The players on the pitch felt the shift instantly.
"THE CHAMPIONS WERE ASLEEP, BUT THE ALARM CLOCK OF THEIR OWN PRIDE IS RINGING LOUD AND CLEAR!" the commentator bellowed, his voice filled with a new, thrilling energy. "And it was Leon, the new boy, who hit the snooze button! Liverpool are awake, and they are on the hunt!"
What followed was a beautiful, brutal siege. Liverpool began to play their football, a suffocating, high-tempo press that pushed Crystal Palace deeper and deeper into their own half.
The ball was a blur of red, moving with a speed and precision that was dizzying to watch.
In the 18th minute, Trent Alexander-Arnold, finding a pocket of space, unleashed a thunderbolt of a long shot from 30 yards out.
It was a swerving, dipping missile destined for the top corner, but the Palace keeper made a spectacular, flying save to tip it over the bar.
"Unlucky, Trent!" Virgil van Dijk roared from the back, a captain marshaling his troops.
