That's a goal!
Lin Chen assists, the egyptian pharaoh shows his might!
One to zero!
Liverpool takes the lead as the away team!
After scoring, Salah waved to Lin Chen, who quickly followed, with Firmino on his left, the three of them embracing shoulder to shoulder as they ran towards the sidelines.
At this moment, Mane rushed to catch up, not wanting to miss the celebratory moment.
Live broadcast room.
"A debut assist, the egyptian pharaoh displays his power, a perfect assist! A perfect shot!"
"As a Midfielder, Lin Chen has a strong attacking desire, and the forward passes from Liverpool's Midfield are basically dominated by him!"
"Don't be complacent, Hoffenheim's offense is also not to be underestimated!"
Lin Chen scored first, but Liverpool Fans could feel Hoffenheim's powerful attacking force.
Lin Chen, relying on trap-style defense, neutralized Hoffenheim's central penetration, but after the match started, Hoffenheim suddenly changed its tactics.
They no longer focused on central penetration but instead attacked from both wings, looking for attacking opportunities from the flanks!
In the 39th minute of the match!
"It seems they still want to create opportunities through the flanks, after all, they have Gnabry and Kramarić."
"Controlling the ball in the Midfield, directly passing it to the right, still looking for Gnabry!"
"One-on-one against Moreno, two consecutive step-overs!"
"He beat him outright! To the byline! He got past!"
"That step-over was beautiful, completely faking out Moreno!"
"Still moving into the penalty area, a direct shot from a tight angle!"
"Oh, it hit the side netting."
Gnabry didn't cross, and Wagner was very angry, waving his hands in protest at Gnabry.
"If Gnabry had chosen to cross, Wagner might have had a better chance."
Klopp could still feel Hoffenheim's danger, and he knew he had to make tactical adjustments to completely neutralize Hoffenheim's threat.
Soon, the remaining few minutes ended, and the match went into halftime, with both teams returning to the locker rooms.
Klopp frantically strategized with his coaching staff the entire way.
Klavitz kept emphasizing blocking the flanks, but Klopp had a completely different view.
"Although it seems like they're attacking from both wings, all of Hoffenheim's attacks must originate from the Midfield."
"If we can restrict Hoffenheim's Midfield and force them to play long balls directly from the two flanks, then their two-wing attack will no longer be dangerous."
"Attacks that don't go through the Midfield are mostly futile."
Klavitz was convinced by Klopp, and the two immediately began to strategize, formulating a brand new targeted tactic a few minutes later.
"After the second half begins, I want you to get physical, be confrontational, and play with intensity in the Midfield!"
"I want to see frequent positional changes, and when attacking, focus on counter-attacks and speed, attacking their Midfield directly!"
"Force them to launch attacks directly from the flanks, no matter what, we cannot give them the Midfield!"
Klopp decided to forcibly shift the battleground to the Midfield.
Hoffenheim wanted to attack from the flanks, so Liverpool would use their Midfielders' ability to control the ball in the Midfield, thereby separating Hoffenheim's tactics from ball possession.
If they want to attack from the flanks but don't have possession, they can only come to the Midfield to win the ball, and then after winning it in the Midfield, go to the flanks to launch an attack. Hoffenheim would have to spend more time in transition, and Liverpool would have more time to retreat and defend.
And if Hoffenheim could not defeat Liverpool in the Midfield and could not regain possession, they would have no way to attack, and the pace of the match would return to Liverpool's control.
The second half of the match immediately began, and Lin Chen remained highly vigilant, constantly running to find space.
Whenever Hoffenheim tried to operate through the Midfield, Lin Chen would always appear like a ghost, with agile steps and a strong physique, pressing with all his might to prevent Hoffenheim from breaking through the Midfield blockade.
Soon, the situation on the field changed, and Liverpool began to gain more possession.
As possession time increased, Hoffenheim was forced to adjust, their physical exertion increased, and the pace of the match returned to Liverpool's hands!
In the 61st minute of the match!
"Hoffenheim is still trying to operate from the Midfield, then switch to the flanks for a two-wing attack!"
"The goalkeeper makes a short pass to the retreating Demirbay!"
"He receives the ball, turns, and distributes it to the flank, but it's intercepted!"
"Lin Chen gets there first to intercept the ball, forcefully pushing past Demirbay!"
"The Referee does not call a foul, Lin Chen intercepts the ball!"
"He uses the outside of his foot to pass to the left, the landing point is a bit deep."
"Mane crosses directly towards the Midfield, a good landing point!"
"Header towards goal!!!"
"That's a goal!!!"
"Firmino scores with a header!"
"Liverpool scores another goal!"
"Two-nil, securing two away goals, leading Hoffenheim!"
"If the match ends with this score, in the second leg back at Anfield, Liverpool is very likely to advance to the Champions League group stage; the scales of victory are tilting towards them!"
Demirbay looked at Lin Chen, he could clearly feel Lin Chen's strong body and tough tackle in the recent confrontation.
He had rarely experienced this intensity even in the Bundesliga!
But looking at Lin Chen again at this moment, the fierce and seemingly mad Midfield tough guy from moments ago was now as happy as a child.
His face still had the innocence of a 17-year-old, dancing awkwardly and inexplicably beside Firmino.
A few minutes later, the match resumed.
Lin Chen, who was just doing a strange awkward dance, suddenly changed his expression.
His face was serious, his eyes firm, his strong muscles bulging, sticking tightly to Demirbay.
Demirbay even felt like he was suffocating; Lin Chen wouldn't even give him room to breathe!
In the 74th minute of the match!
Firmino attempted a long-range shot that missed, and Hoffenheim restarted play with a short pass.
It went to wing-back Kaderabek, who, after receiving the ball, looked towards the Midfield, where Lin Chen was standing right next to Demirbay.
Looking at Kaderabek, Demirbay for the first time lost the desire to call for the ball, and could only actively retreat, creating passing space, hoping that Rupp behind him would receive the ball.
Kaderabek immediately made a horizontal pass, aiming for the Midfield.
Before Rupp could receive the ball, a dark shadow suddenly rushed straight towards him.
Rupp's heart sank, and he quickly ran to meet the ball, trying to get to it before the shadow.
But the shadow was still a step faster, its strong body like a sharp knife, inserting itself into the gap between Rupp and the pass!
Ball intercepted!
It was Lin Chen!
He chipped the ball, turned, and wanted to launch another counter-attack!
Rupp hastily reached out, pulling him down, committing a foul; he had no other choice!
"Yellow card!"
"Rupp used all his strength to grab Lin Chen with both hands, preventing him from launching a counter-attack!"
The scene was strange; the strong Rupp had to use both hands to grab Lin Chen's right hand, performing a tug-of-war motion.
He pulled back desperately, only then preventing Lin Chen from dribbling and completing the counter-attack.
At this moment, Lin Chen casually exerted force, shaking off Rupp's hands, his heart filled with regret, as he had seen a very good counter-attacking route.
With little time remaining in the match, Klopp made a substitution, bringing on Lucas for Lin Chen.
Lin Chen's body was, after all, still 17 years old, and high-intensity matches required rotation to reduce Lin Chen's chances of injury.
Despite looking at that strong body, Klopp didn't feel at all that Lin Chen could get injured, but as a Head Coach, he had to be thorough.
Lin Chen reluctantly left the field, and the Liverpool Fans who had traveled with the away team to Hoffenheim's stadium immediately all stood up, shouting Lin Chen's name loudly and giving him applause.
In the China commentary booth, Instructor Zhan looked at Lin Chen's data for this match and couldn't help but exclaim.
"In a single match, 5 out of 5 successful Midfield confrontations!"
"4 crucial interceptions! 3 crucial tackles! And one assist!"
"Lin Chen, relying on his own ability, built a high wall in the Midfield, and with his 'mad dog' pressing, he neutralized Hoffenheim's offense!"
"What the hell is a: ALL! ROUND! MID! FIELDER!"