Stramaccioni gave his players a good dressing down during halftime, spending fifteen minutes lecturing them on the importance of humility and taking every opponent seriously, using their opponents Liverpool as an example.

It was vivid and relatable, and the players all had a personal understanding of it.

When the fifteen-minute halftime break ended, the Inter Milan players returned to the field, only to suddenly realize that their coach hadn't said a word about what they should do in the second half!

They were a little dazed—did the coach want to give up on this game?

Thinking of this, some people were a little unconvinced. So what if they were two goals behind? Couldn't they still come back?

But soon they thought of what the coach had said during halftime, and they saw Chen Hero.

Come back?

It was afraid it would be difficult…

Saying that in front of this man was simply ridiculous!

Forget it, forget it, it would be good enough if we could get an away goal. The main thing was to prevent further goals!

As long as they could end the game with a score of 1:2, it would be considered a successful away trip for Inter Milan.

Thinking of this, those unconvinced Inter Milan players no longer had any disobedient thoughts.

In front of Chen Hero, they really didn't have the qualifications.

※※※

Inter Milan hoped to not concede any goals in the second half, while also scoring a goal, and then lose the game with a score of 1:2.

They felt that their requirements were low enough.

But the cruel reality gave them a blow to the head.

Or rather, the cruel Chen Hero gave them a blow to the head.

Only five minutes into the second half, he completed his hat trick in this game! A signature header! At forty years old, he was still the one who jumped the highest in the penalty area!

"Hero! Hero! A brace was surprising enough! I didn't expect him to complete a hat trick!"

"It's unbelievable! Incredible! What exactly is the limit of forty-year-old Chen Hero? I think there is no answer to this question!"

"Hat! Hat! Hat! Hat—! Hat trick! The great Hero! Amazing Hero! I can't see any difference between the forty-year-old Chen Hero and the thirty-year-old him…"

"God! Is he still human? Is he still human?! I think this game will definitely attract a lot of attention! And anyone who has watched this game will probably have to reposition Liverpool in their minds. And the odds for Liverpool to win the championship after the game will definitely change a lot!"

※※※

The Inter Milan players were about to collapse.

They didn't expect that old guy to be so powerful.

He was actually able to stage a hat trick in their game!

Was he really forty years old?

Wasn't he really only twenty years old?

Chen Hero's monstrousness had completely exceeded ordinary people's understanding. Facing such a monstrous opponent, Inter Milan lost all thoughts of resistance.

In the seventieth minute, they conceded another goal to Liverpool. This time, the scorer was finally not Chen Hero, but Carlton Cole.

This made many neutral bystanders breathe a sigh of relief—if Chen Hero had scored this goal, they would have thought something was wrong with the world, and they couldn't accept this setting at all.

Completing a hat trick was already terrifying enough, and then a haul of four…did he want people to live?

Just after Carlton Cole scored, Chen Hero was substituted off.

He raised his hand to wave to the fans in the stands, and the stands erupted in thunderous cheers. All the Liverpool fans stood up from their seats and applauded Chen Hero off the field.

As for the Inter Milan players, they only realized that this person was really forty years old when they saw Chen Hero being substituted off!

Because the previous Chen Hero would never be substituted off. He would play every minute of every game in a Liverpool season, without missing a second, so he was considered a figure like a steel warrior.

But now he was being substituted off early.

This showed that his physical strength was not as good as before.

Three days ago, he had played in the Merseyside derby, which was a very intense game, and the physical exertion was far greater than usual games. He played the entire game. It wasn't that Gerrard didn't want him to rest early, but the situation at the time didn't allow him to do so.

At that time, Liverpool relied on Chen Hero's goal to maintain the lead, but a one-goal lead did not make Everton give up. On the contrary, it aroused their fighting spirit, so Liverpool had been struggling to support themselves in the following game. In that situation, Chen Hero had to be on the field. His presence on the field would deter Everton and prevent them from pressing forward with all their strength. Although Chen Hero's reputation in the Champions League was not as great, he was still the most dominant player in his own backyard, the Premier League.

It was precisely because Chen Hero was not substituted off that Liverpool finally won the game.

After playing this intense city derby, the Champions League game followed closely.

Playing two heavyweight games within three days, Chen Hero's physical fitness was indeed worrying.

Gerrard substituted him off early, partly to let him receive the cheers of the entire stadium, cheers that would only be dedicated to him alone.

On the other hand, it was naturally to allow him to get plenty of rest.

※※※

With Chen Hero off the field, the game was basically over.

Inter Milan had long lost their desire to fight, and so had Liverpool. A four-goal lead in the first leg basically guaranteed their place in the top eight.

Now the team was fighting on two fronts, and they couldn't use all their energy on one front. The players themselves had to learn to adjust.

Gerrard also began to make frequent substitutions, quickly using up all three substitution quotas. He tried to give more players the opportunity to rest and train.

In the end, the game ended with a score of 4:0.

The game had ended, and Chen Hero hadn't even stood up from the bench when he was surrounded by reporters who had been waiting for a long time.

Having completed a hat trick in this game, Chen Hero's return to the Champions League was perfect.

It was normal for him to be the focus of the media's attention.

And facing these enthusiastic reporters, Chen Hero did not disappoint them, and broke the news as expected.

"I still want to win the Champions League Golden Boot this season!"

※※※

The last time Chen Hero only played half a season of the Champions League and won the Champions League Golden Boot was eighteen seasons ago, in the 2010-2011 season.

At that time, Chen Hero was only twenty-three years old.

He was still at Napoli, having been banned for eight Champions League games. After missing all six group stage games, he started in the round of sixteen and led Napoli all the way to the Champions League final, defeating the powerful Barcelona and bringing back the first Champions League trophy in the club's history for Napoli. He also surpassed Messi with thirteen goals and won the Golden Boot.

That was an eternal classic in Champions League history.

Unexpectedly, Chen Hero now planned to replicate this classic.

Similarly, he had missed all the games in the first half of the season, and he was also starting from the Champions League round of sixteen.

He scored three goals in the first game…it really seemed promising.

This time, no one was as surprised as they were eighteen years ago, or ridiculed Chen Hero for overestimating himself, and needing his then-coach Mazzarri to support him.

After so many years, everyone knew that Chen Hero had this ability.

He said he wanted to win the Golden Boot, so whether he could win it was not controversial. Everyone just had to see how he did it.

Liverpool had indeed not won the Champions League for six seasons, but the team's performance was one thing, and personal achievements were another.

Even if Liverpool couldn't win the Champions League for one reason or another, Chen Hero had never let the Champions League Golden Boot fall by the wayside!

Even if Liverpool were eliminated in the round of sixteen in two seasons, Chen Hero was still the Champions League Golden Boot in those two seasons.

His goal-scoring ability was evident.

Since he could establish his Golden Boot status with only six group stage games plus two round of sixteen games.

Then why couldn't he use half a season of knockout stage games to win the Golden Boot?

What everyone was more interested in was not Chen Hero himself, but the meaning behind this sentence.

To win the Golden Boot, it was definitely not enough to play only one or two games in the knockout stage, and playing four games was also not very safe.

If Chen Hero really wanted to win the Golden Boot, then he would have to lead the team to at least the semi-finals, and even that might not guarantee that he could win the Golden Boot.

It would be best if Liverpool reached the final…

So the meaning behind Chen Hero's words was Liverpool's ambition. They actually planned to enter the Champions League final again!

And having entered the Champions League final, was Liverpool's goal just to help Chen Hero win the Golden Boot?

Obviously not. Their real goal was probably…the Champions League title!

Liverpool wanted to win the championship!

They were unwilling to go without a championship for the seventh year!

Was this behemoth, which once monopolized the Champions League and lifted the trophy for nine consecutive seasons, finally waking up again after six years of slumber?

No… maybe it was just a final burst of glory? As Chen Hero's last season before retirement, Liverpool might want to use this method to send off their greatest player in history.

So even if Liverpool could win the Champions League this season, it was likely to be their last Champions League title. After Chen Hero retired, Liverpool would inevitably fall apart. In addition, Carlton Cole was also getting old. With the team's number one and number two players leaving the team one after another, the team would fall into a long cycle. Who knew when they would wake up again.

But no matter what happens in the future, Liverpool's strength this season will definitely give many people the illusion that the Liverpool of that year has returned!

This was a great threat to them.

Liverpool had already bared their fangs, and the other European powerhouses would definitely not sit idly by.

This season's Champions League will be even more exciting!

As soon as the media thought of such a future, they were immediately collectively excited…