(Three Months Later: March)
Three months had passed in a blur of muddy pitches, dramatic victories, frustrating draws, and the constant, comforting rhythm of training, travel, and terrible jokes.
The dark cloud of suspicion surrounding Cristian Chivu's training ground incident had eventually dissipated, lost in the relentless news cycle, leaving only a faint, unsettling question mark in the back of Leon's mind.
Liverpool were still fighting fiercely on all fronts. They sat precariously at the top of the Premier League, locked in a brutal, three-way title race with Manchester City and a surprisingly resilient Arsenal. The Champions League knockout stages were looming, the round of 16 draw just days away. The machine was running hot, firing on all cylinders, but the pressure was immense.
The atmosphere at the AXA Training Centre on a crisp March morning was a perfect reflection of their situation: sharp, focused, and humming with a vibrant, almost giddy, energy.
