The most important part of the "Powerful Aerial Hammer" tactic was making sure the ball stayed in the air.
Liverpool worked hard to keep it flying, linking up the wide areas and the center through the space above the pitch. And with Leo Lin attacking again and again, he kept entering Arsenal's airspace and declaring his sovereignty.
"Papastathopoulos and Mustafi have barely left the penalty area. They're watching Leo Lin at all times, ready to defend the headers."
"But some headers aren't something you can defend just because you want to, just like some love isn't something you can buy just because you want to..."
Scholes had no idea why he had made that comparison, but he wanted to, so he did.
Ashley Cole, sitting beside him, looked at Scholes strangely. For the first time, he felt Scholes' commentary was a little odd.
Leo Lin headed the ball into Arsenal's net. After the celebration ended, the match resumed.
Leo Lin continued lurking in Arsenal's penalty area, repeatedly using his heading ability to attack their goal. Leno was constantly on edge. Every time Leo Lin rose high into the air, he could barely suppress the urge to make a save.
Arsenal began shifting their defensive focus back toward the flanks. To stop Liverpool from playing this tactic, they first had to stop Liverpool's wide players from sending in crosses.
Iwobi and Niles both dropped back to defend, denying Robertson and Arnold good passing space.
That meant Arsenal would have fewer players in attack, but they had Aubameyang!
The 30th minute!
"Van Dijk switches it out wide. Shaqiri receives!"
"Back into the middle. Fabinho takes it and passes again. Mané has it on the left!"
"He wants to find Robertson, but Niles intercepts!"
"Arsenal have a counterattack. A direct pass!"
"Ramsey receives and lays it back. Xhaka passes again!"
Ramsey's layoff was not meant as a simple back pass. It was to give Xhaka room to play the ball.
Aubameyang had already started his run when Ramsey sent the ball back, so he reacted faster than Lovren.
By the time Xhaka launched the long pass, Aubameyang had already shaken off Lovren and gained at least a step's advantage.
Robertson had joined the attack and was not in his defensive position at left-back. Rodri and Lovren both turned and gave chase, but Aubameyang was simply too fast!
"Aubameyang, incredible pace!"
"He's through one-on-one!"
"Alisson comes out!"
"They collide! Both of them go down!"
"The referee blows to stop play!"
Alisson chose to rush out, relying on his sharp instincts to contest Xhaka's pass with Aubameyang. They were both going for the same ball, so they crashed into each other hard.
In the end, both players fell to the ground at the same time, clearly shaken by the impact. Leo Lin immediately rushed back to check on Alisson, whose nose was bleeding heavily.
"He's bleeding. Alisson's nose has been split open, and Aubameyang has a small cut on his forehead too. Neither of them pulled out of that challenge!"
The referee called a foul on Arsenal. The Arsenal players were furious, but they had no choice but to accept the decision.
"How long are you going to keep complaining? Are we still playing or not?"
"Enough already. Are you seriously saying that wasn't a foul?"
As captain, Leo Lin naturally stood up for Alisson.
After the team doctor checked him over, Alisson had the cut briefly patched with a plaster, then got back to his feet and continued the match.
This was his Liverpool debut. He wanted to nail down the starting spot. He wanted to prove to everyone that he was worth the transfer fee Liverpool had paid for him.
Leo Lin could feel Alisson's fighting spirit. He knew this guy from South America was clearly the same kind of person as him.
Leo Lin liked people like that. People who did not give up, who had fight in them, who dared to charge forward and give everything.
"Alisson's excellent decision to come out has wiped out a potential crisis for Liverpool. Otherwise, Aubameyang would have had a one-on-one chance to score!"
"A goalkeeper is crucial to a team. Liverpool have made another smart deal. As I've said before, they always seem able to sign the right players."
"Maybe the other Premier League clubs shouldn't be copying Liverpool's operating model. Maybe they should be figuring out how to poach people from Liverpool's scouting system instead!"
Scholes had touched on a key issue. He had practically voiced what Manchester United were thinking.
Because Manchester United, Manchester City, and several other clubs were all looking for ways to poach members of Liverpool's coaching staff and scouting team.
Real Madrid had their eyes on Krawietz. They were eager to make him an offer, one Krawietz simply could not refuse.
But Krawietz, standing on the touchline, naturally had no idea what sort of choice he would soon be facing. He was smiling happily, encouraging Alisson and continuing to push every player to keep running.
The first half ended amid aerial duels and repeated sprints from both sides. Arsenal wanted to make use of Aubameyang's burst of pace, while Liverpool wanted to make use of Leo Lin and Firmino's heading ability. Both teams' tactical aims were very clear.
"After these 45 minutes, we can all see what kind of tactics both teams want to play."
"The difference is that Liverpool have scored through theirs. Arsenal have also played very well, but they haven't scored."
After the second half began, neither team changed its approach.
Liverpool bombarded Arsenal again and again, and Arsenal's back line began to show signs of fatigue. Aerial fatigue.
You could head it away once. You could head it away twice. But the moment you made a mistake, Leo Lin would seize it.
The 56th minute!
"Arsenal go long, looking for Aubameyang."
"The placement isn't good. Alisson takes control of it. He sees the chance!"
"A long pass looking for Mané. A headed layoff to Firmino!"
"He turns his head and sends it on! Firmino with a beautiful headed through ball to Robertson!"
"Cross!"
Robertson had not even started to cross yet, but Scholes had already shouted the word, because he knew that was exactly how Liverpool were going to play.
Papastathopoulos jumped again, but even he had not realized that he had already fallen into a state of aerial fatigue.
That fatigue made him subconsciously lose a bit of his drive in the air. But Leo Lin was not tired. He jumped with full force, attacking the ball with the same fierce momentum as before, beating Papastathopoulos to it and heading it into the goal.
The teenager's body rose through the air as if glowing with golden light.
"Air Dominator!"
"Sky Dominator, Power Dominator..."
"He is the overlord of the sky, the daddy of the air!"
"He has left Papastathopoulos completely helpless!"
"He has smashed Arsenal's back line into nothing but helpless gestures!"
"Foot-stomping!"
"Sighing!"
"Gullit, you're sitting right next to me, but I'm going to unleash my ultimate move right in front of you!"
"This guy is definitely going to grow into an upgraded version of you!"
"An upgraded version of Gullit!"
...
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