Completing a hat trick in one's farewell performance in their own league is already a remarkable achievement for many. But for Chen Hero, it was far from enough!
Hat tricks were as common as braces in his career, and braces were practically the same as scoring one goal per game for him.
So, if he were only to use a hat trick to conclude his career at Stanley Park Stadium, it wouldn't be anything special at all.
It wouldn't even begin to reflect Chen Hero's greatness.
After completing his hat trick, Chen Hero continued to pursue scoring opportunities.
And he soon did it!
When Stanley Park Stadium erupted in another huge cheer, everyone knew that Chen Hero had scored again!
"That's his fourth goal! It's unbelievable!"
"When someone said before that Hero's retirement would be our loss, I used to scoff at the notion. But now I believe it! His premature retirement really is our loss! In his current form, he could have given us many more wonderful matches!"
After scoring, Chen Hero did not celebrate wildly; instead, he continued to rush into the goal to pick up the soccer ball. Charlton's goalkeeper was stunned and unresponsive, offering no resistance to Chen Hero's action.
When the fans in the stands saw Chen Hero's move, they didn't cheer but were collectively stunned.
They really hadn't expected Chen Hero to still be unsatisfied after scoring four goals!
Chen Hero's performance had exceeded their expectations.
If a grand trick couldn't satisfy this man, then how many goals would be enough?
At this time, some Liverpool fans even began to sympathize with Charlton.
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The game restarted, and Liverpool launched a fierce offensive against Charlton's goal, bombarding Charlton's penalty area.
The fifth goal came naturally.
Chen Hero flew into the air and used his best header to send the soccer ball into the goal.
The entire Stanley Park Stadium was like a continuously erupting volcano, the fans' passion was ignited again and again by Chen Hero's goals, and finally became a continuous gusher.
From the fifth goal onwards, the cheers for Chen Hero at Stanley Park Stadium simply never stopped.
In the end, everyone's ears were numb from the huge cheers.
The sixth goal, the seventh goal, the eighth goal...
In the eighty-eighth minute, Chen Hero scored his last goal of the game, the ninth!
The commentators were speechless. They had run out of all the laudatory words they could think of, and had even repeated many of them.
Now, seeing Chen Hero's ninth goal in this game, the commentators really couldn't come up with anything new.
They simply put their hands on their heads, "I can no longer think of any words to describe and praise him, I feel that all of mankind's vocabulary is so pale and weak in front of him... I think at this time, just watching him quietly is enough."
"I felt for the first time that I was so small in front of this person..."
"This is Hero, his twenty-four-year career has been full of various controversies. But whether you like him or not, he has been constantly scoring goals on the field, responding to all the doubts and criticisms with goals... Even in the last league game of his career, he is still like this. I think as a striker, the debate about his character is meaningless, only scoring goals is the only standard to judge whether he is qualified. Look at his achievements..."
"He has scored a total of two thousand one hundred and thirty-five official match goals in his career! Such a performance is amazing, and no one has ever been able to compare with him before. In the future, I even think that no one will be able to surpass him. He is Mount Everest in human soccer. The only difference is that the real Mount Everest can be conquered, but Hero... you can only look up to him forever!"
"A living legend! We are tired of saying this, but it is most appropriate to use it on Chen Hero. No one is more qualified than him to bear this sentence! He is indeed a living legend. Compared with him, other legendary players are simply like mediocre people!"
"He scored nine goals in his farewell match. How many people can do this? Not a single one! Chen Hero is simply not from Earth, nor an alien, but a god! He must be God wearing his jersey..."
"Ah, Stephen Gerrard is planning to substitute, I'm sure he's going to substitute Chen Hero... After all, this is his farewell performance at Stanley Park Stadium, and he must be given a chance to accept the cheers of tens of thousands of fans. This is an opportunity that belongs to him alone."
Sure enough, the fourth official raised a sign on the sidelines, indicating that number 9 was off and number 17 was on.
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At this time, the Liverpool fans, who had suppressed their emotions for a season, finally broke out completely, they no longer cared about those concerns, and they all stretched out their hands, as if they wanted to grab Chen Hero's arm.
They shouted, "Don't go, Captain! Don't go, Hero!"
For a time, Stanley Park Stadium was full of this voice.
Like a tsunami, it impacted the stadium.
Liverpool commentator Harry Levy also choked up and said: "Raise your head and take a look, Hero! Are you really willing to part with these lovely fans? Are you really so cruel as to let them fall back into the abyss of darkness? With your state and level, are you really willing to retire like this? Don't care about those worldly views, just keep playing! We really can't bear to see you go!"
But no matter how these people tried to persuade him to stay, Chen Hero resolutely walked towards the field.
No matter how those fans tried to persuade him to stay along the way, he did not stop.
In fact, he heard all the voices of these people, but now he really couldn't express himself to these people. There was still the most important game of the season to be played.
For safety's sake, he had to wrong these fans.
However, seeing the reaction of these fans, he also became more determined to let himself stay, and at the same time, he was more and more looking forward to everyone's reaction when he announced that he would not retire...
He knew that his decision would disappoint many people to the extreme, and even cause them to burst into abuse.
But so what?
I'm not playing for my opponents, I'm playing for these lovely fans!
I like to do things that make my enemies suffer and my loved ones happy the most!
Walking to the sidelines, Chen Hero raised his arm and waved to them.
The cries with sobbing voices grew louder.
There were even excited female fans who fainted due to excessive sadness, causing small riots.
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No matter how the fans tried to persuade him to stay, Chen Hero resolutely walked off the field, looking a bit ruthless.
But no one blamed him, because no one was qualified to blame him.
If there was anyone, it must be the fans who had only started watching soccer in the last year or two.
They don't understand how much Chen Hero has contributed to Liverpool.
This is why Liverpool fans have been afraid to ask Chen Hero to stay—he has already given enough to this team, and no one is qualified to ask him to stay.
If Chen Hero wants to leave, then the best thing to do is to let him leave, and all they can do is offer their blessings.
After Chen Hero left the field, there was nothing to see in this game.
The suspense of the game's outcome and the championship had long been broken.
The reason why everyone was still watching with relish was because of Chen Hero.
Now that the protagonist is gone, what else is there to watch?
Even the referee had such thoughts.
When the ninetieth minute of the game ended, he blew the whistle in his mouth without hesitation.
Three whistles, the game is over!
Liverpool ended the game with a 10-0 victory at home. Charlton, who had been determined to pull off an upset before the game, was wiped out by Liverpool with ease.
Fortunately, no one knew of Charlton's "ambition", otherwise they would really become the laughing stock of all of England—this group of people actually dreamed of defeating Liverpool at Stanley Park Stadium, they are really too naive!
On the other side, Arsenal, who failed to win the title, was even less noticed. No one even cared about the outcome of Arsenal's game against Fulham.
Originally, this result was not worth paying attention to. Because whether Arsenal won or lost, Liverpool were the champions, and it would not affect Arsenal's league ranking—Arsenal had actually secured second place in the league in advance.
"The game is over! The 2029-2030 Premier League season has also come to an end! The championship belongs to Liverpool, they have surpassed their arch-rivals Manchester United with fifteen Premier League titles! Now Liverpool is truly the well-deserved number one powerhouse in England! But this does not mean a bright future... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to deliberately stimulate Liverpool fans. But Chen Hero's retirement is definitely a very, very heavy blow to Liverpool. After Chen Hero leaves, Liverpool's future is worrying..."
"John, not only will Liverpool enter the post-Hero era, but the entire Premier League and even European soccer will enter the post-Hero era... We don't know what European soccer will be like at that time."
"It's really sad... Hero has been with Liverpool for eighteen seasons, and we are used to seeing his goals every weekend. I think everyone will have an adjustment period when the next season starts."
"Yes, yes. Maybe when we broadcast Liverpool's games next season, we will also look for Chen Hero on the field for a long time, and then ask: Why didn't Hero start today?"
"Haha! That's right, John! I'm ready to answer fans' questions about why Hero didn't start..."
The commentators and guests were joking about the post-Hero era, they did not end the live broadcast of the game.
Because they knew that there would be activities after the game.
All television institutions' live broadcasts had to continue and would not stop halfway. If a TV station dared to cut off the signal, I'm afraid it would be instantly submerged by the fans' anger.
Just as they were talking, the lights inside the fully enclosed Stanley Park Stadium suddenly went out, and the scene fell into complete darkness.
But no one panicked, and there was even a burst of cheers from the stands.
The two commentators also quickly ended their banter, and even their voices instantly became a lot more serious.
"The moment to say goodbye has arrived."