James was eventually replaced by the fourth official. He sat on the sidelines while the Everton team doctor treated the wound around his eye socket.

Because it was so close to his eye, medication had to be applied with extreme caution, and the person being treated had to cooperate by keeping their head still.

But James didn't care about any of that.

He was taken off the field like this, and he was very upset. Because he had lost his chance for revenge.

Although there was no evidence, the furious James was convinced that Chen Hero had done it. This was definitely not an accident; Chen Hero had done it on purpose!

It must be said that his idea was very correct.

But what was the point?

He was already off the field…

The thought of this made the furious James unable to suppress the anger in his chest, and he gnashed his teeth and shook his head.

The last thing he saw when his eyes could still see normally was the nozzle of a spray bottle pointed at his eye, and then a white mist suddenly appeared, followed by a stabbing pain in his eye.

He screamed, fell backward, and landed flat on his back…

Then he clutched his eyes and wailed, attracting the attention of the people in the surrounding stands.

The Everton team doctor explained innocently to the people beside him, "It wasn't me… it wasn't me… he suddenly leaned forward himself…"

Someone couldn't stand it any longer and pushed him. "Stop talking nonsense and wash his eyes!"

The team doctor suddenly woke up and hurriedly treated James's eyes…

This scene was transmitted to the world through the lens of a live television broadcast.

The FA officials sitting in the stands also saw James's miserable appearance on the television screen.

Originally, they were thinking of going to the referee's locker room to see what was going on during the halftime break. Maybe James could return to the game after a fifteen-minute rest?

They did have such a hope in their hearts.

But now that hope was completely shattered. If they were still complaining about Chen Hero before, now they really had nothing to say.

James actually injured himself! Was he a pig?

One of them suddenly sighed.

It seemed like a luxury to rely on such an idiot to deal with Chen Hero and Liverpool…

"This is really a farce!" Finally, someone couldn't help but mutter in a low voice.

※※※

This was indeed a farce. Ever since James was injured, everyone's attention had been drawn to him. Now, seeing him suddenly lean into the nozzle of the spray bottle and then lie on the ground, clutching his eyes and rolling around in pain…

Many people felt particularly speechless.

Even those who had originally sympathized with James and were worried about him suddenly had the thought, "How could I be worried about this idiot?"

Perhaps this idea was particularly unsympathetic, but it was indeed the real thought of many people.

The image of a promising young referee had collapsed.

When everyone shifted their attention from this farce back to the field and the game, they were surprised to find that there were as many as… six minutes of injury time in the first half!

And this was all because of James.

Because of his injury, the first half had an unprecedented amount of injury time.

The game was currently in the forty-ninth minute, the fourth minute of injury time.

Liverpool launched an attack.

Still starting the ball directly from the backfield, the ball quickly reached Chen Hero. He jumped high and headed the ball.

Carlton Cole received the ball.

This talented winger, on whom Liverpool fans had placed high hopes, used his speed to get rid of Everton's defender and then crossed to the bottom line.

When he broke through, Chen Hero had already entered the penalty area.

Now he jumped high.

There was no one in front of the goal who could compete with him.

What was the point of going to great lengths to get James off the field?

It wasn't just for revenge.

They also had to win the game, they had to win, they had to score!

※※※

"Hero's Lion Shakes His Head—!!"

Accompanied by the commentator's roar, the ball flew into the goal!

There was no suspense. Just as the first half was about to end, Chen Hero scored the first goal for Liverpool, and Liverpool finally gained the lead they had been wanting!

"Hero! Hero! Hero—goooooooooooooooooAL!!! In the fourth minute of injury time, Liverpool scored their first goal of the game!"

"Not long after referee James was injured and left the field, Liverpool reversed their previous disadvantage. They took the initiative to attack and launched a fierce attack on Everton's goal. After a series of suffocating attacks, they finally took the initiative in the game—they are in the lead!"

"The Everton players thought they could return to the locker room with a proud draw, but Chen Hero stood up at the last moment to tell them how foolish this idea was! No team can avoid conceding a goal in the first half when facing Liverpool! Everton almost did it, but they ultimately failed! This must be a very heavy blow to Everton! Because they conceded a goal just as the first half was about to end…"

※※※

James, who had just been "rescued" by the Everton team doctor, was still sitting on the sidelines receiving treatment when he saw Chen Hero jump up and head the ball into the goal.

If it hadn't been for his injury, if he hadn't insisted on playing, it wouldn't have taken so much time, and naturally there wouldn't have been six minutes of injury time in the first half, so Chen Hero wouldn't have had the opportunity to score this goal in the forty-ninth minute.

Generally speaking, only one minute of injury time is given in the first half, and more often than not, there is no injury time at all. At most, three minutes is considered very impressive.

Five or six minutes is extremely rare…

And Chen Hero happened to score in the fourth minute, almost five minutes.

It must be said that James gave Chen Hero this opportunity…

Thinking of this, James felt bitterness in his throat. In his excitement, he shook his head again, and the eye that had been sprayed earlier was sprayed again…

He clutched his eyes for the second time and fell down with a scream.

But this time he was no longer the main character. No one cared about him or paid attention to him. More people's attention was on the field, focused on the person who was running with his arms outstretched!

※※※

Chen Hero ran to the corner flag area with his arms outstretched, then did a diving headfirst slide, gliding on the ground. His teammates followed suit and glided on the grass with him.

This was Chen Hero's most common celebratory move after scoring with a header.

Then everyone hugged each other on the ground.

Liverpool fans cheered in the stands.

The Everton fans were silent and quiet.

The same was true on the coaching benches of both sides.

Martin O'Neill led his men and jumped out of the coaching bench, waving his arms wildly and celebrating the goal. Taking the lead in the first half greatly boosted their confidence and gave the opponent a heavy blow at the same time—you want to go into halftime with a draw? No way!

Next door was the silent Everton bench and coaching bench.

Moyes thought of his previous worry again.

In his opinion, his worry had become a reality, but he still didn't know how the other party had done it…

He became more and more anxious.

The first half was coming to an end, but his team was behind.

How could they equalize the score in the second half?

He really had no idea.

※※※

Not long after Chen Hero scored, the first half ended.

Liverpool scored a goal and took the lead in the game.

This was the result they wanted, although the number of goals they were leading by was a little small. But they were still in the lead. And as long as they were in the lead, Liverpool had a hundred ways to deal with Everton and make them suffer.

They weren't worried that scoring at this time and then immediately entering the halftime break would interrupt their momentum.

The Liverpool fans were still cheering and singing as the players left the field. Although they were only leading by one goal, they now seemed to see the smile of the goddess of victory.

※※※

The fifteen-minute halftime break was particularly long for some people, such as those Liverpool fans who were looking forward to victory. They couldn't wait for the second half to start immediately, and then for the whole game to end immediately, and then for Liverpool to win the championship. In this way, Liverpool would win six championships this season, only one away from becoming a seven-time champion!

For others, it was extremely short.

Such as Everton coach Moyes. He knew that the halftime break was his last chance.

So he racked his brains trying to figure out what he should do to plug that loophole.

But he didn't even know what the loophole was.

He couldn't think of what to do even if he racked his brains.

Poor Moyes now felt that fifteen minutes for the halftime break was simply too short! Too unreasonable and unscientific!

Fifteen minutes passed in the blink of an eye, but he still hadn't found a solution.

His frustrated expression was visible to everyone.

As a result, the Everton players became even more convinced that the coach had lost confidence in them.

Although they were only one goal behind now, in the coach's eyes, it was as if they were ten goals behind.

This idea impacted the Everton players' fighting spirit and eventually emptied all their confidence.

Then, they returned to the field with deep self-doubt and a sense of resignation.

※※※

The Everton players were the last to come out, and they made the Liverpool players wait on the field for three minutes.

But this wasn't the trick that Kempes used in the Argentina World Cup final—deliberately delaying their appearance by a few minutes to wear down the morale and confidence of their opponents, the Dutch team, and leave them in a state of disarray.

Argentina back then was full of fighting spirit. Could this dejected Everton team be compared with them?

Absolutely not!

From the moment these Everton players walked out of the tunnel with their heads down, their fate of defeat was already sealed.
Chapter 1 The Beginning