Liverpool's goal was like a heavy punch that landed squarely on AC Milan's chin. All AC Milan fans and players alike were stunned.

Before the match, they were full of hope and anticipation, dreaming that AC Milan could complete a major comeback at home.

They believed that a strong offensive would allow them to defeat Liverpool on their home turf, and Zlatan Ibrahimović was their great savior.

But the reality was cruel, pouring a bucket of cold water over their heads.

Trailing by three goals on aggregate essentially sealed their fate!

And Liverpool had an away goal, meaning that even if AC Milan scored three consecutive goals in the remaining match, they would still be eliminated unless they prevented Liverpool from scoring any more goals while scoring four themselves.

Putting aside their ability to score four consecutive goals, their current tactics made it unlikely that they could prevent Liverpool from scoring again... was that even possible?

Even an idiot could see the gaping holes in their defense, but before everyone had been under the illusion that "our offense can suppress their offense, so our defense is safe."

Now it seemed that this idea was utterly foolish!

※※※

Allegri watched Chen Hero score the goal, and he leaned back into his seat.

His heart was now at ease.

Liverpool was performing to their normal standard, so AC Milan's failure was inevitable.

Now he hoped that Liverpool would score even more goals.

He wanted Berlusconi and Galliani, sitting high up in the presidential box, to see the consequences of listening to Ibrahimović's words and prioritizing offense, offense, and more offense!

Did they still think they were the Milan dynasty of yesteryear? They couldn't even unify Italy, yet they dreamed of dominating Europe?

Stop daydreaming!

Be realistic. Although it wasn't pretty for a giant to play defensively, results were the most important thing. What did face matter?

He wondered if this goal would change the minds of those two men in the stands.

※※※

Berlusconi and Galliani were watching the match from the presidential box. When AC Milan besieged Liverpool's goal, their faces were expressionless, but their hearts were full of expectation, hoping that their team could break through Liverpool's defense. Scoring just one goal would make the aggregate score 1-2, leaving Liverpool with only a one-goal lead, and AC Milan would still have hope.

But instead, after waiting for so long, they received the news that their own goal had been breached.

Seeing Liverpool score on a counterattack, Galliani remembered what coach Allegri had told him.

"The score of 0-2 is a true reflection of the gap in strength between us and Liverpool. The media is intentionally misleading everyone when they discuss this match—they believe that Liverpool and we are on the same level. But in reality, I think Liverpool is already on the same level as Barcelona and Real Madrid... Not only is AC Milan, but all of Italian football is behind the English Premier League and La Liga, but many people don't realize this, or they realize it but are unwilling to admit it... But we ourselves must admit it, keep a clear head, and only then can we usher in a revival..."

Had AC Milan really fallen completely behind the world?

Was this... the gap?

Berlusconi cursed, "Damn it!"

But he quickly followed up with, "There's still time, we have plenty of time. The match isn't over yet!"

It seemed that he was still full of confidence and hope in the tactics he had personally formulated, and he also had great hope for Ibrahimović.

Ibrahimović was one of the few talented players in the world. He had once said that the Swede could be compared with Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, back when Chen Hero was still just a rising star.

In his eyes, Ibrahimović was the kind of great player who could single-handedly change the outcome of a match.

So he chose to continue to wait patiently, giving himself and Ibrahimović a chance.

He didn't want to admit defeat so early.

※※※

The Liverpool players celebrated their goal to their hearts' content at the San Siro stadium. In their opinion, this goal had secured their place in the final.

The stands were filled with boos from AC Milan fans, but they didn't care.

After the match restarted, they felt that since they had already secured their place in the final, there was no need to continue working so hard. They slowed down the pace, originally intending to drag the game out until the end.

But AC Milan's attack became even fiercer, and the gaps in their defense grew even larger.

When Chen Hero received the ball in the frontcourt, he was surprised that there wasn't a single AC Milan player around him.

What was wrong with AC Milan today?

Couldn't they see such obvious defensive loopholes?

Was it really okay to let him roam freely in their half of the field?

Chen Hero didn't dare to assume that AC Milan was just being crazy and insisting on attacking Liverpool head-on. At first, he thought it was a trap. He looked at the linesman, the referee, but everything seemed fine.

Of course, the opportunity was also lost at this time. He was surrounded by returning AC Milan defenders, and then Thiago Silva intercepted the ball.

Although he missed this opportunity, Chen Hero wasn't frustrated, because he felt he had discovered a secret, and this secret made him ecstatic!

Taking advantage of a dead ball situation, he said to his teammates around him, "I don't know what's wrong with AC Milan, but they don't care about defense at all! I think this is our chance, guys!"

"What chance, Hero? We've already secured our place in the final. Why don't we save some energy..." his teammates said.

"To score goals! I want to score more goals! Guys, you don't need to expend too much energy. All you have to do is pass the ball into the open space, and I'll make the run! I have good stamina, I'm not afraid!" Chen Hero said.

He had already scored seventeen goals in the Champions League this season. He was only three goals away from breaking the single-season record of twenty goals he set last season.

His goal wasn't just to tie the record, he wanted to break it even further.

He wanted to make this record unprecedented and unmatched.

He wanted to walk his own path, and then leave others with no path to walk!

Everyone knew how much Chen Hero wanted to score goals. Since he said so, let's help him! Who told us to eat so many meals at his expense...

※※※

So in the next match, Liverpool no longer just defended and counterattacked, they began to press forward.

Seeing this scene, Berlusconi in the stands was overjoyed—what he hated most was Liverpool turtling up to defend, then launching a surprise counterattack and scoring a goal.

Now that Liverpool was pressing forward, it meant there was hope for a goal.

As long as there was hope for a goal, there was hope for winning...

Many people thought the same way as him. The AC Milan fans in the stands cheered when they saw Liverpool pressing forward.

An all-out attack!

They wanted to see an all-out attack, not because it was beautiful, but because an all-out attack would give AC Milan a chance!

Before, when Liverpool had been defending all the time and then counterattacking, they had constantly booed, and some people had shouted and cursed, calling Liverpool "cowards without balls."

Perhaps they had been provoked by them, and Liverpool had finally pressed forward!

This was our credit!

The AC Milan fans were delighted and full of a sense of accomplishment, and their shouts became even louder.

※※※

Martin O'Neill, who was on the sidelines, was a little anxious when he saw Liverpool suddenly stop sticking to defense and counterattacks and instead try to press forward.

He was a cautious person, and even though the situation was great, he didn't want to take risks. After all, this was AC Milan's home stadium. Who knew how much of a home advantage they had?

What if the referee was helping them?

There had been many referee scandals in Italian football in recent years, and he really had no trust in this group of repeat offenders.

So when he saw the team pressing forward, he couldn't sit still. He got up from his seat and walked to the sidelines, intending to tell Liverpool to fall back and defend.

But what he saw was...

In a Liverpool attack, Gareth Bale sprinted wildly down the wing, then cut inside and shot. The ball was touched by Amelia, brushed against the post, and then flew out of the baseline!

"That was close! That was close! AC Milan's goal was almost breached again!"

"When Liverpool tries to press forward, AC Milan's goal immediately faces tremendous pressure! You have to know that in the Liverpool squad, there's more than just Chen Hero who can score goals!"

No matter how cautious Martin O'Neill was, he was relieved to see this scene—AC Milan wanted to fight Liverpool head-on, okay, then let them see what happens when they fight us head-on!

He was very confident in Liverpool's attacking power.

If the opponent really wanted to ignore their defense and fight Liverpool head-on, there weren't many teams in the world that could score more goals than Liverpool.

※※※

After seeing the two teams start an all-out attack, the AC Milan fans in the stands cheered for their team and prayed that Liverpool would press up a little more, and then a little more.

Because only after they pressed up could there be gaps in the defense.

In fact, they did see the gaps behind Liverpool's defense.

But they soon discovered something that made them extremely depressed—they could indeed see the gaps, those gaps were like mountains of gold and silver treasures piled up in front of them, tempting them, which was originally wonderful. But what made them unhappy was that they could only watch, but couldn't reach out and take them!

Because after they fought Liverpool head-on, they realized that Liverpool's attack was so fierce!

It actually showed signs of suppressing their team and making them unable to lift their heads!

Seeing that the all-out attack was about to turn into the same scene as the previous match.

Everyone was extremely anxious.

They began to rhythmically call out Ibrahimović's name, hoping that Ibrahimović would stand up.

Before the match, the Swede had stood up and responded to Chen Hero's provocation when even the coach didn't dare to speak, and they regarded him as a hero. Now they hoped that the Swede wouldn't just make bold statements, but also take action!

The team needs you now, take action and prove to us that we didn't support the wrong person!