Chapter 1 Liverpool's Triumph

Liverpool scored a goal within the first three minutes, setting the tone for the entire match.

In the following minutes, Liverpool continued to bombard their opponent's penalty area, like an unrelenting tide crashing wave after wave against Hull City's defensive dikes. The deafening cheers of Anfield Stadium were the roar of the waves against those dikes!

Under such intense pressure from Liverpool and amidst the frenzied atmosphere of Anfield, Hull City couldn't hold on for long.

In the twentieth minute, they surrendered.

In the twentieth minute, Suarez scored, extending Liverpool's lead.

Goal after goal followed.

When the final whistle blew, the score was 6-0.

Chen Hero completed a hat trick, and after each goal, he raised his crooked right pinky in celebration.

Suarez scored one goal, Gerrard also scored, and Gotze scored his first official goal since joining Liverpool.

The entire Liverpool team finally delivered a resounding victory to old Hateson, as they had hoped.

After the game, all the Liverpool players unfurled a banner on the field that read: "We dedicate this victory to you, Steve, get well soon!"

They had also displayed a banner after the last game, but today's banner was different from the one in the previous match; it wasn't the same one.

Because below that sentence was another line in slightly smaller letters: "The last one doesn't count, this one does!"

Harry. Levy laughed when he saw this scene. "It seems they felt that beating their opponents 3-2 away from home wasn't perfect enough; they needed a big win. Now, they've got their wish!"

Old Hateson, watching on television, also laughed.

Then he had his son lower the hospital bed, and he closed his eyes contentedly. "I want to sleep."

Everyone looked at each other, not expecting the old man's emotions to come and go so quickly. That was it…

It seemed… Dad was deliberately controlling his emotions to watch the game. He would never have been this simple in the past; he would have watched the post-match interviews as well.

He was interested in anything related to football because it was material for his work. Sometimes, things he saw unintentionally could be useful during match commentary.

But today, he was just like an ordinary fan, satisfied after watching the spectacle. He didn't care about anything else.

Watching old Hateson close his eyes, the family was still worried. They stood quietly by the bed, watching over him, until they heard the old man emit a soft snore, and they tiptoed away.

After closing the door to the ward, the family discussed everything that had just happened in the corridor.

"I think it's okay for him to watch a game in moderation," Little Hateson actually supported letting his father watch the games because the effects were very obvious. After watching the game, his dad was in much better spirits, eating and sleeping well.

Football wasn't a deadly poison, but a lifesaver.

But his sister Vivian disagreed. "It's a drug, a mental drug! He's mentally satisfied now, but in the long run, his body will definitely suffer!"

"Even if it's opium, Vivian. Would you rather force him to quit now and watch him age rapidly, seeing his spirit decline day by day? Or see him like this?" Little Hateson asked his sister.

"How could quitting drugs kill someone? Not quitting will!"

"If Dad were fifty years old, I'd agree with you. But he's seventy-one now, and none of us know how much longer he has to live. I think making him happy is the most important thing at this stage."

"Alright, you two stop arguing." Their mother stepped in to mediate. "How sad would your father be if he heard you arguing like this?"

Vivian frowned and said nothing, but from her expression, she was clearly unwilling.

※※※

The 6-0 score was the biggest margin of victory in this round of league matches, and Liverpool's excellent performance allowed them to maintain their position at the top of the league.

Seven rounds of the league had passed, and they hadn't lost or even drawn a single game – a perfect record!

After seven league rounds, they had twenty-one points, sitting comfortably at the top of the league.

Manchester United and Chelsea, in second and third place, both had eighteen points, three points behind them.

If you included last season's results, then Liverpool had won fourteen consecutive league matches and were unbeaten in seventeen consecutive league games.

After the game, the media exclaimed that this season's Liverpool seemed unstoppable and invincible.

Sure enough, with the addition of strong reinforcements in the summer, they were even more terrifying and powerful than last season.

But domestic league dominance was meaningless. To be a true giant, you had to prove yourself in the Champions League.

Lyon had dominated Ligue 1, winning the league title for seven consecutive years, making them the true overlords of French football, but they had never won a Champions League title, so no one would recognize them as a true giant, at most a top-tier team.

Even in the Premier League, no matter how many league titles you won, you would be looked down upon without a Champions League title.

Next up was the second round of the Champions League group stage, with Liverpool playing away against Fiorentina.

※※※

In less than a year, Chen Hero returned to Italy once again.

Each time he returned, he would become the focus of Italian media coverage.

This was all because the mark he had left in Napoli back then was simply too deep…

Even now, more than three seasons after he left Napoli, the Napoli fans still missed him and often mentioned him.

Although Cavani had done very well in Napoli, compared to Chen Hero, he had one flaw: his personal charisma wasn't as prominent and unique as Chen Hero's. And the Napoli fans, who had been spoiled by personality stars like Chen Hero and Maradona, always felt that Cavani was missing something…

This time, when they went to Florence, Italy, to play the game, some Napoli reporters came to interview Chen Hero, wanting him to talk about his views on Napoli now and chat about things like Cavani.

And Chen Hero maintained his straightforward nature.

He didn't really appreciate the fact that Napoli fans still missed him. "When I was in Napoli, I was booed for a year for saying bad things about Maradona. I've always felt that Napoli is a great city, and Napoli is also a great team. They don't need to enshrine any one person as a god; they just need to enshrine the team itself as a god. I've always felt that Napoli is great not because of Maradona, not because of me, but because they're called 'Napoli'."

"Cavani? He's doing very well. I think he's outstanding. It's unfair to compare me to him. Our eras are different, the people around us are different, we're different inside and out, there's nothing to compare. Real Napoli fans should wholeheartedly support Cavani. Or do they have to wait until they drive Cavani away before they start remembering how good he was?"

The Napoli reporter immediately felt that this was indeed the Chen Hero they knew – his words were so blunt, someone with a weaker mental fortitude might have started arguing with Chen Hero on the spot.

But after listening carefully and thinking about it, they had to admit that Chen Hero was right. His words were rough, but the principle was sound.

As for what he had to say about the upcoming match between Liverpool and Fiorentina?

"There's nothing to say, we're definitely here to get three points, because we want to qualify as the top of the group!"

"Isn't that a little disrespectful to the opponent…" a reporter asked hesitantly.

Chen Hero shook his head, spread his hands, and looked surprised. "How could it be? When did going all out become disrespectful to the opponent? I believe Fiorentina would agree with me."

Prandelli, who had just stepped down from the Italian national team coach position this summer and taken over as Fiorentina's coach, joked after hearing reporters relay Chen Hero's words: "To be honest, I really hope he doesn't go all out, preferably he should sleepwalk! Haha!"

Italian coaches knew best how good Chen Hero was. When Chen Hero was in Napoli, they couldn't figure out how to deal with him, and now that he was even stronger and more well-rounded, he gave them even more of a headache.

So when Prandelli said this, the reporters present laughed. They knew what he meant.

Then Prandelli said seriously: "Yes, Liverpool will go all out, and we will also go all out, after all, this is our home ground. And we are in desperate need of a victory now."

Fiorentina lost their first Champions League group stage match 0-1 away to Marseille. If they wanted to qualify for the group stage, they had to win this home game. Otherwise, they would be pushed to the brink.

"This game won't be easy, everyone knows how good Hero is, knows how good Liverpool is. But we have no way out, we can't retreat, because behind us is Fiorentina!"

Prandelli's words had a somewhat tragic tone.

This was also helpless, because besides saying that, he didn't seem to have anything else to say.

※※※

Fiorentina, playing at home, fielded a defensive formation, and looking at the formation, it didn't seem like they were the ones trying to win.

But there was really no choice. If Fiorentina still wanted to win, they first had to make sure they didn't concede a goal.

Everyone already knew Liverpool's tactics, which was to attack fiercely at the start, the earlier they scored, the more advantageous it was for them. And once these first three axes were used up, they would have to slow down the pace and reduce their momentum. At that time, it would be the chance for Liverpool's opponents to counterattack.

Prandelli's plan was to have the team endure Liverpool's opening three axes, slowly wear them down, and then take advantage of their impatience and lack of concentration to give them a fatal blow.

Italian defense had a tradition. Prandelli wasn't worried about that.

What he was thinking about was his own attack, whether Fiorentina's attack could break through Liverpool's goal before their defense collapsed?

Hu Die Lan