Score: Liverpool 3 – 0 Norwich
Goalscorer: Azim (9' minute, 19' minute, & 24' minute)
The crowd still roared, even as the ball had long since rolled back to the center circle.
Azim (ST) stood just inside his own half, hands on hips, chest slowly rising. His face betrayed nothing, but his eyes scanned like lasers, recalibrating everything.
Behind him, James Milner (CDM) jogged back into position, glancing once toward Jürgen Klopp. Klopp gave a subtle nod—one finger curled down.
"Hands down," it meant.
Control. No wild swings. No chaos. Just pure, clinical command.
The match restarted. Norwich passed slowly, the rhythm broken. Wes Hoolahan (CAM) dropped to receive, but Lucas Leiva (CDM) mirrored every step.
Philippe Coutinho (LW) and Roberto Firmino (CAM) held the half-spaces, shadowing without pressing. Daniel Sturridge (RW) floated wide, waiting.
Azim (ST) was still. But his mind was moving.
IS Overlay
Opponent Compression Level: Low
Norwich Mental Energy Index: -11%
Steven Whittaker (RB) tried to push forward, but Alberto Moreno (LB) met him immediately. Firmino (CAM) floated between the lines like vapor. Then the opportunity came.
Moreno (LB) tackled cleanly, ball rolling into Milner's (CDM) zone. One touch inside. Then a darting pass to Azim (ST) in the pocket.
Azim (ST) dropped into the vertical corridor between Norwich's midfield and backline. Russell Martin (CB) hesitated—step forward or hold?
IS: No Pressure Window – 2.1s. Execute creative link.
Azim (ST) received with left foot, let it roll across his body. Sébastien Bassong (CB) edged forward.
IS: Firmino (CAM) run angle detected – 78% synergy link.
Without looking, Azim (ST) backheeled.
It split two defenders. Firmino (CAM) ran onto it clean—bursting forward into the box.
Ruddy (GK) came out. Firmino (CAM) opened his body…
Shot wide.
Anfield groaned, but then applauded the sequence.
Gary Neville: "Close call for our brazillian."
Martin Tyler: "The confidence to try that pass, did he think he is Xavi?"
Klopp gestured. Two fingers. Repeat pattern.
Azim (ST) nodded.
Milner (CDM) and Lucas (CDM) staggered horizontally to allow Firmino (CAM) to roam. The midfield triangle pulsed like a heartbeat.
Clyne (RB) launched a throw-in high to Sturridge (RW), who flicked on. The ball dropped into open space.
IS Trigger – Blindside Sprint Opportunity: 94% success
Azim (ST) burst forward.
From stillness to full stride in three steps.
Whittaker (RB) turned but saw only the back of Azim's shirt—number 9 already vanishing into the right channel.
Bassong (CB) retreated toward the box. Ruddy (GK) advanced.
Azim (ST) touched it once, then again—deliberately drawing Ruddy (GK) wide of the post.
IS: Keeper Shift Right – Open Backline Lane | Sturridge (RW) Late Run Confirmed
He didn't look.
Azim's (ST) heel dropped back behind his own leg.
Backheel. Again
The ball slid perfectly into Sturridge's (RW) path.
One touch.
Bang.
GOAL.
"GOAL FOR LIVERPOOL!"
"Scorer — number 15… DANIEL!"
Fans: "STURRIDGE!" "STURRIDGE!" "STURRIDGE!"
Liverpool 4 — Norwich City 0!
Azim (ST) run to the Kop with other player to celebrate Sturridge first goal after his injury.
A wave of standing applause rolled through the Kop.
Sturridge (RW) slapped his back. "Thanks for the ball."
Azim (ST) offered a rare grin. "Welcome mate. Make the run, and I'll find you."
--
Norwich were now holding possession like it might break. Graham Dorrans (CDM) tried a short pass—nearly intercepted by Firmino (CAM).
Nathan Redmond (LW) looked isolated. Cameron Jerome (ST) had barely touched the ball.
Klopp paced, but said nothing.
The work was being done in silence.
Azim (ST) now stood between both centre-backs. Not moving. Just watching.
Waiting.
The stadium was still humming from the hat-trick.
Every time Azim (ST) touched the ball now, there was an edge to the air—as if the entire Kop inhaled in expectation. Even when he was standing still, defenders drifted toward him like moths to a floodlight.
But in this moment, he wasn't sprinting. He was calculating.
Up ahead, Nathan Redmond (RW) tried once again to lift Norwich's tempo, cutting inside past Alberto Moreno (LB). But the shape was wrong. The angles were late. Liverpool's midfield triangle—Milner (CDM), Lucas Leiva (CDM), and Roberto Firmino (CAM)—was locked and balanced.
And then came the moment.
Wes Hoolahan (CAM) received facing his own goal. James Milner (CDM) pounced—sharp, clean, textbook tackle. The ball spilled forward.
Firmino (CAM) poked it loose.
It rolled toward the right flank… and into Azim's (ST) path.
IS – Counterattack Opportunity: ACTIVE
Sprint Channel Open: Zone 3B to 6A
Space Between CBs: 8.2m wide – Bassong (CB) sagging left
Defensive Reset Delay: 3.4s | Execute Now
Energy Release Protocol: Enabled – Suppression OFF
Azim (ST) struck the first step like a sprinter off the blocks. Not top speed yet—he was gliding, feeding off the roar.
Bassong (CB) recognized the danger and scrambled to rotate his hips. Ruddy (GK) shouted "DROP!" but no one heard him. Or maybe they all did—and froze.
Azim (ST) accelerated.
One defender. Two. Both behind.
He surged down the right channel, the touchlines trembling under his boots.
IS Internal Sync:
Top Speed: 33.9 km/h
Sustained Sprint Capacity: 6.2 seconds | Fatigue: Minimal
Ruddy (GK) advancing – Reaction Delay: 0.46s – Right Bias
John Ruddy (GK) came. Not hesitating. Not brave. Just desperate.
Azim (ST) took a half-touch to the outside—slowing just enough to alter Ruddy's trajectory.
Now the keeper was overcommitted.
IS – Keeper Drag Triggered | Delay Execution Window: 1.1s | New Target: Blindside Assist
He glanced.
Not at the goal.
But at Sturridge (RW)—darting inside from the far side, invisible to defenders, perfectly timed.
Azim (ST) feinted like he would cut back and shoot. Ruddy bit.
And then—
A flick.
Backheel. Right boot. Subtle. Deliberate.
The ball rolled behind him like a gift wrapped in velvet ribbon.
Sturridge (RW) didn't break stride.
One touch.
Bang.
GOAL.
The net rippled so hard it slapped the back stanchion.
"ARGHHHHHH!"
"GOAL FOR LIVERPOOL!"
"Scorer — number 15… Daniel!" "Sturridge!"
"Liverpool 5 — Norwich City 0!"
His face was split in half by a grin too wide to hold, his hands curled into fists but relaxed at the knuckles, body cutting across the grass in a motion that was somehow light and explosive all at once. There was no weight on his shoulders now—no burden of expectation. Just air. Just elation. Just Sturridge, ten yards ahead, already dancing near the flag.
Azim reached him just as James Milner (LCM) and Philippe Coutinho (CAM) came in from the sides. A tight huddle formed near the flag—bodies colliding in pure kinetic joy, arms slung over shoulders, sweaty foreheads pressed against each other, laughter spilling out in fragments.
"Man…" Sturridge exhaled, shaking his head. "That flick—are you even human?"
Azim just laughed, voice catching in his throat."I told you I'd feed you one today."
Sturridge winked. "That's two."
Azim raised his hands, mock surrender. "Alright, alright—greedy."
Back at the halfway line, Russell Martin (CB) picked the ball out of the net himself. His shoulders drooped, not from lack of fitness, but from something heavier: the recognition that they were caught inside something surreal. A match turning mythic.
Wes Hoolahan (CAM) tapped him lightly on the back. "Get it over with."
Gary Neville :"Sturridge, he did it again!"
Martin Tyler :"It's frightening. And brilliant. And beautiful. The pass. The goal. A pure masterclass performance by Liverpool."
On the touchline, Jürgen Klopp already did his famous celebration - triple fist pumps.
The replay flashed across the stadium screen.
Azim's (ST) sprint. The moment of hesitation. Ruddy's pull. The flick. The finish.
Fans clapped mid-replay. Then they clapped louder.
Back on the pitch, Azim (ST) waited. Calm. Hands on hips. Fatigue held at bay by some inner pulse only he could hear.
IS Tactical Summary
Green Executions: 3
Assist Probability: 97.2%
Crowd Sync: 96.8% | Stadium Tremor Level: Elevated
As Norwich kicked off again, the tempo of the stadium shifted.
No longer hopeful. No longer expectant.
It was reverent.
They weren't watching a match anymore.
They were witnessing a player rewrite how football was played—without ego, without waste, with pure, unscripted brilliance.
The scoreboard didn't just reflect a lead.
It reflected a collapse.
Norwich City looked less like a football team and more like a memory of one. After Sturridge (RW) had slammed in the fourth, assisted by that surreal Azim (ST) backheel, the only thing keeping their defensive line intact was the final whistle—and that was still ten minutes away.
Graham Dorrans (CDM) jogged to the ball like it weighed a hundred pounds. John Ruddy (GK) clapped his gloves once, without conviction. Russell Martin (CB) shouted at Sébastien Bassong (CB), who shouted at nobody.
And Azim (ST)? He didn't even move from the center circle.
IS
Press Intensity = 0% | Control Index = 97.2%
Opponent Morale Score: -16% | Fatigue: Red-Zone
Zone Occupancy: 4-2-4 — Norwich structural integrity fractured
From the sideline, Jürgen Klopp gave no new instruction. His arms were folded. The only word he had uttered since the fourth goal was:
"Breathe."
Liverpool didn't press. They floated. Lucas Leiva (CDM) and James Milner (CDM) controlled the middle, shifting left to right like a metronome. Nathaniel Clyne (RB) advanced into space but didn't cross. Daniel Sturridge (RW) stayed wide, mostly resting.
But Azim (ST) never stopped watching.
He was motionless now, just on the shoulder of Martin (CB), eyes tracking Ruddy (GK) and both centre-backs at once.
Philippe Coutinho (LW) floated inside, laid off to Roberto Firmino (CAM), who checked back and reversed to Lucas (CDM). The ball found its way to Milner (CDM) again, then Coutinho (LW), and the stadium began to murmur—not out of boredom, but reverence.
Gary Neville :"They're not even trying to score. Look at them. This is control beyond numbers."
Martin Tyler:"Klopp calls it 'tempo death.' The game is still being played, but only Liverpool are allowed to move."
Redmond (RW) tried to spark something. He darted forward—maybe out of pride, or impulse—but Alberto Moreno (LB) held his line and delayed the pass.
Dorrans (CDM) attempted a forward pass anyway.
Firmino (CAM) read it before the ball had even left the foot.
One step. Intercepted.
He played it short to Lucas (CDM).Lucas to Milner (CDM). Milner looked left—then cut it diagonally toward Azim (ST).
IS: Central Corridor – Green | Blindside Movement Engaged
Russell Martin (CB) Turning Angle = Delayed 0.48s
Distance from Ball = 6.1m | No screen present
Execution Path: Hold + Release
Azim (ST) didn't rush. He received the ball with his back to goal and let it roll gently under his boot.
Russell Martin (CB) approached. Bassong (CB) was shouting something behind him.
Azim (ST) turned.
Not fast. Not aggressive. Just enough to keep both defenders guessing.
He took a single step forward—then stopped, pivoted, and chipped the ball sideways toward Coutinho (LW) cutting in from the left.
Coutinho (LW) brought it down perfectly, shaped to shoot—but instead dropped it back to Firmino (CAM), who hit it low, first time.
Ruddy (GK) saved with his knee. The ball popped up. Bounced once. Hung.
Azim (ST) appeared again—he hadn't sprinted. He had drifted.
He was there. Under the falling ball. Martin (CB) backpedaled, but too late.
Azim (ST) didn't shoot.
He stopped. Turned. Let the ball fall at his feet. Then flicked it backwards—again—to Coutinho (LW).
Coutinho (LW) curved the ball with the inside of his right boot—off the post.
Groan.
Applause.
Somehow both.
IS Alert:
Crowd Sync Stable: 97.4%
Opposition Collapse Level: Deep Phase
Backline Fatigue: Critical | Martin (CB) + Bassong (CB) Recovery Delay = 2.3s
The play recycled again. Lovren (CB) calmly passed to Škrtel (CB), who pinged it left to Moreno (LB). Nothing forced. Just rhythm.
But in those moments, you could see the truth of it:
Liverpool weren't attacking.
They were demonstrating.
Klopp turned to Pep Lijnders and muttered:"We're not a team right now. We're an equation."
Lijnders smiled. "And they can't solve it."
Back on the pitch, Azim (ST) walked—shoulders relaxed, arms low. He cut across the top of the final third, a silent predator not even pretending to be part of the build-up.
He was waiting for something.
He was constructing it.
IS Notification: Chip Opportunity Chain – Probability 91% | Executable in next sequence
Ruddy (GK) Pre-Lean Detected: Left Hip Tension = Early Jump
Central Dribble Lane: Clear for 4.3m
Execution Mode: Chip
The final moments of the 40th minute ticked down. Firmino (CAM) glanced to Milner (CDM). The pass came short. Then to Clyne (RB).
Then Firmino (CAM) again.
Then Azim (ST).
He took it, eyes already lifted.
And the crowd—already standing—began to rise higher.
Anfield had changed.
Not just in sound, but in soul.
Since Daniel Sturridge's (RW) fourth goal—slid home off Abdul Azim's (ST) audacious backheel—the stadium was no longer roaring. It was watching. It was learning.
The match restarted under a strange, charged silence. Graham Dorrans (CDM) rolled the ball sideways to Alexander Tettey (CDM), but even he looked reluctant, as if dreading what might follow.
IS Systems Online – Passive Control Mode
Press Intensity: 0% | Tactical Zone Control: 96.7%
Opponent Fatigue Threshold: Red Warning
Fan Emotional Sync: 97.4%
Norwich Defensive Integrity: 41% (Fragmented)
Azim (ST) didn't move.
He stood near the halfway line, right between Russell Martin (CB) and Sébastien Bassong (CB), floating like a phantom. His hands were loose at his sides, breathing slow and deep, like a boxer waiting for the bell.
Milner (CDM) and Lucas Leiva (CDM) formed a tight pivot. Nathaniel Clyne (RB) shaped wide, but held his width intelligently. Roberto Firmino (CAM) dropped between the lines, never committing too much.
Philippe Coutinho (LW) cut inside with lazy beauty, while Daniel Sturridge (RW) kept hugging the right touchline, dragging defenders wider than they wanted to go.
Norwich tried to build.
They tried.
Hoolahan (CAM) pushed forward in frustration, but Moreno (LB) just shepherded him harmlessly toward the sideline. Redmond (RW) tried a dribble — stumbled.
Cameron Jerome (ST) stood in the center circle with hands on his hips, staring into the distance.
They weren't playing football anymore. They were surviving.
From the dugout, Jürgen Klopp turned slightly toward Pep Lijnders.
"They're breathing because we let them," Klopp said softly.
Lijnders nodded.
The ball came to Tettey (CDM). A pass to Dorrans (CDM). Then backward to Russell Martin (CB).Then sideways. Then back again.
Anfield started to hum. A noise somewhere between laughter and prayer.
Azim (ST) watched it all unfold.
No pressing.
No hunting.
Just waiting.
IS Overlay – Passive Drift Activated
Defensive Displacement: +5.8m (Martin CB drifted)
Martin (CB) panicked first.
He played a hurried pass into midfield.
Milner (CDM) was already there, anticipating.
One touch to Lucas (CDM). Lucas (CDM) to Firmino (CAM).Firmino (CAM) out to Clyne (RB).
And Liverpool flowed again — not surging toward goal, but composing.
Gary Neville: "I don't think I've seen control like this since peak Barcelona. But this feels... colder. More clinical."
Martin Tyler: "Because it's not about possession anymore. It's about orchestration."
Azim (ST) drifted.
Right to left. Then into the half-space.
He pulled Russell Martin (CB) with him. Then let him go. Like a fisherman playing a tired catch.
Bassong (CB) tried to cover.
Azim (ST) just shifted again, two steps deeper, drawing Norwich's last line into ridiculous gaps.
The pitch bent to him.
IS
Center Back Vertical Separation: 9.2m
Right Back Positional Error: +6.1m off line
Keeper Readiness Delay: 0.49s Posture Lock
James Milner (CDM) spotted it.
He pinged a ball into Azim (ST) — chest-high.
Azim (ST) controlled it with one soft touch, let it drop to his instep, then pivoted without urgency.
Russell Martin (CB) lunged — late.
Bassong (CB) backpedaled — too slow.
Azim (ST) flicked the ball with the outside of his boot, splitting them both.
It wasn't an attack. It was a demonstration.
Firmino (CAM) sprinted onto the flick. First-time shot — low, hard, near post.
Ruddy (GK) guessed correctly this time — saving with his feet.
The ball popped loose.
Anfield gasped.
Azim (ST) was already there — no sprinting — just arriving.
Instead of shooting, Azim (ST) stopped the ball dead with the underside of his boot.
Martin (CB) slid past helplessly.
Firmino (CAM) and Coutinho (LW) both screamed for it.
Azim (ST) tapped the ball sideways — a whisper of a pass.
Coutinho (LW) curled it left-footed — past Ruddy (GK) — off the post.
Groan.
But then — applause. Huge. Sustained. Because it wasn't about scoring anymore.
It was about control.
Even Klopp smiled now — not the manic fist-pumping smile of goals, but the quiet smile of an architect watching the city rise.
Norwich shuffled back.
Škrtel (CB) to Lovren (CB). Lovren (CB) to Moreno (LB). Moreno (LB) to Milner (CDM).
Pass. Pass. Pass.
Each one forcing Norwich to pivot. To chase shadows. To burn stamina they no longer had.
Russell Martin (CB) pointed and screamed.
"Step up!"
But no one moved.
Sébastien Bassong (CB) bent over, hands on knees.
Azim (ST) drifted again.
Not forward — not into danger.
Into space.
Into a place where he could see the whole board.
Klopp folded his arms tighter, his lips a hard line.
"He's playing them without the ball," murmured Pep Lijnders.
Back on the pitch, the ball zipped into Firmino (CAM), who cushioned it back to Milner (CDM).
Milner (CDM) glanced sideways — saw Azim (ST) half-open.
The pass came sharp. A low, spinning thing.
Azim (ST) absorbed it with the inside of his right boot — no bounce.
One glance over the shoulder.
He didn't dribble.
He didn't sprint.
He simply walked.
IS
Keeper Pre-Lean: Detected – 0.46s Delay Left
Top-Mid Trajectory Window: 89% Clearance Prediction
The final setup sequence was now live.
The crowd rose — not shouting — but standing, sensing it.
A thousand hearts beating in sync.
They knew what was coming.
And Azim (ST) — Liverpool's number 9 — was about to show them why.