Chapter 776 Chapter-774 The Domination

The score stood at 3-0.

Far from letting Liverpool's attacking tide subside, it only made the Reds hungrier for more.

Ludogorets had been completely stunned.

Every player had retreated deep into their own half, all eleven bodies packed around the penalty area in the tightest defensive shape they could muster, fighting with everything they had just to keep the ball out and avoid an even greater humiliation.

But even so, against Liverpool's relentless waves of attack, they still looked utterly helpless.

All they could do was absorb the punishment, defending for their lives.

The roar at Anfield never eased off. The Kop kept bellowing chants of attack, driving the team forward.

Liverpool, meanwhile, had total command of the match's rhythm, their passing was flowing smoothly. Their attacks came in endless variety.

Whether it was tight, instinctive combination play inside the box or thunderous long-range strikes from outside it, wave after wave crashed against Ludogorets' back line, leaving them no way to cope.

In the 25th minute, Liverpool surged forward again. Julien picked up the ball on the right and threaded it into the box.

Coutinho and Sturridge linked up in a tight one-two inside the area, two quick touches slipping past the tangle of two Ludogorets defenders. Coutinho drove a shot at goal, but the ball skimmed just wide of the far post—so close to extending the lead.

Ludogorets simply couldn't keep pace with Liverpool's attacking tempo.

Just a few minutes later, Liverpool carved out another chance. Pogba picked the ball up at the top of the box, shrugged off a challenge from the opposing midfielder, and unleashed a thunderous strike from distance.

The ball screamed toward goal. The Ludogorets keeper threw himself sideways and got a hand to it, pushing it away from danger.

But he couldn't clear it fully. Robertson pounced on the loose ball and drove a follow-up shot.

It was blocked by a defender standing on the line.

Liverpool had missed another chance to score.

The game had become a complete one-way street. Liverpool's attacks kept coming in relentless waves, and Ludogorets' defence looked like a small boat tossed on a raging sea—on the verge of capsizing.

The 38th minute.

Liverpool launched another string of attacks. Robertson picked up the ball on the left and whipped in a cross. It sailed into the box, where Sturridge rose to meet it with a flicked header. The Ludogorets keeper made a desperate save, punching the ball clear.

But it didn't travel far. It was still inside the box.

That set off a moment of chaos in the penalty area.

Players from both sides scrambled for the loose ball, and in the confusion Ludogorets' defenders failed to clear their lines. The ball bounced free inside the area.

That was when Julien showed his sharpness. He darted onto it in a flash, seizing on the defensive lapse.

He found his spot inside the box and struck a first-time follow-up shot.

The ball nestled cleanly into the net. 4-0!

Julien had completed his hat-trick!

In an instant, the celebrations at Anfield reached their peak.

Julien ran toward the touchline, drinking in a roar that crashed over him like a tidal wave.

He didn't erupt into wild celebration. Instead, he spread his arms wide, tilted his head back slightly, and let his eyes sweep across the sea of red in the stands, a faint smile at the corners of his mouth.

It was as if he were declaring:

This is my Champions League debut. This is my stage.

From an assist, to a brace, to a hat-trick in just thirty-eight minutes!

A moment later, Pogba, Sturridge, and the others swarmed him, wrapping him in a group embrace.

Up in the stands, it was nothing but a roaring sea of noise.

"Julien! Julien!"

The chant was deafening, echoing through every corner of Anfield.

The broadcast commentator was almost screaming into the mic: "Unstoppable! De Rocca is simply unstoppable! A hat-trick on his Champions League debut!

Liverpool's squad is stacked with stars—Pogba, Coutinho, Sturridge, every one of them a world-class talent. And yet even among all that, Julien De Rocca is still the brightest star of them all!

He's shown everyone, with his own two feet, exactly why he's the man to win the Ballon d'Or, exactly why he's the top core player in world football right now!"

After Julien's hat-trick, Liverpool's attacking tide gradually eased off.

Klopp waved from the touchline, signalling his players to drop the tempo.

With a strong 4-0 lead and the opponent already thoroughly broken, there was no need to keep burning energy. Slowing the pace down a notch would protect the players and let the team handle the dense fixture schedule still to come with more composure.

The Liverpool players on the pitch understood immediately, shifting to more patient midfield passing and circulation.

They controlled the tempo of the match, no longer rushing to force the issue.

Ludogorets finally got a chance to catch their breath, though they still didn't dare push forward, content to sit back and defend in their own half.

Soon, the referee blew the whistle for halftime.

4-0 sat frozen on the scoreboard. Liverpool had already settled the outcome of the match inside a single half.

At the break, the commentator marvelled once more: "Just one half played, and already 4-0, with a Julien hat-trick. What Liverpool is showing is genuinely terrifying. And this is a rotated lineup to dismantle Ludogorets this easily with a rotated side, it's hard to even imagine how strong the full-strength Reds could be.

With a core player like Julien and this much depth in the squad, this season's Liverpool really do have every reason to be excited about their Champions League campaign. Maybe—just maybe—this is the year they finally realize their Champions League dream!"

After a brief halftime break, both teams returned to the pitch.

Once the second half kicked off,

Liverpool continued to control the rhythm of the match. Without the ferocity of their first-half onslaught, they still comfortably contained their opponents, and the attacks they did mount still carried a threat to Ludogorets' defence.

In the 52nd minute, Liverpool created another scoring chance!

Julien drifted out to the right to collect the ball. Facing Ludogorets' left-back, he didn't rush into a dribble—instead he read the situation on the pitch, then suddenly cut toward the byline. The defender simply couldn't keep up.

That gave Julien a huge amount of space.

A moment later, Julien whipped in a cross, delivering the ball to the edge of the box.

Full-back Piszczek seized the opportunity, cutting inside at pace and meeting the ball with a thunderous strike on the volley.

The ball tore through the air, carrying incredible power, straight for goal.

The Ludogorets keeper threw himself at it, but there was nothing he could do to stop it from finding the net. 5-0!

Liverpool had extended their lead once more!

BOOM!

BOOM, BOOM!!

The goal reignited the passion at Anfield, and the crowd erupted in celebration!

The commentator laughed as he called it: "Julien again! Another assist from Julien! A hat-trick plus an assist—what a way to answer on a Champions League debut. Julien is simply unbelievable! And what a strike from Piszczek too, absolutely superb. Liverpool's attack seems to have no weaknesses at all."

As the match reached the 60th minute, Klopp made a substitution.

Julien was taken off, with Sterling coming on in his place.

As Julien walked toward the touchline, Anfield erupted in thunderous applause. The entire crowd rose to their feet, waving their red scarves and chanting his name, giving him the warmest possible send-off—a star who had marked his Champions League debut with a hat-trick and an assist.

Julien made his way toward the bench, smiling and waving to the fans as he walked.

When he reached the touchline, he pulled Sterling into a tight embrace. The two exchanged a few words, and Julien gave him a pat on the shoulder, telling him to go out there and show what he could do.

Sterling nodded.

Then he jogged briskly onto the pitch, picking up the attacking mantle Julien had left behind.

After Sterling came on, Liverpool kept a firm grip on the match's tempo. Their passing and movement remained fluid, and the attacks they launched still carried a threat to Ludogorets' goal—though the team was no longer rushing to add to the score, focused instead on controlling the game and giving their bench players some minutes to grow.

Ludogorets managed the occasional scattered counterattack, but they could never break through Liverpool's defence.

All they could do was keep absorbing the pressure.

Time ticked away, minute by minute.

Finally, the whistle sounded.

When the referee blew the final whistle, the score of 5-0 was frozen on the board.

Liverpool had once again delivered a dominant, crushing victory, bringing their Champions League group-stage debut to a triumphant close.

Liverpool's demolition of Ludogorets in their Champions League opener had come to an end, and the entire football world was left stunned once more by the Reds' terrifying strength.

After the match, the major outlets rushed to publish articles, showering praise on this unstoppable Liverpool side.

"The Red tide sweeps across Europe—when will this massacre finally stop?"

"An unanswerable Liverpool—who can possibly hold them back?"

"Julien-led Reds have become the most terrifying attacking machine in football."

The media's commentary was flooded with admiration and astonishment for Liverpool.

"From four straight Premier League wins and nineteen goals scored, to a 5-0 demolition of a genuine Champions League contender—Liverpool's attacking firepower has become uncontainable. Whether it's their first-choice XI or a rotated squad, they can dismantle any opponent with ease.

This is a team Klopp has built to be strong at both ends, with real squad depth. Julien's singular individual brilliance, paired with elite talents like Pogba and Coutinho—a Liverpool side like this seems to have no equal anywhere."

Everyone was asking the same question: when would Liverpool's rampage finally come to a stop, and whether there was any team left in the Premier League or anywhere in Europe capable of standing in the way of this unstoppable Red machine.

And yet, before the media's question could even be answered, Liverpool responded in the most emphatic way possible: with win after win.

Not long after the Champions League fixture, Premier League action resumed, and Liverpool travelled away to take on the Hammers of West Ham United.

Facing West Ham's defence, the Reds once again showed off their terrifying attacking power, with a front three led by Julien and Suárez striking again and again.

Throughout the match, Liverpool controlled proceedings completely, ultimately winning 4-0 on the road, crushing West Ham United and extending their winning streak as they continued to lead the Premier League table.

No sooner had one storm passed than another rolled in.

In the League Cup, Liverpool returned to Anfield to face Middlesbrough.

Klopp once again fielded a rotated side, handing more minutes to players who didn't usually see much game time and Coutinho, who hadn't had many starts of late, finally got his moment to shine.

Throughout the match, Coutinho was red-hot, using his delicate touch and clinical finishing to repeatedly carve out chances and find the back of the net, ultimately completing a four-goal haul.

It was the first four-goal game of his professional career.

A genuine milestone in his footballing journey.

The 7-1 rout put Liverpool back in the spotlight once again, and Coutinho's breakout performance left fans marvelling at the depth of the Reds' squad.

Even the substitutes could put on a performance this dazzling.

A Liverpool like this was truly something to fear.

The media erupted again. "Even Liverpool's bench can crush opponents—no one in the Premier League can match this kind of squad depth."

"Coutinho's four-goal game is the best proof yet of Liverpool's squad depth. This Reds side is frightening."

After a run of dominant victories, Liverpool faced a pivotal fixture.

The Merseyside derby—a home clash against Everton.

Before the match, the major outlets whipped up the hype, with nearly everyone predicting that Everton would become the next name added to Liverpool's list of victims.

After all, the Reds' recent form had been ferocious, and Everton, whether in quality or current form, trailed Liverpool by a considerable margin.

But once the match kicked off, everyone was left stunned.

Everton didn't sit back and defend passively. Instead, they showed a fiercely physical, take-no-prisoners approach or rather, they chose to use fouls, deliberate and constant, to disrupt Liverpool's attacking rhythm.

Whether it was Julien driving forward or Suárez collecting the ball, Everton's players met them with brutal, cynical fouls, and the referee's whistle for infringements kept sounding again and again.

The physical battle grew so intense that both sides clashed repeatedly—shoving, arguing and the scene on the pitch grew chaotic more than once.

Even more surprising, the referee that night was clearly letting a great deal slide. Faced with Everton's rough, cynical fouls, he mostly handed out verbal warnings and rarely reached for a yellow card.

Even when the two sides erupted into confrontation, he did little more than briefly separate the players, with no strong punishment to follow.

That kind of lenient officiating only gave Everton more confidence. Their fouling grew even more brazen, and Liverpool's attacks were constantly interrupted, making for a genuinely difficult match.

Even holding the majority of possession, they struggled to build any fluid attacking play.

Julien and Suárez were both hacked down repeatedly, unable to hide their frustration.

But even so, Liverpool never let it throw them off their rhythm, and time and again their sheer individual quality broke through Everton's brutal defending.

In the 32nd minute, Julien shook off two Everton players still clinging to him from a foul and slipped a perfectly weighted through ball. Suárez darted onto it, took a touch, and calmly slotted it home. 1-0!

Liverpool had broken the deadlock first.

In the second half, Everton showed no sign of easing off their fouling, and the clashes flared up again but Liverpool stayed steady and composed.

In the 65th minute, Julien produced another moment of unanswerable brilliance, weaving past three Everton defenders in a row before cutting inside and unleashing a powerful strike that found the far corner of the net. 2-0!

Liverpool had extended their lead.

In the 78th minute, Liverpool won a corner. De Bruyne swung it in, and Van Dijk rose high above the Everton defenders to power home a thunderous header. The ball crashed cleanly into the net. 3-0!

Liverpool had the game locked up.

The whistle sounded.

When the referee blew for full time, the score of 3-0 was frozen on the board. Liverpool had beaten Everton at home, claiming victory in the Merseyside derby and extending their winning streak.

After the match, the broadcast commentators couldn't hide their admiration as they reflected on the game:

"Honestly, tonight's match was a genuinely difficult one for Liverpool. Everton's brutal fouling kept disrupting their attacking rhythm, and the referee's leniency only made things harder. And yet, even in circumstances like that, Liverpool still found a way to win comfortably, powered by pure individual quality.

A Liverpool team like this is truly, frighteningly strong. At this rate, it's hard to imagine any team in the Premier League being able to stop them!"

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