The Only Goal Is the Championship

Liverpool's chartered plane slowly descended at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Through the window, Chen Anno saw the dazzling Middle Eastern sunlight and the endless blue sky.

In December, temperatures in the United Arab Emirates were still above twenty degrees Celsius, a completely different world from Liverpool's damp, cold winter rain.

Perhaps because the club's owner was Emirati, Liverpool's popularity in the Middle East was astonishingly high.

The moment they stepped off the gangway, they could see the airport already packed with waiting fans.

As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but red.

It was as if Anfield's The Kop stand had been moved wholesale to the Middle East.

Amid that sea of red, Chen Anno also spotted a small number of fans wearing Brazil national team number ten shirts.

Liverpool's players filed out of the cabin.

They were all dressed alike today: black suits, white shirts, and red ties.

Chen Anno walked at the front, tall and upright, full of energy, without the slightest trace of fatigue from the long flight.

Behind him came Rodri, Henderson, Van Dijk...

The entire line emerged with overwhelming presence.

The red ties stood out sharply against the black suits. Every one of them was over 1.8 meters tall, powerfully built, and carried himself with effortless composure. They looked less like a football team than a group of male models at some top fashion week.

"Wow...!"

"Anno! Anno!" The fans' screams rose and fell throughout the airport.

Camera flashes crackled in a dazzling blur.

The fans held up jerseys, scarves, and posters, waving desperately at the players.

Chen Anno waved back at them with a faint smile.

That single wave stirred up another commotion in the crowd.

In the earlier qualifying match, Abu Dhabi Al Jazira defeated AFC Champions League winners Urawa