"Leo scores!!!"
"Liverpool keep piling on the goals!!!"
"Leo has scored again! That takes him to twelve league goals this season!"
"This time it wasn't a Tottenham player setting him up. Liverpool created the goal down the left through the positional rotation between Szoboszlai and Leo!"
"Szoboszlai's movement throughout that entire sequence seemed to mesmerize Tottenham's players, but Tottenham's real mistake was only sending three men to mark Leo!"
Rivaldo, sitting beside Gullit, couldn't make sense of what he had just heard.
"Hold on, Gullit. There are only eleven players on a football team. Tottenham sent three of them to mark Leo, and you still don't think that's enough?"
Rivaldo assumed Gullit had simply misspoken, but Gullit was about to show him exactly what it meant to be a die-hard Leo fan.
"Yes, Tottenham sent three players to defend Leo. That's already a large portion of their starting eleven. But Leo still scored, didn't he?"
"If Leo scored, doesn't that prove three players weren't enough?"
"Szoboszlai's run was excellent, but Leo's movement was even better. As soon as Szoboszlai moved away, Leo immediately shifted out to the left wing and dragged Emerson Royal with him."
"Winks was also moving toward Leo, but someone had to close down Mac Allister, so Winks went across to cover him. The moment Winks started moving toward Mac Allister, Leo followed right behind him, slipped around his side, and found the space to receive Mac Allister's assist!"
"Tottenham should've sent more players. Five or six might have been enough."
Rivaldo had heard enough.
"Why not just tell Tottenham to send all eleven players after Leo? Better yet, send all the Tottenham fans onto the pitch too and have them surround their entire half. Then Tottenham would definitely be able to stop him!"
Gullit gave Rivaldo a thumbs-up.
He thought Rivaldo had finally understood what he meant.
"Exactly! That's a great idea!"
Rivaldo fell silent.
For the first time, he began to see Gullit's intelligence in an entirely different light.
The match between Liverpool and Tottenham continued.
When the first half finally ended, Tottenham were two goals behind. But if you ignored the score and looked only at the statistics, you would have assumed the deficit was much larger.
"Tottenham are definitely in poor form right now, but surely they shouldn't go an entire 45 minutes without even managing a shot?"
"If nothing else works, sell the new stadium! Take the money and start buying stars like crazy. I refuse to believe we can't beat Liverpool just because they have Leo!"
"I'm not asking for much. Liverpool, could you please take Leo off in the second half so we can finally play you on equal terms?"
"To the Tottenham fan above, you may not be asking for much, but could you at least make demands of your own team? Why are you making requests of the opposition?"
Tottenham fans didn't know what else they could say.
Unfortunately for them, Liverpool did not take Leo off at halftime.
Kane, meanwhile, was thinking about his place at the top of the Premier League scoring charts. Leo had now drawn level with him, and at this rate, he would probably overtake him soon.
The second half began with Conte still using a five-man defense.
Emerson Royal and Sessegnon became the Tottenham players with both the most touches and the most turnovers.
Sessegnon in particular had once been highly rated by plenty of fans, much like Dele Alli.
The difference was that Alli had at least shown his talent over one or two seasons.
Sessegnon had never truly proven himself yet, or at least not over any sustained period.
Tottenham had signed Sessegnon hoping he could become their long-term starter at left back. Some fans had even believed he might eventually become their version of Kyle Walker on the left.
In the second half, Tottenham began giving Kane more of the ball, while Konaté and Rodri focused heavily on shutting him down.
Leo and Szoboszlai continued attacking Emerson Royal the same way they had in the first half.
That left Winks and Ndombele unable to keep track of Mac Allister as well, forcing Alli to drop back and help defend.
As a result, none of Tottenham's midfielders could devote themselves entirely to attacking.
Kane became the Tottenham player expected to score, create attacks, distribute the ball, and help control the midfield all at once.
In the 57th minute.
Szoboszlai moved into midfield to receive the ball, played it to Robertson, then drifted back toward the left to offer himself again.
Salah had been watching Leo's movement the entire time rather than Szoboszlai's.
The moment Leo turned, Salah immediately started his run.
That was Leo's signal.
Szoboszlai then sent a long ball forward, following the direction of Leo's movement and finding Salah.
Salah's first touch immediately showed his quality.
He didn't simply bring the ball down. He cushioned it and kept it suspended in the air.
Dier initially expected Salah to take the ball to his feet, so he prepared to step forward.
But when Salah kept the ball in the air, Dier had to retreat a step and prepare to clear it before it dropped.
Salah chose to shoot instead.
He struck the ball while it was still in midair and drove it toward goal.
Lloris managed to throw out his left hand, but one arm could only cover so much space.
Salah's shot still flew into the net.
Liverpool 3-0 Tottenham!
"Salah has scored his thirteenth league goal of the season! He moves ahead of Kane and Leo and now sits alone at the top of the Premier League scoring charts!"
Leo embraced Salah.
Szoboszlai was delighted as well. He had finally picked up an assist.
At that moment, Klopp called Diaz and Ødegaard over to the touchline.
"Salah scores, and Klopp immediately makes changes! Diaz comes on for Leo, while Ødegaard replaces Núñez. Szoboszlai will probably move up front, Diaz will play on the left wing, and Ødegaard will take over Leo's previous role!"
Tottenham were three goals down, yet their fans suddenly felt much more relaxed.
Liverpool had finally decided to give their captain a rest.
"Klopp, take Leo off earlier from now on. If you keep starting him in every Premier League match and making him play so much, he's going to get tired!"
"You've got Arsenal next. Make sure Leo plays the full 90 minutes against them. Then the next time you play Tottenham in the league, just let him come on, warm up for five minutes, and take him straight back off."
"Forget five minutes. That's far too long. Give him one minute, then substitute him. I don't care who comes on instead. Just don't leave Leo on the pitch!"