Chapter 33 I Just Want to Forge

When the first half ended, Manchester United players and fans all felt a sense of relief.

Then came celebration, and finally confidence.

Because they had defended against Liverpool's relentless bombardment in the first half.

They hadn't conceded a goal despite nearly thirty minutes of continuous attacks.

Such defensive strength was excellent.

This performance gave them confidence, allowing them to believe they could hold on until the end of the match.

Now, every minute they defended was a victory. Because as time passed, Liverpool's stamina was rapidly dwindling.

By the seventy-fifth minute of the second half, Liverpool players would reach their physical limit. At that point, even a little pressure from Manchester United would cause Liverpool to completely collapse!

Whether they scored or not at that point, Manchester United would be in an invincible position.

In contrast, Liverpool's players walked off the field with gloomy faces and drooping heads.

Everyone looked unhappy.

They were down by one goal from the first half, and they hadn't been able to equalize by halftime. Furthermore, they were a man down, which would have a profound impact on the team's performance in the second half.

※※※

Back in the locker room, Manchester United's players were excited. They embraced Rooney, applauding his performance in the first half.

Some even asked if Rooney had intentionally drawn the penalty, because everyone felt that with Rooney's speed, it was unlikely that Skrtel could have caught him so easily.

So, amid everyone's admiration, Rooney explained his plan.

He received even more praise and flattery.

Being able to come up with such a plan in such a short moment was truly impressive.

Many people probably wouldn't have been able to react at all in that situation.

Now, thanks to Rooney, Liverpool was down by one goal and had one less player.

If Manchester United continued to defend in the second half, victory would belong to them.

But that wasn't what made them happiest.

What made them happiest was Ferguson's return.

When the old manager returned to the locker room, he was greeted with enthusiastic applause from the players.

Everyone clapped and cheered for Ferguson.

Ferguson's face was radiant, showing no sign of a retired old man's decline.

Everyone had been fooled by him, and he was satisfied with the result himself.

He waved his hand, and the cheers in the locker room subsided.

"Alright, lads, now is not the time to celebrate." Though pleased, Ferguson remained calm. "There are still forty-five minutes left, and anything can happen in those forty-five minutes. So save the celebrations for when the game is over!"

The boss was always right. After he spoke, no one cheered anymore. They all just looked at him, hoping he would say a few more words.

"First, I must apologize to you. Yes, I deceived you. But everyone saw that I also deceived them." Ferguson pointed to the door. "The effect was quite good. They didn't realize what mistake they had made until they conceded the goal."

Laughter filled the locker room.

The Manchester United players found it amusing and satisfying that Liverpool had been tricked. At this moment, they forgot that they had also been completely fooled by Ferguson.

"But our opponents are not straw men. They will definitely make adjustments in the second half. They will strengthen their attack, they will have more attacking methods, and it's not enough to just defend against Chen Hero alone..."

Ferguson began to tell everyone what to pay attention to in the second half. Basically, the core message was that Liverpool's counterattack in the second half would be extremely frantic and diverse, especially on both wings. To prevent Liverpool from scoring, Manchester United's defense in the second half needed to pay more attention to other Liverpool players.

After all, no one dared to underestimate those Liverpool players. Each of them could be a starter in a team like Manchester United.

※※※

Meanwhile, in Liverpool's locker room, Liverpool's coach Martin O'Neill was also telling everyone what to do in the second half.

He did not criticize Chen Hero's recklessness in the first half. On the contrary, he asked the team to cooperate with Chen Hero in doing so.

At least for the first twenty minutes of the second half.

Because he had discovered the benefits of Chen Hero doing this, which was that it could help the team save a lot of stamina overall.

Because the attack became Chen Hero's own business, all others needed to do was pass the ball to him. They didn't even need to run; they just watched from behind after passing the ball.

In this way, naturally, they wouldn't expend much energy.

For Liverpool, who were down a man and still had to launch a frenzied attack, being able to save energy was very important. This would prevent them from collapsing in the last fifteen minutes of the game due to exhaustion.

In fact, Chen Hero's approach was not the right way, and it was strictly forbidden in many teams. But Martin O'Neill had the courage to affirm Chen Hero's approach and openly demanded that the whole team cooperate.

What was most surprising was that no one in the entire Liverpool team expressed any objection.

If outsiders saw this scene, they wouldn't know how to evaluate Liverpool.

Chen Hero's position in Liverpool was evident. Many people were certain that after Gerrard retired, Chen Hero would definitely be Liverpool's new banner. If he could stay in Liverpool, his final achievements and status would surpass Gerrard and stand shoulder to shoulder with legends like Dalglish.

※※※

While the two teams were fighting wits in the locker room, the guests and commentators were also discussing the first half.

First of all, they all admitted that they had been fooled by Ferguson's performance. The old man was still the same person who refused to admit defeat and would do anything to win.

Then they also believed that Ferguson's approach had worked.

Everyone could see the situation in the first half, and it was true that Liverpool was at a disadvantage.

"The situation is indeed very unfavorable for Liverpool... They are behind in the score and have one less player, which is a heavy blow to their morale..."

"The biggest problem is that Liverpool was actually deceived by Manchester United. No one up and down saw through Ferguson's conspiracy... I think this fact will have a very bad impact on Liverpool. If they can't extricate themselves from this emotion, I'm afraid it will bring disastrous consequences to the team."

"Chen Hero's outburst at the end of the first half did not bring a goal to Liverpool. This shows that relying on Chen Hero alone is not enough. No matter how good Chen Hero is, he needs the cooperation of his teammates. I think Martin O'Neill should criticize Chen Hero's approach during the half-time break and rearrange his tactics to bring the team back to a normal attacking routine..."

These experts offered advice to Liverpool, showing off their extensive knowledge.

But no one expected that the situation would be like this after the second half started...

※※※

"Liverpool has not changed at all compared to the first half! Chen Hero is still the only one dominating the team's attack. As long as Liverpool has the ball, it will eventually be passed to Chen Hero's feet. And Chen Hero doesn't care where he is, he just takes a shot!"

"How can Liverpool win this game by continuing like this?"

"Maybe Liverpool has given up on this game? Anyway, with their lead, it doesn't matter if they lose to Manchester United, and it won't affect the team's chances of winning the championship in the end... Instead of fighting Manchester United to the death in this game, it's better to save some energy to win future games..."

Martin O'Neill didn't see it that way.

Liverpool had to win this game, not for an undefeated season, nor to secure the league title.

Even if Liverpool had already won the league title before this game, they couldn't lose this game.

All along, the match between Liverpool and Manchester United was not just about three points or zero points.

Manchester United would not want to lose to Liverpool, and Liverpool would not want to lose to Manchester United at home either.

This was a matter of the two teams' dignity.

Liverpool was a team that wanted to dominate Europe, so how could they allow Manchester United to defeat them at home?

Therefore, no matter what the cost, this game had to be won!

Although Martin O'Neill had no Liverpool blood in him before coaching Liverpool, this did not prevent him from demanding himself as a "Kop" after becoming Liverpool's coach.

Many people would think that having Chen Hero shoot was a waste of attacking opportunities.

Even if someone could see that doing so would allow Liverpool to conserve energy, they would think that this was Martin O'Neill's true purpose.

In fact, they were all wrong.

Martin O'Neill was not just trying to give other Liverpool players a rest. The most important reason was that he believed in Chen Hero. He believed that Chen Hero would eventually score a goal with so many shots.

This kind of belief had reached the point of superstition.

But Martin O'Neill didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

Others were unwilling to believe in their players, or rather, not superstitious about their players, because no player could make them superstitious to this extent. But Chen Hero could.

He stood on the sidelines, arms crossed, quietly watching Chen Hero on the field, constantly raising his hand for the ball and then shooting.

※※※

Ferguson was surprised by Liverpool's performance in the second half.

He really didn't expect Martin O'Neill not only not to stop Chen Hero from doing what he wanted, but also to encourage Chen Hero to do so...

Was he crazy? This approach would only destroy the integrity of Liverpool's attack and cause Liverpool's every attack to become a solo effort.

What was so good about this approach?

No matter how good Chen Hero was, could he deal with our entire defense alone? Even if he could deal with our entire defense, could he still be an enemy of the entire Manchester United team?

Ferguson frowned. His experience and his understanding of O'Neill told him that O'Neill was a very cautious person who rarely made such bold and risky moves.

But now he had done such an abnormal thing.

Something must be wrong...

But what could be wrong?

Ferguson couldn't figure it out.

Could it be that Martin O'Neill himself was confused?

At present, this possibility was actually the greatest.

Even if he, Ferguson, believed in his players, he wouldn't believe in them to this extent. Manchester United had always emphasized the overall team.

Therefore, he couldn't understand Martin O'Neill's superstition about Chen Hero. He was more willing to believe that Martin O'Neill had been forced into a state of chaos by the situation of the game.

Chaos?

That was good.