Chapter 1 I Just Want to Forge

After the league match against Bolton, Liverpool faced another strong opponent and a deadly battle—they would host Manchester United in the fourth round of the FA Cup!

Liverpool and the city of Manchester were really going head-to-head during this period.

They had already met in the league and the League Cup, and now it was the FA Cup's turn to bring them face to face with Manchester United.

England's biggest derby would continue their feud in England's oldest competition.

Chen Hero had already forged a deadly rivalry with Manchester City fans, but his relationship with Manchester United fans was still normal. Before the game, he didn't make any shocking remarks to provoke the other side—which disappointed many media outlets.

But in reality, the competition between the two teams didn't need any of these "side tricks."

When Liverpool Football Club decided to terminate Dalglish's contract early, letting him leave at the end of the season, Ferguson once spoke out in defense of Dalglish, but that didn't mean the two men were friends.

When it came time to fight to the death, neither Ferguson nor Dalglish held back at all.

The intensity was even greater than in the league. Because the league was a two-legged affair, if you lost one game, you could make up for it in the second leg.

The FA Cup was just one game, and losing meant being eliminated.

Although everyone's interest in the FA Cup wasn't as high as it used to be, who would complain about having fewer championships?

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Anfield was a sea of noise, and the fans in the stands had all stood up to cheer for their team. They shouted one name: "Agger! Agger! Agger!"

On the pitch, the Liverpool players were huddled together, celebrating a goal.

The scorer was center-back Daniel Agger.

In the twenty-first minute of the game, Liverpool broke the deadlock with a corner kick.

Although Chen Hero didn't score, he deserved a lot of credit for this goal.

Chen Hero's header was very powerful, especially in set-piece situations. So when defending this corner kick, Manchester United put a lot of resources on Chen Hero.

When Chen Hero ran to the near post, he drew most of Manchester United's defenders with him, and then Agger suddenly cut in from outside the box and headed the ball home, completely unmarked.

The football rippled the net.

Liverpool opened the scoring!

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But Liverpool's joy didn't last long. In the thirty-ninth minute, Park Ji-sung equalized for Manchester United.

This goal made the Korean commentators particularly excited—before Chen Hero won the Champions League, Park Ji-sung was the only Asian player to have won the Champions League, and he was the undisputed number one star in Asian football.

But now Park Ji-sung's limelight had been completely stolen by Chen Hero.

The Koreans couldn't help but feel a little sour. Football was one of the few things that Koreans could be proud of in front of China, but now China had produced a Chen Hero, which greatly weakened their sense of pride.

Now, in a direct confrontation between the two, Park Ji-sung had scored a key equalizer. Leaving aside other games, just in this game alone, the Koreans felt that Park Ji-sung's performance had overshadowed Chen Hero's. That's why they were happy.

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The rules of the FA Cup were like this: because it was a single-elimination system, there was no away goal rule. If the two sides drew within ninety minutes, they would replay the match on another day. If the replay was still a draw, they would go to extra time, and if it was still a draw after extra time, they would have a penalty shootout.

So if Manchester United could force a draw with Liverpool in this game, they would have a chance to replay the match. The replay would be at Old Trafford, and they would have home advantage.

With a strong home advantage, it wouldn't be difficult to eliminate Liverpool.

Liverpool did everything possible to avoid this situation, so they had to beat Manchester United in this game and eliminate them directly.

Unfortunately, the score between Liverpool and Manchester United was still 1-1 until the end of the first half.

In the second half, the two sides changed sides and fought again. After fifteen minutes, Dalglish saw that there was still no improvement and began to make substitutions.

He first replaced Charlie Adam with Maxi Rodríguez, and then replaced Bellamy with Adam Johnson, hoping to strengthen the attack on the wings.

But he didn't get the result he wanted.

The two sides were deadlocked.

In the seventy-sixth minute, Ferguson replaced veteran Scholes with "Little Pea" Hernández. It seemed like an attacking substitution, but in fact it was to strengthen the defense—Hernández's appearance could constantly threaten Liverpool's goal, making Liverpool afraid to commit too many troops when attacking, which would reduce the pressure on Manchester United's defense.

Sure enough, Hernández was very active after coming on, constantly harassing Liverpool's defense in the frontcourt, making it difficult for Liverpool's defenders. Enrique and Glen Johnson couldn't push forward.

Without the attack of the full-backs, the attack on the wings couldn't be launched.

Chen Hero had less support.

Time was running out, and it seemed that in the battle of wits between the two coaches, Ferguson was still better than Dalglish...

The TV broadcast also gave close-up shots of the two coaches. Dalglish stood on the sidelines, watching the game on the pitch with a worried look on his face. Ferguson, on the other hand, sat on the bench, chewing gum non-stop, his calm face betraying no hint of his psychological state.

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The Liverpool fans in the stands were still cursing Manchester United, always seizing every opportunity to vent their emotions and taunt their arch-rivals.

But the Manchester United fans were in a good mood. Because getting a draw away from home meant that when they returned to Old Trafford for the replay, Liverpool wouldn't have the chance to run wild.

They knew very well that the Liverpool fans were shouting so frantically now only because their inner weakness and fear had taken over... They were cursing so fiercely because they were afraid that their team would be held to a draw by Manchester United at home.

What was there to be afraid of from an opponent struggling on their deathbed?

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"The game has entered the final ten minutes, and the score between Liverpool and Manchester United is still 1-1. It looks like this game will end in a draw..."

"Hero's header! It's wide... What a pity! He had a chance to be the team's savior once again..."

"Hero hasn't scored in this game so far. Manchester United's defense against him seems to be very successful. But only Vidić is marking Chen Hero in this game. Ferguson hasn't implemented any special defensive tactics. His way of defending Chen Hero is... freezing the entire Liverpool team... It's been surprisingly effective in this game..."

As the commentator was speaking, Chen Hero received the football outside the penalty area.

He swung his right leg as if to take a long shot.

Everyone knew that Chen Hero's long shot was very powerful.

So when he saw Chen Hero about to take a long shot, Vidić rushed up to block the shot.

Unexpectedly, Chen Hero used his right foot to hook the football to his left foot, and then gently tapped the football forward with the tip of his left foot. He himself dodged Vidić's defense and rushed into the penalty area.

"Hero! Beautiful dribbling! He's in!"

The commentator shouted loudly.

Chen Hero was like a dragon crossing the river once he entered the penalty area, charging straight ahead! Now he wasn't afraid anymore! Because all the defenders would be more restrained in the penalty area, whether it was their hands or feet.

Chen Hero could give full play to his physical advantages...

He first leaned to the left, blocking Rafael da Silva, who was trying to intercept the ball, behind him, preventing him from moving. Then, using the reaction force, he bounced to the right, colliding head-on with Rio Ferdinand, who was trying to rush up to intercept the ball.

Neither of them fell to the ground. The strength of this collision was just right.

Chen Hero also prevented Ferdinand from intercepting his ball.

Then, without hesitation, he kicked the football out with his right foot... A shot!

At such close range, even if De Gea made a save, as long as Chen Hero didn't shoot too wide or too straight, he wouldn't be able to...

"Hero shoots!!!" The commentator shouted the next second. "gooooooooooooAL!!! Goal!!!"

A huge cheer erupted at Anfield. The Liverpool fans, who had been constantly cursing Manchester United, all jumped up from their seats, raised their arms, and didn't bother to curse the Manchester United fans...

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Dalglish, who had been looking anxious on the sidelines, also raised his arms and celebrated the goal.

He could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

The goal in the eighty-sixth minute could almost be considered a winner!

With one foot already in the League Cup final and arch-rivals Manchester United eliminated from the FA Cup, such results were impeccable. He had a good chance of having a decent ending to his last season in charge of Liverpool.

Chen Hero, who had scored the winning goal, was also very excited. He took off his jersey, ran to the bottom of the Kop stand, and showed them his muscles and the tattoo on his back. The die-hard Liverpool fans in the Kop stand shouted his name.

"I knew it! I knew it! When Liverpool needs someone to stand up, Hero is definitely one of them! He has saved Liverpool once again, and he has also saved Dalglish!"

"It's so wonderful! Hero's goal in the eighty-sixth minute helped Liverpool take the lead at home! That's why Dalglish has a 'Hero dependency'! But there's no way around it, look at Hero's outstanding performance, what's wrong with depending on him? Many coaches can't even depend on him even if they want to..."

"Now Liverpool have a chance to win against Manchester United and kick them out of the FA Cup! They just need to hold on for the remaining few minutes..."

Amid the commentators' shouts, the TV broadcast once again focused on the coaches' benches. Dalglish was high-fiving his assistants, his face full of happy smiles.

Ferguson, on the other hand, was still chewing gum, but his face was already red—obviously he was furious that his team had conceded a goal in the final moments.

Then he got up from the bench and began to call players to warm up.

He still wanted to make a final effort!

But it was too late.

Although he eventually replaced Giggs with Berbatov, Liverpool still managed to secure the victory.

When the final whistle sounded, Anfield was a sea of joy.

Eliminating Manchester United in the FA Cup meant that even if they lost three league games in a row afterwards, Liverpool fans probably wouldn't be too upset.

Many Liverpool fans even started singing "Time to Say Goodbye" in the stands, further taunting the Manchester United fans.

The Manchester United fans, who had been very calm before, couldn't suppress their disappointment. Some excited Manchester United fans even had small-scale clashes with Liverpool fans, but fortunately the police quickly intervened. Liverpool's home ground was about to welcome two teams from Manchester in a row, and the Liverpool police had already made thorough plans and arrangements.

The small clashes between the two sets of fans were just an interlude in this game.

In the end, Liverpool eliminated Manchester United at home and proudly entered the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Liverpool had performed poorly in the league, but they had been singing all the way in the cup competitions, truly living up to their title of "Kings of the Cup."