Tendou's market value is not the highest, but he is definitely one of the most sought-after players today.
His performances in the league and the Champions League have both proven that he is a big-game player.
The key is that he is only 18 years old!
Ten years from now, he will only be 28. A core player that can be used for more than a decade—which club wouldn't be captivated?
But again, Liverpool will not sell.
To get Tendou now, you must pay the 200 million Euro release clause, and Tendou must also agree.
Back to the match.
Ten minutes into the second half, Barça's "luring the snake out of its hole" tactic had a certain effect.
Ten minutes had passed, and they had completed two shots, both of which were on target.
However, both were saved by Van Dijk and the other defenders, including Alisson.
Regarding Van Dijk, looking back, the controversy surrounding him is that his peak was not long enough.
But during his peak, Van Dijk was one of the strongest defenders in history.
His presence allowed Liverpool's attacking players to put all their energy into the offense.
The two consecutive shots on target also made Liverpool more vigilant.
Valverde's goal was achieved.
Liverpool was afraid of conceding, and their attack no longer dared to press forward with such fanfare.
"Barça has become more proactive in the second half! Liverpool's formation is starting to retreat!"
In the iQIYI broadcast room, Liang Xiangyu's voice began to get louder.
"The best defense is a good offense."
"Liverpool can't afford to concede another goal right now. After all, they are still one goal behind."
"If they are scored on by Barça, even just one goal, then it will be a mountain to climb for them!"
Zhang Hehe on the side also said, "Looking at their expressions, the Liverpool players are hesitating. Are they going to continue to press, or should they focus on defense first?"
"A lack of unity in thought is the most dangerous thing in football!"
"But I can understand the players' thoughts. The absence of Salah and Firmino has led to a lack of firepower in Liverpool's attack."
"If they are scored on by Barça again, a 2-goal deficit will be really difficult for them to chase!"
What they were saying was exactly what Henderson and the other Liverpool players were thinking.
If Barça scored one, it meant they needed to score at least two more.
This would undoubtedly put a huge amount of pressure on Liverpool's attack.
But what they feared came true.
In the 57th minute, Liverpool had an opportunity.
Tendou was heavily marked in the attacking third. Henderson hesitated whether to force a long ball over, and in his hesitation, he passed the ball to Mané.
But Barça did not give him time to think. Rakitić and Coutinho took the initiative to attack, compressing Henderson's space.
Henderson was forced to pass the ball back to his teammates.
However, the Argentine superstar had seen through his intention.
And then, the eighty thousand fans at the Camp Nou, who had been suppressed for most of the match, finally erupted with the biggest cheer of the game.
Messi intercepted Henderson's pass and advanced quickly through the center.
Arnold wanted to use the same trick again and intercept the Argentine superstar head-on.
However, Messi did not get entangled with him. He very selflessly sent a diagonal pass.
Suárez began to accelerate with all his might.
After receiving the ball, he got past Keïta with a one-two.
BOOM!
The fans at the Camp Nou, seeing the opportunity, immediately got excited.
Liverpool's midfield defensive line had been pierced.
After getting past Robertson, Suárez was one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
Seeing that Suárez was about to break into the box, Van Dijk was forced to leave his defensive area to cover.
However, before Van Dijk was in position, Suárez unleashed a cold arrow.
He suddenly took a long shot from the left side outside the Liverpool penalty area.
"Danger!"
"Messi! He's beaten the defenders!"
"Suárez receives the ball and gets past another!"
"Liverpool's midfield defensive line has been pierced!"
"Suárez... a long shot from outside the box!"
"GOAL...!"
"Suárez has scored a crucial goal at home!"
"Aggregate score 4:2!"
"..."
On the commentary desk, Zhan Jun sighed in frustration.
This goal could very well send Liverpool to the abyss.
At the same time on the field, all the Liverpool players were a bit dejected, watching helplessly as the Barça players celebrated wildly.
"Man, it's over. I told you Liverpool couldn't win. This Barça home ground is too fierce!"
"Fierce my ass! Isn't it all because of their godfather?"
"To be fair, the referee in this match really wasn't biased towards Barça. Liverpool's second goal, in a normal game, would definitely have been called off!"
"It's over, it's over! Liverpool is done for! Fucking hell! Why did Salah and Firmino have to get injured at this time!"
"I'm out. I can't bear to watch Liverpool lose like this!"
"..."
The Liverpool fans were devastated.
The match had already reached the 60th minute. Trailing by two goals at Barça's home ground, they knew very well what this meant.
Gerrard was also silent in the broadcast booth.
Klopp turned and looked at his bench, not knowing who to substitute on.
"There's still time! We still have time!"
Klopp could only shout loudly to his players on the field, trying to inspire them.
Back at the center circle, Barça's team flag was waving at the Camp Nou. 80,000 fans were singing the team anthem together.
Amidst such cheers, the Barça players, intending to finish Liverpool off while they were down, once again started a fierce attacking mode.
As the absolute offensive core of Liverpool in this match, Tendou could only track back, desperately chasing back to help his teammates resolve one crisis after another.
"Trent, over there! Go! Run faster..."
"Henderson, don't stick a foot in! I'm nearby..."
"Naby, be more aggressive! You don't have a card! You have to be like a mad dog!"
Tendou had dropped back.
And in the process, he was constantly directing his teammates to set up the central defensive line.
With Van Dijk in the back, he didn't need to command, but the midfield did.
The Liverpool fans watched as Tendou continuously tracked back, and his fingers constantly directed his teammates to run into position, to defend...
For a time, Liverpool, who had been somewhat dejected, was now defending without a single leak, not giving Barça any chance to penetrate.
This magical scene stunned many people.
Valverde was also one of them.
At only 18 years old, playing in his first Champions League, this kid actually had the ability to command.
He could actually see through all of Barça's actions, and at the same time, the Liverpool players were all willing to obey him.
For a full 10 minutes, Tendou did not stop thinking.
In a higher dimensional vision, he observed the movements of the entire Barça team.
His tenacity infected every teammate around him, making them forget the score and put their whole heart and soul into the match.
This is the role of a core leading by example.
But just this was not enough to give them hope.
In the 75th minute, under Tendou's command, Liverpool had stabilized their formation.
Barça also reined in their attack after a period of fierce offense.
The match had been played up to now, and neither side had made a substitution. The players on the field were showing signs of fatigue.
And Tendou, the moment Barça retreated, he saw it!
A chance for a Liverpool counter-attack!
From the backfield, Alisson launched a long ball.
Tendou immediately judged the ball's landing spot and rushed over.
Although Valverde had made a targeted defensive plan for him at halftime, when it came to winning the ball in the center circle, Tendou could still snatch it away from Barça's dense midfield defense at the first moment.
He did not hold onto the ball, controlling it and then quickly tapping it.
The ball rolled smoothly to Arnold's feet.
The receiving Arnold subconsciously planned to kick the ball forward but found that Tendou had proactively pulled to the right wing.
His brain froze for a moment. But out of trust for Tendou, he still sent the ball to the right wing, to Tendou's feet.
Tendou was not a fool.
Barça had strengthened their midfield in the second half. Piqué would pounce forward whenever there was a chance.
Since that was the case, he might as well leave the center and go wide.
"TJ has proactively pulled to the wing!"
Fans all over the world saw this change.
Rakitić and the other Barça players saw it and were a little unsure of what to do.
According to Valverde's instructions, several of them were to maintain pressure on Tendou whenever he had the ball.
Now this guy had pulled to the wing.
Should they leave the center and pounce on the right wing?
"I'll go! You guys stay in the center!"
The traitor, Coutinho, proactively took on the defensive task and at the same time asked his teammates for support.
And so he did.
Coutinho very quickly pounced on Tendou. However, before he could get there, Tendou, who was still advancing at high speed, suddenly braked, stomped on the ball, and came to a dead stop.
Coutinho's brake pads were clearly not as good as Tendou's, and he overran.
At this time, Tendou flicked the ball and changed direction, leaving the traitor behind.
Busquets, seeing this, hurriedly moved to cover but was forcefully pushed away by Tendou.
When a third person was drawn over, Tendou made a powerful horizontal pass, giving the ball back to the advancing Arnold.
Arnold, as if by telepathy, sent the ball forward.
A classic wall pass!
Like Mané, this pass from Arnold was very ambitious.
To be able to unleash Tendou's terrifying explosive power.
Piqué, worthy of being the man who claimed to have seen through Tendou, immediately rushed towards Tendou's direction.
"Such a big pass! You're dead!"
Piqué subconsciously thought this was a Liverpool mistake.
But before he could control the ball, a white flash of lightning also shot through the air.
Thwack!
Tendou rushed over like lightning, and just before Piqué, he poked the ball several meters away and continued to accelerate forward.
Passing the ball to himself 3 seconds later!
The Barça fans felt as if they were seeing Gareth Bale.
Clearly, Piqué also thought of it. He subconsciously used his shoulder to ram him. Even if he committed a foul, he could not let the opponent overtake him.
With a bang, Tendou, unable to activate his "thorn armor" while running at high speed, was sent crashing into the sideline by Piqué.
But his steps still did not stop. He gritted his teeth and charged towards the ball several meters away on the sideline.
Piqué was stunned, but he could only turn and quickly chase after him, only to find that Tendou was getting further and further away from him.
The Barça fans' eyes were wide open.
"Unbelievable!"
This familiar scene made their hearts leap into their throats.
It was as if that scene from the Copa del Rey final 4 years ago was about to be replayed.
Except this time, the opponent was no longer Bale, nor was it Real Madrid, but Liverpool and their 18-year-old kid.
Zzzzt!
White lightning involuntarily erupted from the corners of Tendou's eyes.
At his feet, the special effects of Thunderclap and Flash were maxed out.
The fans could see that Piqué was already chasing with all his might, but the distance between them was still getting wider and wider.
By the time Tendou had caught up to the ball, he had cut inside towards the Barça penalty area.
At this moment, ter Stegen, Alba, and Lenglet were all charging towards him like madmen.
And Tendou, his Six Eyes moved!
The Big Data Analysis calculated the probabilities!
And then...
BANG!
He aimed for the far corner and pushed the ball heavily.
Ter Stegen and Alba both made intercepting moves at the same time.
But then, the ball, as if it had a life of its own, simultaneously dodged the interception and, passing under the two of them, shot into the far corner of the Barça goal.
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!"
The official Liverpool commentator let out the loudest roar in history.
"TJ!"
"Liverpool's magician!"
"He proactively pulled to the wing and passed the ball to himself three seconds later!"
"Unrivaled physical talent!"
"He tore the Barça players to shreds with his speed!"
"GOAL!"
"HAT-TRICK!"
"4:3! Barça hasn't won yet, because the people of Liverpool will never give up!"
He shouted with excitement, his voice passing through every home, nightclub, and restaurant in Liverpool.
The twenty thousand Liverpool fans at the scene had already stood up when Tendou had performed his out-of-the-blue overtake.
The moment the ball went in, the Camp Nou shook. The Liverpool fans, with their 20,000 voices against 80,000, had drowned out all the Barça fans' voices.
Even Tendou couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
He ran to the corner flag and did a soul-stirring sliding kneel.
Behind him, Arnold and the other Liverpool players all rushed over and piled on top of him.
Piqué?
He covered his face with a helpless expression.
That scene from the 2014 Copa del Rey final had happened again.
Except this time, the protagonist was not Gareth Bale, but Liverpool's TJ.
And the one serving as the background board was no longer Bartra, but himself.
The moment he thought of his pre-match claim, "I have already seen through TJ," he felt his face burning.
"GOAL!"
"BEAUTIFUL!"
"THE THIRD ONE!"
"Aggregate score 4:3! The tenacious Liverpool has once again closed the gap to just one goal!"
"And just like Barça, they have scored 3 away goals!"
"If Liverpool can equalize the score, then they can advance to the Champions League final on the away goals rule!"
"An absolutely, absolutely individual heroic goal!"
"4 years ago in the Copa del Rey final, Gareth Bale also scored such a match-killing goal!"
"And today, history seems to have repeated itself! Liverpool's number 44 has scored an almost identical goal!"