The handshake incident excited the commentators for quite a while.

"Gerrard actually didn't shake hands with Richards!"

"Oh my God, goalkeeper Reina didn't seem inclined to shake hands either!"

"Oh, oh, oh! Skrtel extended his hand to Agüero behind Richards!"

"Inler also remained silent, unmoved by Richards' outstretched hand!"

"...It looks like the entire Liverpool team won't be shaking hands with Richards! Richards declared before the game that he wouldn't shake hands with Chen Hero. Now it seems he won't even get the chance..."

"Wait... Sanchez stopped him... Hahahaha! Sanchez deliberately ignored Richards' request for a handshake!"

"That's blatant provocation!"

"I think what Liverpool players are doing is a bit too much... After all, targeting a single player like this is a bit..."

"Well done, Liverpool! This is what you should do to someone who frames others and shows no remorse!!"

"Who started the war? It certainly wasn't Liverpool!"

Manchester City fans didn't expect Liverpool to unite against Richards so resolutely. They were all furious. In their eyes, it was extremely impolite and unprofessional, not gentlemanly at all. They all forgot who had been ungentlemanly first, fabricating charges against Chen Hero and labeling him with the serious accusation of "racism"... That was their beloved Richards...

Of course, fans are never rational creatures. They are a combination of various emotions, so asking them to be reasonable is impossible.

When Gerrard led the way in refusing to shake hands with Richards, the Manchester City fans in the stands erupted in boos that lasted until the handshake ceremony was over.

However, Richards' teammates were clearly not as united as the Liverpool players. Their teammate was being publicly humiliated, but the Manchester City players didn't collectively stand up for him, or at least, not immediately. For example, they didn't immediately refuse to shake hands with the Liverpool players...

This showed that Manchester City was not a united team internally. This was normal. In recent years, Middle Eastern consortiums had spent a lot of money to build this luxurious team, buying what they considered excellent players from all over the world. How many of these people came for the name "Manchester City"? Most of them probably came for the money. How united could you expect a mercenary team like this to be?

Scandals of Manchester City players fighting during training were proof of this.

Therefore, not many people were really willing to stand up for Richards, or rather, Liverpool's actions were so blatant that they were intimidated and forgot to retaliate.

However, after the game started, Manchester City showed their strength at home.

The match between the two sides quickly ignited with the flames of battle. It started small, gradually increased, and then, amidst a chorus of "Eat my ***, you idiot!" from the Manchester City fans, it instantly spread throughout the Etihad Stadium...

At that time, Chen Hero had just completed a shot, a long shot that flew straight into the stands. As a mockery of Chen Hero, all the fans chanted that sentence in unison.

The sentence was so clear that it could be heard clearly through the television broadcast.

Many television broadcasters muted the audio directly because the sentence was too obscene, and many young people were watching football, so it had a very bad influence.

But the tense atmosphere had reached its climax.

It was as if a sealed room was filled with gas, and all it needed was a spark to cause a cataclysmic explosion!

Who would strike that spark?

※※※

Ten minutes into the game, the atmosphere was already very tense. The Manchester City players had recovered and were frequently engaging in fierce physical collisions with the Liverpool players on the field. Both sides were making very aggressive tackles.

When Chen Hero was pushed to the ground by Lescott, the stands erupted in cheers, applauding Lescott.

Richards also had a bright smile on his face, as if he had taken revenge.

However, Chen Hero soon used an opportunity to steal the ball to bump Richards away, without fouling because it was a fair shoulder charge.

After bumping into him, Chen Hero spread his hands and shrugged at Richards, who was lying on the ground, with a very provocative expression.

Richards' face immediately turned black... But he was already dark enough, so no one could tell how black his face actually was.

"It's strange, why is Hero playing on the left wing so much in this game..." The commentator who asked this question must not have known about the feud between Chen Hero and Richards, or at least it showed that he hadn't done enough homework for the commentary.

But Chen Hero's constant movement to the left wing also frustrated Martin O'Neill. Because Chen Hero was a center forward! As a center forward, he was most dangerous in the center. How could he score goals if he kept running to the wing?

Didn't he say he was going to score five goals? Could he score goals by constantly moving to the left wing?

He knew why Chen Hero wanted to go to the left wing because Manchester City's right back was Richards. Only on the left wing could Chen Hero directly face Richards.

Any grievances could be resolved here, or rather, more hatred could be added...

But by doing so, what about the team's overall tactics?

Because Chen Hero was always playing on the left wing, Suarez had already moved to the center, becoming a center forward. But it was clear that Suarez was not good at fighting for space and the ball in the penalty area with tall and strong defenders like Lescott and Kompany...

As a result, Liverpool's attack had not been threatening in the first ten minutes.

※※※

Chen Hero thought, he would not only score five goals but also score by directly defeating Richards. He would make Richards the culprit, the biggest sinner, of Manchester City's crushing defeat in this game!

When Richards first debuted, he was hailed as the future star of England's football defense, and everyone called him a genius.

What Chen Hero was about to do now was actually very cruel—he was going to completely shatter the confidence of this future star!

At least, he would make him involuntarily think of this tragic night whenever he saw himself in the future.

I will not only defeat you, but I will also cripple you!

※※※

Many people believed that Chen Hero couldn't发挥 (fāhuī - bring his ability into full play) his original strength on the wing at all because his characteristics couldn't be displayed on the wing, such as his physical strength, long shots, and poaching ability... These were not needed much on the wing. What was needed on the wing was speed, skillful technique, and an agile figure.

But these were not Chen Hero's strengths.

Chen Hero was naturally very clear about what others would think of his sudden move to the wing.

So today, he was going to subvert most people's perceptions.

You think I'm not fast?

You think my footwork is average?

You think I'm not agile enough?

Then you must be blind!

So, in fact, Chen Hero's running to the wing wasn't entirely due to personal grudges, just to make trouble for Richards.

Doing so could also confuse Manchester City's defense, lose the main defensive target, and fall into chaos. Maybe it would be more conducive to him scoring goals.

You should know that Manchester City's defensive arrangements before the game were definitely to deal with him in the center. They would never have thought that he would open up a second battlefield on the wing.

He could score goals and effectively strike at Richards. It was truly killing two birds with one stone.

※※※

At first, when Richards saw Chen Hero always coming to the right wing that he guarded, he was quite excited because this was exactly what he had dreamed of. Richards, who was one meter eighty tall and weighed eighty-two kilograms, was a full-back, while Chen Hero was a center forward. Generally speaking, the two could not directly engage each other most of the time.

In Mancini's arrangement, defending Chen Hero was the task of Lescott and Kompany.

Who would have thought that a pie would fall from the sky! Chen Hero had actually taken the initiative to come to his door to be beaten!

If I don't defend you so that you go around me whenever you see me in the future, then my name isn't Richards!

Richards was particularly excited, but he soon realized that he was very silly and naive...

Because so far, it seemed that he was the one being "beaten"...

Richards, who was one meter eighty tall and weighed eighty-two kilograms, couldn't be considered thin, but in front of Chen Hero, he was like a child.

For some balls, as long as Chen Hero protected the ball with his back to him, he couldn't even think about stealing it, he couldn't even poke it open...

Chen Hero was like a mountain, standing in front of him.

If he was just facing his back, that would be fine. At least he could be considered to have defended him so that he couldn't turn around and couldn't threaten the goal.

The problem was that Chen Hero could not only protect the ball with his back to him but also successfully turn around and get rid of him!

This made Richards very angry and very unhappy.

"Hero! He's on the wing with his back to Richards. Adam Johnson is next to him. They can do a one-two... He didn't do that! Beautiful turn!"

With the commentator's loud shout, Chen Hero pretended to pass the ball to Adam Johnson for a wall pass, but suddenly kicked the ball behind him with his heel! Then he went around Richards' right side!

His turn put a lot of pressure on Richards because Chen Hero's turn didn't look agile and nimble at all. His turn was completed completely against Richards' body... In this way, even if Richards was entangled by Chen Hero, he couldn't do anything...

He couldn't even retreat and had to watch Chen Hero turn around and rush into the penalty area!

The game had only started for eleven minutes, and Chen Hero had broken through Richards and entered the penalty area.

Suarez and Sanchez, and even Gerrard, all cut into the penalty area, raising their hands at the near post and far post to meet Chen Hero.

It looked like as long as Chen Hero passed the ball over, it would be a very threatening attack.

So Manchester City's defense was a bit afraid to act rashly for a while—they could go directly to pounce on Chen Hero, and then Chen Hero would pass the ball to Gerrard or Suarez.

Hesitating like this, Chen Hero took another step forward.

Richards was not willing to show weakness and turned around to chase back.

Chen Hero seemed to be waiting for him on purpose, and his speed suddenly slowed down.

When Richards saw the red jersey in front of him, as well as the large number and the name on the number, he became furious, his eyes spewing anger, as if he wanted to swallow Chen Hero alive.

He didn't care that he was just inside the penalty area and just wanted to intercept the ball, then rush up and make a tackle!

Chen Hero didn't move, and Richards grabbed Chen Hero's clothes with one hand to avoid the tragic end of falling down.

But he still couldn't stop Chen Hero from shooting.

After withstanding Richards' tackle, Chen Hero directly swung his right foot and took a powerful shot!

Why did Chen Hero go to the left wing instead of the right wing? In addition to wanting to destroy Richards, there was another reason, which was that he was a right-footed player, and going to the left wing made it easier to shoot directly with his right foot!

A powerful shot flew over Joe Hart's head. Joe Hart could clearly feel the wind passing over his head. It felt like he had been shaved...

His arm was raised, his body leaned back, and his eyes followed the ball. He watched helplessly as the ball flew into the goal behind him!

That spark was finally lit. It flashed across the gas-filled space of the Etihad Stadium...

Prepare to welcome a cataclysmic explosion!