Chapter 1 The Internal Strife in Manchester City's Locker Room

Liverpool was unaware of the internal strife in Manchester City's locker room. After a fifteen-minute halftime break, they returned to the field in a relaxed and cheerful mood.

Manchester City took a few minutes longer to appear, but it was still within the normal time frame, so it didn't raise any suspicions.

However, when the TV broadcast zoomed in on Mancini as he entered, everyone noticed his expression was even more unpleasant.

"Perhaps he spent fifteen minutes and still couldn't figure out how to effectively deal with Chen Hero and Liverpool!" the commentator quipped.

The Manchester City players also looked grim, seemingly confirming the commentators' speculation and banter.

Even the Manchester City players themselves already knew they were unlikely to defeat this opponent.

When all the Manchester City players appeared on the field, the commentators noticed a problem.

Aguero, who had scored the opening goal for the team in the first half and was in excellent form, was not on the field!

Yes, not there!

Counting all eleven Manchester City players who took the field, Aguero was definitely missing!

The TV broadcast also counted, panning from one area to another. The commentators and viewers counted along with the camera, and indeed, they couldn't find Aguero!

"Huh? Was Aguero substituted?"

"That doesn't make sense. Aguero played very well in this game and was in good form. I can't think of any reason why Mancini would take him off..."

"Maybe Mancini plans to defend to the death and drag it all the way to a penalty shootout? Aguero's contribution in defense isn't that great..."

The commentators racked their brains to find a reason for this sudden substitution.

At the same time, on the sidelines, the fourth official held up the substitution board for Manchester City, clearly showing that number sixteen, Aguero, was being replaced by number ten, Dzeko.

He was indeed being substituted!

Because everyone was caught off guard by this inexplicable substitution, it took a while for the substitution to appear on the TV screen, reminding viewers that Manchester City had indeed made a change, with Dzeko replacing Aguero.

At the same time, the camera kept scanning the Manchester City bench repeatedly, but to everyone's surprise, they didn't see Aguero there either!

This was strange. If Aguero had been substituted during halftime, although it was difficult to understand, it wasn't uncommon. Such things happened in football matches all the time.

The coach has his own considerations, which is normal.

But if a player who has been substituted doesn't appear on the bench with the team, it means something else entirely—that the player had a conflict with the coach, and he wasn't taken off for tactical reasons.

Did Manchester City have an internal conflict during halftime?

Although Manchester City's performance in the first half wasn't great, they still had a goal, and the score was tied. It wasn't like they were completely hopeless. What could they possibly be fighting about?

No one could figure it out.

Not just them, but even Mancini couldn't understand why Aguero would jump out to oppose him at this moment.

Was it because he had said, "We don't have a hero"? But he had already explained and appeased him afterwards. He was kept in the dark about Manchester City's attempt to buy Chen Hero. He didn't know anything about it, so if Aguero was angry, he shouldn't be taking it out on him.

If it was because of something that happened during the game, he understood even less. The team was currently tied. Even if they couldn't score any more goals, they could still try to hold on for a draw. Why was there a need to jump out and oppose him during halftime?

Mancini was completely baffled.

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On the other side, Martin O'Neill also noticed what was happening with Manchester City.

When he saw that Aguero, the player who posed the biggest threat to Liverpool in the first half, was not on the field, he was initially pleased. He didn't know why Mancini had taken him off, but his absence was definitely good news for Liverpool.

Then he noticed that Aguero wasn't on the bench either, and he was even happier. Because this wasn't just a simple substitution, it might be an internal conflict within Manchester City!

He wasn't interested in guessing what kind of internal conflict had broken out in Manchester City, or for what reason. He just needed to know that Manchester City's internal strife was beneficial to him.

With such a good opportunity, not bringing back a League Cup title would be letting God down!

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On the field, Chen Hero and the other Liverpool players also noticed the unusual situation. Aguero wasn't on the field, nor was he off the field. No one knew exactly where he was, but suddenly replacing a key striker who had scored in the first half and then not being able to find him meant that something had definitely happened.

Internal strife!

This was the first word that popped into everyone's minds.

Manchester City in turmoil?

Ha!

Chen Hero couldn't help but laugh when he thought of this.

Manchester City, if you don't die, there will be no justice!

How much fighting power did a Manchester City with internal strife have left in the face of Liverpool?

This was simply self-destruction.

Chen Hero had originally thought that he might have to put in even more effort in the second half to break through Manchester City's desperate defense.

But now, looking at those Manchester City players, their faces were filled with panic, and they clearly hadn't recovered from the internal conflict at halftime. If such a team could still stop Liverpool, then Liverpool might as well just collectively run into a wall and kill themselves!

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Because of this sudden internal strife, the second half of the League Cup had completely lost its suspense.

Faced with a pack of hungry wolves, Manchester City wasn't thinking about uniting to deal with a strong enemy, but instead started fighting among themselves. Did the result even need to be said?

In the second half, Liverpool launched a fierce offensive, and Manchester City had no heart to fight. The confrontation between Aguero and Mancini during halftime greatly disturbed and shook Manchester City's morale. The Manchester City players had no desire to continue the game.

Now, they were only on the field because of the inertia they had developed from long-term professional training.

It was like a car that had lost its power, still gliding forward due to inertia.

But this inertia couldn't last long, because under the wheels of this car, there were only speed bumps!

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In the sixty-fifth minute, Chen Hero scored with a long shot, giving his team the lead, and completing his brace.

After scoring, he didn't run to the Manchester City bench to continue humiliating Mancini this time.

He was no longer interested in Manchester City; he just wanted to win the championship.

So after scoring, he spread his arms and celebrated the goal to his heart's content, conveying his confidence.

Everyone who saw Chen Hero celebrating the goal in such an uninhibited way could feel his confidence.

Liverpool fans cheered for the goal, while Manchester City fans remained silent.

In fact, since the start of the second half, they had rarely booed the Liverpool players or Chen Hero. Because when they realized that their team was actually having an internal conflict, they suddenly lost interest in supporting the team. They even felt disheartened—we're cheering you on and shouting encouragement in the stands, working ourselves to the bone, and this is how you repay us? Internal strife?

In front of so many people, in such an important final, you're actually having an internal conflict!

Do you even know that this is the most promising game Manchester City has had to win a championship in several seasons?!

Do you even know how much we Manchester City fans crave victory in this game?!

The increasingly angry Manchester City fans simply chose to remain silent, using this method to express their dissatisfaction with Manchester City from top to bottom.

Also dissatisfied was Manchester City Club Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak in the presidential box.

This young club chairman was angry at Manchester City's disgraceful performance. It was too embarrassing!

The team was having an internal conflict in the League Cup final!

If such a thing happened to other teams, he would laugh at it and be very happy. But when it happened to his own team, he absolutely didn't want his team to be made a laughing stock by others!

He didn't know exactly what had happened, but Mancini, you could at least try to cover it up a little, right? You just blatantly substituted Aguero like that, as if you were afraid people wouldn't know we were having an internal conflict?

Mubarak was already very unhappy with Mancini, so now when he looked at Mancini, he was wearing tinted glasses. No matter what happened, it must be Mancini's fault!

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After Chen Hero scored twice and broke the tie, Liverpool became unstoppable.

Manchester City, on the other hand, could hardly put up any resistance.

Mancini stood on the sidelines, his heart bitter.

He really didn't want the game to turn out like this, but unfortunately, the situation developed beyond his expectations. How could he have imagined that his team would have an internal conflict during halftime, and that the team's number one star, Aguero, would actually turn against him?

Looking at Chen Hero running and cheering with his arms outstretched, and the smile on his face, he suddenly felt a little envious of Martin O'Neill. With such a united and combative team, what championship in the world couldn't they win?

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Chen Hero's brace completely tolled the death knell for Manchester City.

In the seventy-first minute, Chen Hero scored again, this time with a header in front of the goal. He used a powerful header to open Manchester City's goal for the third time.

And as he completed his hat trick, the result of this game was completely decided.

Although the game hadn't ended yet, the commentators were one after another beginning to announce the final result.

"The game has lost all suspense! Liverpool will defeat Manchester City to win the League Cup!"

"This is Liverpool's first...no, it's their second championship this season. The first championship was the Community Shield. This is their second championship! Of course, both of these championships are rather trivial, but for Liverpool, this is undoubtedly a huge encouragement! It will become a driving force, pushing them forward!"