Salah had missed the opportunity to extend the lead.
Klopp applauded from the sideline, knowing exactly what was on Salah's mind.
TJ's rise had been too fast. When he first joined, he was just a super rookie. Salah thought he was there to support him. But as they played more, something felt off. TJ quickly transformed from a super rookie into one of Liverpool's "Four Heavenly Kings" of the attack. After a few rounds in the Champions League, he seemed poised to become the King of Anfield.
The decisive match, of course, was when TJ scored four goals at Camp Nou to lead the team's comeback against Barcelona. As the saying goes, winning is great, but it's awkward for whoever didn't contribute. In the past few days, Salah could clearly feel that the Liverpool fans' affection for Tendou had surpassed that for any other player. If this continued, his status as the team's number one would be in jeopardy.
Naturally, Salah wanted to perform better in this match to prove himself.
Klopp saw it all as clear as day. But he didn't oppose competition among his players. As long as it was healthy and didn't affect the team's atmosphere, he wouldn't interfere.
After a series of unsuccessful attacks, Wolves' actions became rougher.
In the 36th minute of the match, Tendou had already used his physical advantage in midfield to shield the ball from a defender and pass it out to the wing. But Moutinho, who had been knocked over by Tendou at the start of the game, maliciously kicked at Tendou's ankle.
And who was Tendou? His eyes were incredibly sharp. Seeing that the opponent was trying to start something, he went down with the challenge. His timing was perfect, making it look as if he had really been tripped by Moutinho.
Then, "Ah!" he screamed, falling onto the turf with a silky smoothness.
"F*ck, what are you trying to do!"
Henderson was beginning to suspect that Tendou had mastered the art of diving, but that didn't stop him from storming over to demand an explanation. Moutinho tried to argue, telling everyone the fact that he hadn't touched Tendou, but Henderson's forehead was already pressing against his. The Wolves players saw this and all rushed over.
Just as a conflict was about to erupt between the two teams, the referee blew his whistle repeatedly and ran over to intervene.
A yellow card!
The conflict was defused. Moutinho received a yellow card.
On the pitch, the match restarted. This treatment of their core player seemed to enrage Liverpool.
Klopp nodded discreetly from the sideline. He had actually noticed after their return from Camp Nou that this Liverpool team had been reforged. Having fought their way back from hell, the Liverpool players now had the momentum of an army of thousands, especially with the added roar of the Anfield home crowd.
Whenever Liverpool had an attacking opportunity, Mané and Salah would make forward runs at the first moment. And Arnold, as if he had unlocked his full potential after the match against Barcelona, increased the frequency of his forward runs, often appearing near Tendou to combine in small spaces.
Klopp was happy to see this transformation. After all, defense required time to accumulate experience. Before that experience was sufficient, it was better to push forward more often and help Tendou break down defenses. Now, the Liverpool twin stars finally had the right chemistry.
In the 44th minute of the match, Tendou and Arnold once again completed a telepathic one-two. At this moment, they had torn open most of Wolves' midfield defensive line. With Neves and Moutinho bypassed, Otto was forced to move over to cover. The moment he moved, an opportunity opened up for Mané.
And Tendou, the super genius dubbed by Japanese fans as the one who controls "space" and "time," accurately spotted this vulnerability.
"Thwack!"
Tendou swung his right foot, striking the ball like lightning. The ball skimmed across the turf, landing perfectly at the feet of the onrushing Mané.
A slicing 'Rainbow' ground pass!
With just one pass, Wolves' midfield line was cut through, and their backline was also left with a "gaping hole."
"Beautiful!"
"TJ's signature slicing 'Rainbow' pass!"
"A world-class pass!"
"Mané is off on the left wing!"
"That speed!!"
"Is this it?!"
"A roulette beats Boly!"
"He's one-on-one!"
Wolves were playing a 3-5-2 formation in this match. Once the two wing-backs were beaten, Wolves were left with only three defenders. With Mané getting past Boly, the Wolves' defense was officially broken.
"Patrício has made his decision!"
"He's coming out!"
"Mané!"
"A chip!"
"It's over the keeper!"
"It's in!"
"GOAL!"
The second one! Just moments before the end of the first half, Mané scored the second goal. This goal could very well kill the game...
After scoring, Mané found Tendou to celebrate with him. His dribble was slick and his chip was brilliant, but 50% of the credit for this goal belonged to Tendou's slicing 'Rainbow' pass.
"When you have world-class players like TJ and Mané, scoring becomes this simple!" the Liverpool commentator rejoiced.
This is the day! Liverpool's 30-year league title drought is about to be broken!
Over at the Manchester City match, the assistant coach once again relayed the news to Guardiola, as he had requested.
"Boss..."
"Liverpool are leading Wolves 2-0 at home."
"..."
Guardiola nodded upon hearing the news but said nothing.
What did Arsène Wenger feel when he missed out on Cristiano Ronaldo? He could now, more or less, understand some of it.
The whole world knew that Arsenal were just one step away from signing Ronaldo. Wenger had already set aside the number 9 shirt for him. He had even dined with Ronaldo and his mother in London. But then Manchester United swooped in, giving Sporting Lisbon an offer that was difficult to refuse. Wenger urgently scrambled for funds and submitted a new offer, but in the end, it was still £500,000 short of Manchester United's bid.
It was those £500,000 that caused Arsenal to miss the chance to get Cristiano Ronaldo. If Ronaldo had joined Arsenal back then, they would have had both Henry and Ronaldo... but there are no "ifs." In the end, Wenger's training plan, filled with Portuguese notes, could only gather dust in Arsenal's archives.
And now, for Manchester City. If they had managed to get Tendou, then City could have had an invincible midfield combination of De Bruyne and Tendou. They could have built an unbeatable aircraft carrier of a team.
The difference was, Wenger's club owner was unsupportive and couldn't provide enough transfer funds. He even had to sell his captain year after year to pay for the Emirates Stadium.
But him, Guardiola... Manchester City had given him sufficient funds, but he had hesitated. If only he had been a bit bolder back then and guaranteed Tendou enough playing time. Then this year, Manchester City...
Well, Guardiola didn't know what Tendou's arrival would have brought to Manchester City, or if they could have completed a treble.
He only knew that for many nights after tonight, he would probably be too full of regret to sleep.