Genius - Chapter 552: You Know, I Love Playing Against Everton! (Patreon)

Leo had been carefully controlling the tempo throughout the match. He was being so cautious because he didn't want Benfica to figure out what Liverpool were planning.

Liverpool had spent so long dictating the pace precisely to keep Benfica from launching a counterattack.

For some reason, Benfica's players had been forced to follow Liverpool's rhythm the entire time. By the closing stages, when they finally tried to raise the tempo, they found that they simply couldn't.

70th minute!

Gonçalo Ramos looked for a teammate in midfield. On the right, Rafa Silva hadn't been given a single real opportunity to cross from the byline because Robertson had completely shut off that route.

Robertson was willing to let Rafa Silva deliver a 45-degree diagonal cross, but he refused to let him get to the byline for a Cutback Cross. It was a defensive approach Klopp and Zubizarreta had identified.

Rafa Silva's crossing was accurate, but most of his best deliveries came from positions closer to the byline or the goal.

Once he was kept farther away from the penalty area or forced into a poor angle, the overall quality of his crosses dropped considerably.

Seeing Rafa Silva barely making any runs, Gonçalo Ramos had no choice but to keep carrying the ball forward. There was no opening for a long-range shot either, with Rodri perfectly positioned.

Yaremchuk was trying to shake off Gvardiol, but despite being tall and powerful, Gvardiol was also extremely mobile.

Gvardiol stayed tight to Yaremchuk, while Van Dijk helped Alisson read Gonçalo Ramos's attacking options.

Unable to find a better option, Gonçalo Ramos started carrying the ball forward on his own in Liverpool's half. Leo immediately spotted an opportunity to win it back.

He charged toward Gonçalo Ramos at full speed. Before Gonçalo Ramos could even dribble close to Rodri, Leo had already caught up from behind.

Leo initially wanted to reach out and tug him back, but the referee was standing far too close. Rather than risk being spotted, he accelerated from a diagonal angle behind Gonçalo Ramos and gradually moved alongside him to apply pressure.

Feeling Leo closing in, Gonçalo Ramos slowed down. Leo took advantage, surged around from behind, and got directly in front of him to block his path.

"Gonçalo Ramos can't keep going. When Leo gets in front of you like that, you're not getting past him!"

Gonçalo Ramos had no choice but to pass to Everton, but Joe Gomez immediately stepped up as well, leaving Everton with nowhere to go. He suddenly looked flustered.

With no room to dribble and no passing lane available, Everton was trapped on the left by Leo and Joe Gomez.

Liverpool then launched their attack. The match was entering its final stretch, and it was time to try to extend the lead.

Gonçalo Ramos hadn't even noticed that Taarabt had also pushed forward behind him. Benfica, already trailing, had hoped to create something from the attack, but Liverpool had now taken possession.

Taarabt hurried back to defend, but Salah was already near midfield. Joe Gomez immediately sent the ball forward.

The decisive pass made Liverpool's counter look dangerous. Salah received it and turned, with Szoboszlai offering support on the right.

Liverpool's well-drilled attacking movement occupied Grimaldo and forced Vertonghen to provide Covering out wide.

Salah then drove straight through the middle with the ball.

A player with elite dribbling ability can threaten a defense from anywhere on the pitch.

Salah watched Weigl as he advanced. His body initially suggested he was going to cut inside, but the instant Weigl stepped toward him, Salah suddenly knocked the ball away from him.

His explosive acceleration, combined with the sudden burst of the ball, took him straight past Weigl. Salah kept going.

Benfica's back line now consisted only of Otamendi, who looked slightly distracted, and Gilberto.

Otamendi looked distracted because even though Salah was the one charging toward him with the ball, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone else was lurking just behind him.

And his instinct was right.

There was someone behind Salah.

Leo was following directly in his wake, using Salah's run to keep Vlachodimos from tracking his position. Then, as Salah approached Otamendi, he suddenly dropped his shoulder as if he were going to burst past him.

The abrupt change of rhythm drew Otamendi's full attention. The veteran defender reacted well and didn't allow Salah to beat him.

But Salah had never intended to get past him.

The moment he saw Otamendi fully focused on defending him, Salah deliberately made it look as though he had lost control of the ball and knocked it sharply to the right.

Otamendi thought Salah had made a mistake.

Instead, Leo burst into view and struck first time.

The low shot dipped beautifully and slammed into the Benfica net.

Vlachodimos hadn't even noticed Leo!

"Yes! What a play! What a goal!"

Gullit launched into another excited piece of commentary.

"Leo scores for Liverpool!"

"My favorite player has scored!"

"Liverpool beat Benfica and leave the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon with the victory!"

"Liverpool didn't even go all out in this first leg, but they managed their energy brilliantly throughout the match and came away with a thoroughly deserved win!"

"Leo was undoubtedly the best player on the pitch. I've gotten used to it over the past few seasons. He's always the standout performer, especially in the Champions League!"

"After losing at home like this, Benfica's head coach is probably going to face plenty of criticism from the supporters."

"Playing attacking football can win you a lot of fans. Leeds United are a good example."

"But you also have to be pragmatic. If Leeds want to stay in the Premier League, they need tactics that give them a better chance of picking up points."

"And if Benfica want to reach the next round of the Champions League, they also need tactics better suited to winning Champions League matches!"

Gullit had noticed that more and more teams were becoming fixated on a particular style of play. Brighton, for example, repeatedly emphasized possession.

But even Barcelona had begun experimenting with crosses from wide areas instead of relying on one single approach.

If anything, teams with less individual quality had even more reason to diversify their tactics and give themselves more ways to win.

Liverpool ultimately left the Estádio da Luz with the victory, and before long, Matchday 30 of the Premier League was underway.

...

On March 29, Liverpool welcomed Everton. Not Benfica's left winger Everton, but the Premier League club Everton.

"Ever since I started playing in the Premier League, Everton have been my favorite opponent!"

Leo made his fondness for Everton clear in a pre-match interview.

The fans didn't believe him for a second.

After all, no team had suffered more at Liverpool's hands over the past few seasons than Everton.

Whenever Liverpool faced them, they attacked relentlessly and showed absolutely no mercy.

Leo wasn't in the starting lineup for Matchday 30, which should have been good news for Everton.

But this Liverpool side was different from the teams of previous seasons. Even without Leo starting, Liverpool came out attacking from the opening whistle, and Everton quickly conceded.

"Gravenberch. He uses his pace so well. He's not especially fast, but he always seems to recognize the right moment and the right space, then carries the ball exactly where Liverpool need it!"

"Now it's played to Salah. Salah attacks."

"He curls it!"

"Beautiful!"

"A magnificent finish from Salah on the right! He beats Pickford!"

"Over the past six seasons, no Premier League goalkeeper has conceded more goals against Liverpool than Pickford!"

"He's remained Everton's starting goalkeeper all this time, and as England's first-choice keeper, he's also had to face Spain quite a few times!"

"Everton are only one goal behind right now. I really don't want to say this, but after looking at the scorelines from their recent meetings, I think Everton should defend with everything they have. They absolutely cannot afford to give Liverpool more chances!"

Gullit offered Everton that advice, but they still couldn't hold out.

32nd minute!

Gakpo suddenly exploded down the left, using a completely different method from Salah. Instead of simply cutting inside, he alternated between driving toward the byline and cutting back inside, repeatedly changing direction until he beat Coleman.

After breaking into Everton's penalty area from the left, Gakpo squared the ball across the middle for Núñez to finish.

Liverpool's supporters knew there was no chance the score would stay like this.

Sure enough, in the 40th minute, Núñez timed another run perfectly to beat the Successful Offside Trap, collected Ødegaard's assist, and scored to make it 3-0.

The fans couldn't help thinking back to what Leo had said before the match.

"I really like playing against Everton."

Klopp brought Leo on for the second half, and Leo's performance showed everyone exactly why he enjoyed facing Everton so much.

The second half had barely begun when Leo scored from a free kick, beating Pickford for Liverpool's fourth goal.

Gakpo then scored again to complete his brace. Near the end of the match, Salah broke through and won a penalty. Leo handed it to Núñez, allowing him to complete his hat trick.

The Uruguayan striker had finally produced his best performance since joining Liverpool.

"Whenever Liverpool play Everton, every one of these players seems even more desperate to score than the last!"

"That's perfectly normal. Score against Everton and Liverpool fans will start looking at you differently. They might even start praising you like crazy!"

"Now I finally understand why Leo says he loves playing Everton. Every time Liverpool finish a match against them, the whole team's form shoots through the roof!"