Lukaku and Tendou were head to head.
The Belgian "god" of a striker was attempting to overwhelm the Liverpool kid with sheer presence, to make him back down.
But Tendou wasn't afraid at all, which made Lukaku a bit awkward.
A 17-year-old kid isn't even afraid of me? How can this be?
But to actually start a fight, he wasn't that stupid.
Salah was originally rolling on the ground, watching his teammates stick up for him.
But when Firmino saw that Tendou was squaring up against Manchester United's big man, he immediately forgot about Salah. Afraid that Tendou would be at a disadvantage, he rushed over and pushed Lukaku away.
On the surface, the Belgian striker was very dissatisfied, but in his heart, he was grateful to Firmino for giving him a way out.
"I've got my eyes on you, kid," Lukaku said, pointing two fingers at his own eyes, then at Tendou.
The scene was chaotic. The red smoke at Anfield grew thicker.
"See that? This is the most heated place in the world. This is a true professional match," Prince said to his players.
The shocked, country-bumpkin expressions on the faces of Chigiri and the others made him very satisfied.
After all, I made it to the top of the world playing in a league like this.
"Isn't this... dangerous?" Chigiri felt that if this continued, it could escalate into an all-out brawl.
"Why else do you think football is the modern war?" Prince said in the tone of an experienced veteran. "This is a real blood battle. Savor the charm of a top-tier football match."
At Anfield, it wasn't just the players on the field; some Manchester United and Liverpool fans in the stands were also tangled up together.
The head referee finally showed a yellow card, calming the conflict.
"If you want to continue this, I promise I won't be lenient," the referee had to remind the players of both teams.
Only then did the match resume.
Liverpool took a throw-in. Manchester United continued to make frequent "hard-nosed" plays, making the game fragmented.
"The rhythm of the game is very broken."
"Ten Hag clearly knows that Manchester United is not as strong as Liverpool. They want to use this method to disrupt the mentality of the Liverpool players."
"This kind of behavior is shameful, but it is often very effective when a weaker team faces a stronger one."
The Liverpool commentator did not hide his contempt for Manchester United.
In the 17th minute of the match, Darmian sent a long ball from the backfield to find Pogba.
The Liverpool midfielders immediately pressed him.
This was the reason why Mourinho didn't like to use Pogba.
Although the French midfielder was exceptionally talented, he held onto the ball for too long. After receiving it, he always liked to dribble for a bit before releasing it.
In Mourinho's counter-attacking system, this was a serious taboo.
Therefore, Pogba was not happy playing in Mourinho's tactical system, and Mourinho did not like to use this talented midfielder either.
Henderson, in coordination with his teammates, completed the tackle. He then immediately found Tendou and sent the ball over.
Tendou took the ball and immediately picked up speed.
Ten Hag had belittled Tendou before the match, but in reality, he was more worried about this Liverpool newcomer than anyone.
As Tendou burst through the center, the Manchester United defenders decisively swarmed him, wanting to show this newcomer the strength of real men.
But Tendou was a clever one.
He immediately gave the opponent a taste of La Masia's specialty.
Whenever the Manchester United players treated him roughly, Tendou would decisively "dive."
He had never felt that there was anything wrong with "diving," especially for technical players.
This type of player usually has poor physical resistance and is a prime target for defensive thugs.
If you don't find a way to protect yourself, probably not many can play until they're 30.
And besides, this was the fucking Premier League.
Of course, for someone as tall and built as Tendou, it was a bit unreasonable to just fall down. He had to be creative to get benefits from the referee.
By the 25th minute of the match, Tendou had already been kicked down by the Manchester United defenders several times.
But no matter how many times he fell, he would immediately get back up with a "resolute" face, never complaining to the referee.
This caused the Liverpool fans to curse loudly.
At the same time, in their hearts, they had fundamentally accepted this kid from Asia.
This is a man of our Liverpool!
Tough enough!
The referee also felt that Manchester United was going a bit too far and repeatedly warned their players not to be too aggressive.
A minute later, Liverpool won the ball in their own half and launched a counter-attack.
Manchester United instantly perked up. Liverpool's counter-attack was incredibly sharp.
Once they get into a comfortable rhythm, they can complete an attack in just ten seconds with only 5 or 6 passes.
...
And so, the moment Tendou got the ball in midfield, he was immediately kicked down by Herrera.
This time, Tendou quickly fell to the ground, covering his face and feigning agony!
The head referee couldn't take it anymore and decisively showed Herrera a yellow card.
"I... I didn't even kick him! I didn't even use any force! He's diving!"
"He said in an interview that his idol is CR7!"
Herrera's slightly honest-looking face was filled with grievance from this yellow card.
"You bastard! He's only 17! He's just a kid!"
Henderson rushed forward, his head almost touching Herrera's face, the spit from his angry words spraying directly onto the other's face.
The Liverpool players were very united. Half the team came up to question the poor Herrera.
...
The head referee hurriedly maintained order.
Of course, Tendou did not peek through his fingers. He knew that the camera was most likely on him right now, and he couldn't let people see his devious thoughts.
After a while, once the situation had calmed down, Tendou made a show of rubbing his ankle joints before finally getting up to move around.
This whole set of details was very nice. When the Liverpool fans saw him get up, they immediately gave him a warm round of applause.
As expected of a man of their Liverpool!
"Liar! Big liar!"
Herrera was filled with humiliation. If only there was some real justice in England, he would definitely go to the authorities and ask for it.
In less than 30 minutes, Manchester United had already received two yellow cards. They no longer dared to make overly aggressive moves.
Liverpool's chance had come.
Tendou took a quick free kick and found Mané on the wing.
The ball was like it had GPS, curving around the defender and landing smoothly.
Mané took it in his stride, shook off the defender, and burst into the penalty area like a sharp knife!
"Good chance!"
"Mané has broken into the box!"
"He shoots!"
"De Gea with a flying save! He's blocked it!"
"A world-class save!"
"TJ seems to really like taking quick free kicks, and his passes always find his teammates perfectly!"
"We almost broke through Manchester United's goal!"
Although Mané's shot didn't go in, the momentum had now completely shifted to Liverpool.
The opponent's attack was too sharp, not a single wasted motion.
...
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