Monaco Dared to Strike Back

8:45 p.m. local time.

"CCTV, CCTV."

"Good early morning, viewers."

"We're bringing you live coverage of the first leg of the 2016-17 UEFA Champions League quarterfinal between Liverpool and Monaco at Liverpool's home ground."

"Your commentators for this match are once again He Wei and Xu Yang."

"Both teams have displayed exceptional attacking firepower in this season's Champions League."

"Liverpool won all six of their group-stage matches and eliminated Bayern Munich with victories in both legs of the first knockout round."

"Monaco, meanwhile, knocked Guardiola's Manchester City out in the Round of 16."

"The pre-match war of words between the two managers has already been quite lively."

"Jardim said he would turn Anfield into a battlefield, while Klopp said he would give Monaco CPR."

"Now, it depended on how the players responded out on the pitch."

The broadcast camera had already switched to the players' tunnel. The starting lineups of both teams walked onto the pitch under the lead of referee Brych.

The roar of 54,000 people made the entire stadium tremble as the players entered.

Liverpool's fans had not stopped singing since before kickoff, and now their voices reached a crescendo.

The starting lineups appeared on the screen.

Liverpool, 4-3-3:

Goalkeeper: Mignolet.

Defenders: Clyne, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson.

Defensive midfielders: Henderson (captain), Rodri, Milner.

Forwards: Mane, Chen Anno, Coutinho.

Monaco, 4-4-2:

Goalkeeper: Subasic.

Defenders: Raggi, Glik, Jemerson, Benjamin Mendy.

Midfielders: Bernardo Silva, Fabinho, Moutinho, Lemar.

Two forwards: Mbappe, Falcao.

"Alright, the referee for this match is Felix Brych of Germany."

The coin toss was complete. Liverpool would kick off first.

Beep...

With Brych's long whistle, the first half officially began.

Chen Anno tapped the ball back to Rodri behind him and quickly surged forward.

Liverpool did not bother probing.

After kickoff, their entire formation sprang forward like a spring