Under the reassurance of Gerrard and the others, the Liverpool players quickly regained their composure. Apart from Arbeloa—who had just been shown a yellow card and was still brimming with frustration—the rest of the team calmly returned to their positions.
Play resumed swiftly, with Liverpool restarting from their own half.
Trailing by a goal, Liverpool immediately launched a counterattack. As the team's midfield orchestrator, Xabi Alonso had ample touches in the early buildup.
Though a Spaniard, Alonso was stylistically different from Xavi Hernández of Barcelona—who was renowned for intricate short passing. Alonso's strength lay in his exceptional long passing range and accuracy, which ranked among the finest in world football. His vision and ability to switch play with a single strike of the ball made him invaluable in Liverpool's transitional play.
Liverpool's wingers stretched wide, clearly aiming to capitalize on Alonso's pinpoint long balls. But just as he received possession, Alonso was clattered by Danny Drinkwater, who closed in aggressively.
The referee blew for a foul, but Drinkwater deliberately stood over the ball, preventing a quick restart.
"Alonso's weakness—his lack of pace and limited agility when under pressure!"
"Stick close! Don't let him pick his passes!"
This was one of the specific instructions Luton manager Ethan had given Drinkwater before the match: neutralize Xabi Alonso.
In midfield, Liverpool were relying on Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano. The Argentine was a tenacious ball-winner but not an advanced playmaker. His strength lay in breaking up opposition attacks, not launching his own. Limiting Alonso's time on the ball meant forcing Mascherano to take over creative duties—an area in which he was far less comfortable.
While Mascherano could make safe, lateral passes, he lacked Alonso's flair and technique to deliver those incisive, game-breaking long balls. As a result, Liverpool's attack stagnated.
Throughout the first half, Alonso struggled. Every time he tried to drop deep and dictate play, Drinkwater was there—persistent and disruptive.
Alonso was a quintessential modern deep-lying playmaker—a regista. As football evolved, more managers started deploying their creative fulcrums deeper to evade the pressing traps of the congested attacking third. Alonso fit this mold perfectly.
But with the playmaker dropping back, opposition managers naturally responded by pushing their defensive midfielders higher to cut off his supply line. Ethan's strategy was not revolutionary—Rafa Benítez had anticipated this—but it was well executed.
Benítez had expected N'Golo Kanté, Luton's most capable ball-winner, to shadow Alonso. After all, Drinkwater often had attacking responsibilities in Luton's quick counterattack system: Kanté breaks up the play, feeds Drinkwater, and Drinkwater transitions to attack.
Yet, as the match unfolded, it was clear that Drinkwater had been assigned to Alonso—and he was sticking to him like glue.
Benítez furrowed his brow as he glanced across at Ethan on the touchline.
What was this Chinese manager planning? Was he sacrificing offensive structure just to shut down Alonso?
Even in a counterattacking setup, a team needs a reliable outlet to launch transitions. But with Drinkwater tied up in a man-marking role, Luton's attacks seemed to be missing their usual rhythm.
Still, Drinkwater continued to shadow Alonso relentlessly. The Spaniard tried to create space, but his limited pace and lack of agility made it difficult to shake off his marker.
Ethan watched with a satisfied smile. This was exactly what he wanted: a 19-year-old Drinkwater with greater stamina and physicality outmuscling an aging Alonso. If they could drain Alonso's energy before halftime, Luton would have the upper hand in the second half.
Alonso was visibly frustrated. After yet another attempt to receive the ball and quickly turn was foiled by Drinkwater, he was forced to pass backwards again. The Spaniard was clearly irritated.
He called for the ball once more. As Drinkwater stepped up, Alonso suddenly threw his weight backward, driving his shoulder into Drinkwater's chest.
Drinkwater collapsed theatrically, writhing on the ground.
Unbothered, Alonso spun with the ball, finally free to launch one of his signature long passes.
For a moment, the pitch opened up in front of him. No one was pressing him. He felt it—this was his moment.
But just as he was about to release the ball, the referee's whistle pierced the air.
Foul?!
Alonso froze, disbelief etched across his face.
The referee pointed back to the clash with Drinkwater.
Alonso threw his arms up in protest, incredulous.
The referee let far too much go. After a clear foul, he simply pointed to the spot and jogged over to give a warning to Xabi Alonso.
"Watch yourself!" he barked.
Alonso threw his arms up in disbelief. "Did you see what that kid did?!"
"If that was a foul, then he should've been sent off!"
The referee's expression darkened. No official enjoys being questioned, especially not over a call like this.
Steven Gerrard rushed over and pulled Alonso back.
"Easy, Xabi. Breathe."
He wrapped an arm around the Spaniard, even planting a quick kiss on his forehead. "Calm down, mate. Calm down."
"They're doing it on purpose," Alonso fumed, still seething.
Gerrard gave a firm nod. "I know. But this isn't normal play anymore. They're desperate. They know they can't beat us straight up—so they're playing dirty."
To Ethan, manager of Luton Town, this wasn't "dirty." Against a giant like Liverpool, his underdog squad had to pull out every trick in the book. They weren't being unsportsmanlike—they were being realistic. It was just... extra physical defending.
The Liverpool players didn't understand. In the lower leagues, there's no room for gentlemanly play. No such thing as a clean shirt when you're clawing in the mud.
Danny Drinkwater was helped to his feet by his teammates.
"You alright, Danny?" Adam White asked.
Drinkwater gave him a quick wink.
Adam understood immediately—he was milking it.
But when it became clear the referee wasn't reaching for a card, Drinkwater stood up with a sigh and tousled Adam's hair.
"Let's get set for the free kick."
He placed the ball down quickly and went for a fast restart—only for the referee to blow his whistle and pull it back.
Boos rang out from the Luton supporters. They were furious.
On the sideline, Ethan exploded. "Why can't we take it quickly?! That's ridiculous!"
Lin Sen hurried to calm down the agitated head coach. Ethan, usually so composed, transformed into someone else entirely on matchday.
Play resumed, but the resulting free kick came to nothing. The ball was back in Liverpool's control.
Xabi Alonso was tightly marked, forcing Gerrard to drop deeper to collect the ball. Unlike Alonso, Gerrard's ability to shield possession and escape pressure was superior. With him operating from deep, Liverpool's midfield gained a new dimension.
Unable to hit their usual long diagonals, Liverpool resorted to short passing to advance. And it worked—they bypassed the traps Luton had set.
Ethan didn't regret his tactics. He had instructed Drinkwater to man-mark Alonso to disrupt Liverpool's rhythm. It had worked—until Liverpool switched it up. Luton just didn't have the quality to stop them completely.
But as Liverpool reached the final third, they hit another wall.
Gerrard, operating near the edge of the penalty area in the 23rd minute, received a pass and turned—but immediately felt pressure. N'Golo Kanté was on him, tipping the ball away with a sneaky toe-poke.
Alonso, now pushing forward, got to the loose ball—only to find Kanté again, snapping at his heels.
Gerrard's eyes widened in frustration as Kanté cleanly tackled Alonso and stole possession.
Drinkwater, who had been shadowing Alonso the whole time, swooped in, collected the ball, and turned. With one fluid motion, he launched a long diagonal over the top.
Adam White had already started his run—timed to perfection.
Now this was a counterattack.
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