lin has been extraordinary over the past few seasons.”

Brentford’s interim manager could only pretend he hadn’t noticed.

On the pitch, Brentford lined up in a 3-5-2, the system they had favored throughout the season.

“Brentford start with Álvaro in goal.”

“The back three are Pinnock, Jansson, and Ajer.”

“Henry starts on the left of midfield, alongside Janelt, Nørgaard, Baptiste, and Roerslev.”

“Up front, it’s the strike partnership of Ivan Toney and Mbeumo.”

“Brentford have been very strong this season. Their standout players have been Ivan Toney and Mbeumo. Mbeumo does everything he can to create opportunities for Toney, while Toney’s finishing keeps improving and the goals keep coming.”

“Liverpool are sticking with the same starting lineup as their last match. Gvardiol and Van Dijk have established themselves as the first-choice center backs, with Díaz still on the left and Núñez through the middle.”

“A midfield featuring Rodri and Mac Allister should certainly reassure Liverpool supporters, while Joe Gomez starts at right back.”

This was Matchday 21 of the Premier League, and Liverpool had a chance to climb into third place.

Chelsea had suddenly slipped up, losing their Matchday 21 fixture just as Arsenal had. If Liverpool won again, they would move into third.

They would still be four points behind Manchester City, but at least they were steadily climbing the table.

Once the match began, Brentford immediately started playing long balls.

Mbeumo was particularly good at using his first touch to create space.

Every time he controlled the ball, he guided it into the ideal position before looking for Ivan Toney, whose shooting style bore some resemblance to Lautaro Martínez’s.

But compared with Lautaro’s more forceful shooting motion, Toney’s finishes tended to look lighter and more effortless.

In the 13th minute!

Leo carried the ball through midfield while Janelt and Nørgaard focused entirely on stopping him.

Mac Allister moved into support, received Leo’s pass, and sent it on to Díaz.

With Brentford playing three center backs, Díaz found himself one-on-one with Roerslev out wide.

Roerslev defended intelligently.

He didn’t rush toward Díaz. Instead, he allowed Díaz to carry the ball forward while gradually shifting toward his own right.

Díaz thought Roerslev was inviting him to cut inside.

In reality, Ajer had already stepped out of the penalty area and was moving across to trap Díaz on the wing with Roerslev.

Díaz had no choice but to keep driving forward.

His balance faltered slightly, and after colliding with Roerslev, he lost possession.

Ajer won the ball and fired a straight pass toward Nørgaard.

Leo instinctively moved to intercept it.

But Nørgaard never touched the ball.

Baptiste suddenly appeared in the passing lane and collected Ajer’s pass instead.

It was a pattern Brentford’s midfield used frequently.

They made it look as though the pass was intended for a player farther away, when the real receiver was positioned halfway along the passing lane.

By creating the illusion that the ball was headed toward the more distant player, they could disrupt the opponent’s defensive read.

This time, Leo fell for it.

Baptiste took one touch sideways before lifting the ball over Rodri and finding Mbeumo.

Mbeumo brought it down softly.

Then he played an equally delicate pass.

Ivan Toney leaned gently into Van Dijk.

He barely used any force at all, but that was exactly what made things difficult for Van Dijk, because he couldn’t use much force either.

If he knocked Toney down, Brentford might be awarded a penalty.

Van Dijk could only reach around from the left and use his arm to stop Toney from turning toward goal.

But Toney shot anyway.

He didn’t even turn his body.

He simply struck the ball straight toward Alisson.

Alisson had virtually no time to react, but he dropped quickly and somehow got his left hand to Toney’s shot.

“Gvardiol protects the loose ball, and Alisson gathers it! That’s exactly how Ivan Toney shoots. From most positions, a shot like that wouldn’t look particularly dangerous, but Toney always seems to produce it from exactly the right place to threaten the goalkeeper.”

“Sometimes you don’t even think Toney is going to shoot, and then suddenly the ball is in the net. He’s fourth in the Premier League scoring charts this season, Brentford’s leading scorer, and one of the most efficient finishers in the league.”

“Of course, Lin is even more efficient. Given the same number of attempts as other forwards, Lin needs 0.87 fewer shots for every goal he scores.”

Toney and Mbeumo continued creating opportunities for Brentford.

Their interim manager could almost see the permanent job within reach.

If he could beat Liverpool and then submit his application for the position, there was a very good chance the club would approve it.

After Alisson gathered the ball, Rodri was waiting just outside the penalty area.

Alisson rolled the ball onto the ground and played a short pass to him.

Alisson had always been one of the boldest goalkeepers with the ball at his feet.

Another goalkeeper from the same country was just as adventurous.

His name was Ederson.

Rodri drove the ball diagonally backward with plenty of spin.

Robertson moved away from Nørgaard and received it around midfield before finding Mac Allister. Their combination took Janelt out of the play as well.

That left Henry as the only Brentford midfielder still in position to deal with Leo.

Mac Allister advanced with the ball at an unusually slow pace.

It almost looked as though he simply couldn’t be bothered to run any faster.

In reality, he was waiting for the right passing lane to open.

Leo muscled past Henry and charged toward Ajer.

Then he slipped behind Ajer and headed toward Jansson.

Halfway toward Jansson, he suddenly stopped.

Mac Allister released the pass at that exact moment.

Jansson and Ajer were closing on Leo from opposite directions.

At first, Leo positioned his right foot as though he intended to control the ball farther in front of himself.

But as the pass rolled toward him, he suddenly shifted his right foot farther back, toward the goalkeeper and deeper inside the penalty area.

That sudden change, from shaping to control the ball ahead of himself to taking it farther back, completely fooled both Ajer and Jansson.

All they could do was watch as Leo controlled the ball and moved into the six-yard box.

Álvaro didn’t even know how he was supposed to react.

Very few goalkeepers ever had the experience of facing Leo inside the six-yard box.

Usually, he didn’t need to get anywhere near that close to score.

Leo swung his left leg and calmly guided the ball into the net.

All Álvaro could do was point furiously at Ajer and Jansson.

“You let him control the ball inside the six-yard box from that close?!”

“How am I supposed to save that?!”

Leo jogged straight toward Brentford’s interim manager.

Several Brentford players and assistant coaches were standing beside him, but not one of them stepped forward to make Leo leave.

“Tell me. How do you want to lose this match?”

The Brentford manager could only hope he had misheard him.

“Didn’t you say I can only do what one player is capable of doing?”

“Then let me tell you something. What I can do as a player and what other players can do are completely different things.”

“The football I play and the football everyone else plays aren’t even the same game.”