Genius - Chapter 524: Bro, the Way You’re Playing Is Scaring Me! (Patreon)

“Next, take a look at the footage from the FA Cup semifinal and see how Manchester United defended against Lin. They had Matić confront him directly, while players like Lingard disrupted him around midfield. The idea was to keep Lin occupied so he couldn’t help defend elsewhere, allowing Bruno Fernandes to escape his marking.”

“But in the end, United were still comprehensively beaten by Liverpool, because Liverpool aren’t a one-man team. Lin isn’t the only player in their squad who can make a major impact.”

“So for this match, Çalhanoğlu, I want you to challenge Lin proactively in midfield. Brozović, don’t worry about Lin. Your job is to deal with Mac Allister.”

“Perisic, attack down the flank as much as possible and take on Alexander-Arnold. The assistant coach will have you repeatedly watch footage of Sancho beating Alexander-Arnold!”

Inzaghi Jr. assigned almost all of Inter Milan’s defensive responsibilities to the midfield.

Çalhanoğlu, Brozović, and Vidal would help contain Liverpool through the middle, reducing the pressure on De Vrij and Bastoni.

“Škriniar, your job is to mark Rojas! Dumfries, you’ll deal with Díaz one-on-one. You absolutely have the ability to handle him by yourself!”

Inzaghi Jr. was not particularly worried about Inter Milan’s flanks.

His main concern was midfield.

Liverpool’s preparations had also focused heavily on that area.

Mac Allister and Rodri’s roles had become increasingly settled over the previous few matches.

Klopp knew that once a tactical approach became fixed, it brought certain advantages, but it also gave opposing managers opportunities to find ways around it.

So for the second leg of this Champions League tie, Liverpool were going to make changes.

If Inter Milan could not beat Liverpool by a large enough margin in the second leg, they would be eliminated from the Champions League.

Being knocked out by Liverpool this season would not necessarily bring much criticism from the supporters, but as a young manager, Inzaghi Jr. still dreamed of winning the Champions League.

On February 9, Anfield was packed once again.

Inter Milan entered the locker room ten minutes before Liverpool, while the Liverpool players calmly went through their preparations.

“Everyone, the second leg of this Champions League tie is about to begin.”

“Inter Milan have named another strong lineup, while Liverpool have also started several of their key players. Both sides are clearly taking this second leg very seriously!”

Despite being Liverpool’s captain, Leo was in the players’ tunnel chatting with the Inter Milan players.

He sat on the steps while several Inter players gathered around him, and the group talked happily together.

The referee was soon ready.

Inter Milan stepped out at Anfield and took in the atmosphere.

The moment the roar of the crowd filled the stadium, the match was underway.

Inter immediately dropped back.

Liverpool kicked off.

After receiving the ball from Núñez, Leo initially wanted to move it across to Mac Allister to avoid Inter’s early pressure.

But no pressure came.

Instead, Inter Milan’s players dropped their midfield line deeper.

“Right from kickoff, Inter have pulled their midfield line back. They’re clearly trying to defend Lin and Mac Allister!”

Mac Allister advanced calmly, with Brozović sticking close to him every step of the way.

Vidal kept his attention on Díaz.

Inzaghi Jr. had already realized that while Leo was extremely dangerous through the middle, Díaz on the left could also create plenty of chances for Liverpool inside the penalty area.

“Inter have focused heavily on Díaz from the opening whistle. That makes sense. Díaz is very good at creating chances for Liverpool inside the box.”

Leo carried the ball forward, constantly changing direction as he tried to shake off Çalhanoğlu.

Çalhanoğlu clearly could not handle him alone.

But Bastoni was there to help.

Leo kept going.

After completely beating Çalhanoğlu, he drove straight at Bastoni and fired.

He was neither too close to goal nor too far away.

It was almost the perfect range for Leo to unleash one of his long shots.

Bastoni immediately threw his body in the way.

The ball smashed into the right side of his waist and continued toward goal.

Handanović had already covered the near post with his hand and judged that the deflection was going wide, so he deliberately avoided touching it.

“Handanović didn’t dare get a hand to that. If he had, the deflection might have sent it into his own net. Liverpool still win a corner, though. Bastoni blocks Lin’s long-range effort!”

He had successfully stopped the shot.

But the right side of Bastoni’s waist was tingling badly.

Very badly.

Salah played the corner straight back to Leo.

Leo was on the right side of the penalty area, not in an especially central position.

Çalhanoğlu did not immediately close him down.

Leo suddenly cut the ball onto his left and shot again.

Another fiercely struck effort flew toward goal.

Handanović shifted across, set himself for the waist-high shot, and managed to push it away.

“Another one!”

“Lin has been shooting constantly since the start of the match, and every effort has been dangerous!”

Inzaghi Jr. was beginning to sense a problem.

But Inter could not simply concentrate all their defenders on Leo.

If they did, Mac Allister or Díaz would punish them just as Liverpool had punished Manchester United.

“Çalhanoğlu, keep marking Lin. Vidal, Díaz is under control right now. You’re defending well!”

Inzaghi Jr. gave his players encouragement at the right moment, then continued watching closely.

Klopp was not even standing on the touchline.

He remained seated beside Krawietz, seemingly not especially concerned with what was happening on the pitch.

Instead, he kept talking with Krawietz and Zubizarreta.

Inzaghi Jr. had no idea what Klopp was discussing.

As Liverpool continued attacking, the Inter supporters grew increasingly nervous.

Corner after corner began piling up.

Leo kept looking for shooting opportunities that ordinary players would never consider.

Opportunities from which he could still produce a high-quality attempt.

22nd minute!

Lautaro Martínez challenged Van Dijk for the ball.

Gvardiol immediately sprinted forward, leaving Džeko behind, then collected Van Dijk’s pass and continued carrying the ball upfield.

Mac Allister moved around behind Brozović and drew Vidal toward him.

At the same time, Díaz made a run inside Dumfries.

Gvardiol immediately released the pass.

The ball traveled through the space between Mac Allister and Brozović and found Díaz perfectly.

Škriniar instantly became alert.

He had to stop Díaz from entering the penalty area.

But Díaz did not hold onto the ball for long.

Instead, he played it back toward the middle.

Leo appeared again.

He swung his left foot.

From a more advanced position, he unleashed his most powerful shot yet.

Bastoni and De Vrij both stuck out a leg.

The ball smashed into them and still continued toward goal.

Handanović reacted immediately, jumping and using both palms to force the ball upward.

Even then, the ball seemed to carry an incredible amount of downward force.

To Handanović, it did not feel like he was pushing away a football.

It felt like he was trying to lift a dumbbell.

An extremely heavy one.

He pushed upward with everything he had.

At the last possible moment, Handanović finally managed to keep it out.

Bastoni, De Vrij, and Handanović all ended up on the ground.

It had taken all three of them, giving everything they had, just to stop one of Leo’s shots.

“I know what Inzaghi Jr. is trying to do. To completely shut down Liverpool’s midfield, he only wants to assign one or two players to Lin!”

“It’s almost become a cycle. One coach decides he needs several players to stop Lin, then loses. The next Liverpool opponent looks at that defeat and decides the solution is to use only one or two players instead. Then they lose too, and Liverpool’s next opponent concludes that they absolutely have to send several players after Lin again.”

“Bro, please. Can you stop playing like this? You’re seriously scaring me!”