Genius - Chapter 521: It’s Fine, You’ll Get Used to Losing to Leo (Patreon)

“At first, a lot of Manchester United fans thought Bruno Fernandes might eventually develop into a midfielder like Lin. He was already good at being the focal point of the team at Sporting CP, and he’s still good at it after joining United. There really aren’t many midfielders capable of carrying that kind of responsibility.”

Gullit had mixed feelings about Bruno Fernandes.

He admired Bruno’s ability, but at the same time, he felt Bruno sometimes failed to fully bring that ability out on the pitch. At other times, his emotions seemed to affect his performances.

Manchester United’s equalizer forced Liverpool to make defensive adjustments as well.

Rodri alone clearly was not enough to contain Bruno Fernandes.

Lingard’s movement had been restricted by Leo, but now that Bruno had become the focal point of United’s attack, Leo also shifted his defensive attention toward him.

Both teams were playing at a furious tempo.

“Bruno Fernandes carries the ball through midfield. Another quick dribble to organize the attack, and that brings Lingard into play. Elanga is pushing forward. Lingard tries the chipped pass, but it’s blocked!”

Mac Allister closed down Lingard and successfully prevented him from playing the chip.

Lingard had no choice but to recycle possession.

As the ball came back, Bruno Fernandes was preparing to immediately lift it over the top for Rashford.

Leo appeared at exactly the right moment.

Not only did he muscle Bruno off the ball, he sent Bruno crashing to the ground as well.

Rangnick protested from the touchline, insisting it was a foul.

But Leo had simply won a perfect physical challenge.

He turned and drove forward with the ball.

Once again, Matić stood in his way.

It was one of Leo’s favorite situations.

Leo repeatedly burst toward the left while carrying the ball.

Those explosive touches were extremely difficult to control. Most players could only push the ball a short distance forward each time, otherwise they would struggle to keep the ball within reach while accelerating.

Leo, however, controlled every burst perfectly.

With each one, he pulled a little farther away from Matić until the United midfielder was gradually losing any chance of staying with him.

Matić had no choice but to foul him.

If Leo got past him, United’s back line would be facing exactly the same problem as before.

But even fouling Leo was easier said than done.

Once Matić committed to it, he did not hesitate.

While Leo’s arm was still within reach, Matić grabbed it firmly with both hands and pulled downward with everything he had.

Leo kept sprinting.

Even with Matić clinging to his left arm, his acceleration only became more powerful.

To the astonishment of everyone watching, Matić had started with his weight leaning backward as he tried to drag Leo down, yet Leo forcibly pulled him until his entire center of gravity shifted forward.

Matić still refused to let go.

He looked almost like the hand of a broken clock being forced around the dial.

His feet seemed rooted to the grass, but his upper body pivoted around them as Leo dragged him from one side to the other.

Even after being pulled off balance like that, Matić still did not release his grip.

Leo finally stopped.

He could actually have kept dragging Matić with him.

But Leo respected him.

The referee blew for the foul and showed Matić a yellow card.

Leo then grabbed Matić by the right forearm with his left hand and helped him back to his feet.

Not a single fan who had witnessed the scene could believe there could be such a huge difference in strength between two professional athletes.

“Who was it that said I should go test my strength against Lin? No chance. I’m not doing that.”

“Matić may not be quick, but he’s extremely strong. And yet Lin just dragged him completely out of position!”

“He can’t even foul him properly!”

“How are you supposed to defend that?”

“One player simply can’t stop him!”

Scholes found it frightening too.

This was no longer a question of whether someone wanted to defend Leo.

The problem was that one player simply could not stop him, no matter what method he used.

Even deliberately fouling him had already become one of the available options, and that still was not enough.

“Maybe Bruno Fernandes is starting to understand why people say he still has areas where he needs to improve before he can compare with Lin.”

“When it comes to pure strength, there isn’t a player in the entire Premier League, or perhaps even in world football, who can match Lin!”

“Over the years, Lin has become better and more complete in so many areas that people seem to have forgotten something. Strength was what originally made him famous.”

“Before he had elite free-kick technique, before he could cross like this, before his vision and passing became so good, Lin was already an important Liverpool midfielder because of his physicality and powerful long-range shooting!”

Leo realized that physical battles were particularly effective against United’s current midfield.

Bruno Fernandes was fairly slender.

Lingard was not especially strong in physical duels either.

Matić had good strength, but he lacked pace. And strength without the speed to go with it could only threaten Leo so much.

As long as Leo fully exploited his physical advantage, he could dominate Manchester United’s midfield.

The free kick was too far from goal for Leo to consider shooting directly.

Instead, he quickly played it to Rodri and continued pushing forward through midfield.

Every time Leo carried the ball, he initiated contact first, deliberately using his explosive strength to batter his way through United’s midfield.

Matić had no choice but to defend him together with his teammates.

They repeatedly combined their strength in midfield just to slow Leo down.

Even then, stopping his breakthroughs remained extremely difficult.

“Matić has to battle Lin physically again. I have no idea what he’s feeling right now, but judging from his expression, you can definitely see how painful this is for him!”

Leo and Mac Allister exchanged quick passes through the middle.

Mac Allister carried the ball forward and drew Bruno Fernandes toward him before sending it toward Matić’s position.

Leo made his run.

He knocked Matić aside, collected the pass, and kept accelerating.

This time, Matić could not even foul him.

Manchester United’s defensive line immediately pushed up and stepped away from the penalty area, trying to give themselves more room to deal with Leo.

Leo brought the ball under control, then accelerated again.

He beat Lindelöf and deliberately charged straight toward United’s penalty area.

The moment he entered the box, Maguire and Phil Jones both threw themselves into him.

It was the only way they could stop him.

But they were a fraction too late.

Leo had already carried the ball into the penalty area.

Then, as both defenders crashed into him, he went down with the contact.

“Penalty!”

“Maguire and Phil Jones bring Lin down, and Liverpool have a penalty!”

“There’s nothing you can do. You simply can’t stop Lin. Even two players crashing into him couldn’t keep him out, and now they’ve given Liverpool a penalty!”

“You just have to get used to it. Once you finally accept that you really can’t defend Lin, maybe you’ll become a better footballer for it!”