Zubimendi took one touch, calm as ever, and Izan was already back on his feet, spinning away from the tackle and pointing sharply into the right half space.
"Lemme have itt!!," he barked, the word short and sharp, more command than request.
Zubimendi did not hesitate.
He slid the ball into him with the inside of his boot, firm and precise, and Izan received it on the half turn, taking a touch and then another to roll his body across the ball, and Alexis Mac Allister was suddenly reaching for air.
A collective intake of breath swept the stands as Mac Allister tried to recover, stretching a leg, but Izan had already slipped past, carrying the ball close, his strides shortening as the space ahead began to collapse.
Liverpool's midfield scrambled back, red shirts converging while the defensive line retreated in a straight line that Van Dijk was trying to hold together with shouts and raised arms.
"He's at it again. Every touch feels like an invitation to chaos."
