Chapter 101 Juventus's Crisis

Juventus continued to press forward. Chen Hero's free kick that hit the crossbar didn't just make Leali's heart palpitate. Other Juventus players felt the same way.

They realized at this point that although Chen Hero was annoying, his strength should not be underestimated.

A one-goal lead was nothing to Chen Hero. If it weren't for Leali's excellent performance, Liverpool would have taken the lead long ago. But they couldn't always rely on a young goalkeeper. He might be performing well now, but who knew what his condition would be like in the second half after the fifteen-minute halftime break.

The Juventus players weren't very confident in Leali. After all, Buffon was always behind them, guarding the goal. They were used to that imposing figure. They still had to look at Leali with caution.

Moreover, after playing for more than half a season, Leali's performance was still far from Buffon's in his prime, so it was normal for everyone not to trust him…

They felt it was more reliable to keep their fate firmly in their own hands.

Since a one-goal lead wasn't safe enough, they should take a two-goal lead!

Score another goal before the end of the first half to extend the lead, and the second half would be much easier. In their home stadium, with a two-goal lead, it shouldn't be too difficult to win this game.

When attacking in full force, the defense would naturally be weakened.

Liverpool and Chen Hero seized this opportunity.

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Reina caught Quagliarella's shot and, instead of kicking the ball out, threw it to defender Van der Wiel on the wing. Van der Wiel passed the ball directly to Gerrard in the center.

After Gerrard turned and shook off Marchisio's entanglement, he opted for a long diagonal pass.

The ball sped along the grass, darting through the gaps between Juventus's three center backs.

Then it landed at the feet of Gareth Bale.

When Bale received the ball, the commentators began to get excited.

Because it was time to draw their swords!

There was a large expanse of open space ahead!

Martin O'Neill stood up excitedly from his seat. After defending for an entire half, this was the opportunity they had been waiting for!

Gareth Bale didn't hesitate. He pushed the ball hard toward the inside line and charged forward.

When Chen Hero saw Gareth Bale dribbling into the penalty area, he followed him into the box.

Seeing this, the Juventus players, who had been a little flustered, were happy.

Juventus was playing with three center backs in this game. The arrangement of three center backs would inevitably leave some areas unattended, but these areas were usually on the wings. The defense in the center was rock solid.

They had been worried that Bale would take the ball to the wing and cross it into the center. That would be difficult to defend.

But unexpectedly, Bale took the ball directly to the center, and he also ran to the center.

Coupled with Chen Hero and Suarez, who were also in the center, the three Liverpool players were all crowded together. This actually helped Juventus.

Everyone was crowded together, with no space. Let's see how you score!

Chiellini thought as he ran back, following Chen Hero.

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Gareth Bale led the charge, taking the lead.

Suarez wasn't slow either.

Chen Hero couldn't keep up with these two, and gradually fell behind.

Chiellini was running after Chen Hero when he suddenly realized that he was lagging behind in this race. The other two center backs were each marking a Liverpool player. They were all in front, while he was at the back, entangled with Chen Hero.

But he was still the one in the middle of the three center backs. This turned Juventus's three-center-back formation into an inverted horseshoe shape—the two sides were dragged behind, while the middle one, himself, was pushed to the front. There was a huge gap behind him. If Suarez suddenly cut diagonally behind him from the side of the penalty area, and Gareth Bale passed the ball over, wouldn't that be a perfect offside-beating one-on-one?

Thinking of this, Chiellini's forehead instantly broke out in a layer of sweat.

Damn it! He had almost been tricked!

They all thought Chen Hero was Liverpool's main attacker, so their defense focused on him. But he was just a feint! The real killer move was behind him!

He couldn't care about anything else and abandoned Chen Hero, turning back to cover his gap.

If he continued to follow Chen Hero, he would die without knowing how he died…

Just as he turned back, he saw Gareth Bale pass the ball.

But it wasn't passed to the gap in front of him, but behind him!

A back pass!

He was shocked, and a terrible thought flashed through his mind.

Chiellini braked hard and turned around, trying to stop Chen Hero.

But this action, which clearly violated human convention and the laws of physics, was impossible to succeed. The huge inertia from braking forced him to the ground…

"Chiellini slipped! He made a mistake at the most critical moment! Hero received the ball!"

The commentator shouted.

Chen Hero didn't actually receive the ball. Without stopping the ball, he swung his right foot directly at the ball as he ran.

A direct shot without stopping the ball!

Bang!

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As Chen Hero kicked the ball, Leali also leaped up, diving in the direction he had judged.

He was confident that he could save this ball, because he had jumped early! He was also very confident in his direction judgment.

He didn't believe he would miss!

But he did miss!

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"Hero—"

In the commentator's drawn-out roar, the ball streaked across the sky, burying itself in the goal.

Leali's hand arrived just as the ball hit the net!

His direction judgment was indeed correct, but he had greatly underestimated the speed of Chen Hero's shot…

He and the ball took off at the same time, but he arrived later than the ball!

"goooooooooooooooooooooAL!!!!" The English commentators roared excitedly. "Liverpool scored! They got an away goal! And equalized the score! Hero scored! His worldie beat Leali!"

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When Leali crashed to the ground, he turned his head to look at the ball in the net, his face filled with disbelief.

He couldn't understand how Chen Hero's shot could be so fast.

The distance he jumped was definitely shorter than the distance the ball flew, so he should have arrived first. Even if the ball was fast, it shouldn't be this fast, right?

But the fact was that it was that fast, and he saw it with his own eyes.

When Chen Hero shot the ball, he jumped up.

Immediately afterward, he saw the ball in front of him!

Then, a gust of wind swept past him…

"Hero's shot was so fast!" The commentators in the stands also saw it. They were watching from the side, so they saw it more clearly.

"It flew into the goal almost in the blink of an eye!"

"Twenty-odd meters… ah, the statistics are out. The speed of Hero's shot was… 140 kilometers per hour!!"

"That's amazing! If a ball like that hits someone, it would knock them out, right?"

The commentators exclaimed.

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After scoring, Chen Hero didn't excitedly wave his arms and run around. He simply lifted his shorts to show everyone the muscles in his right thigh.

That shot was the result of his right leg's power.

In fact, he could have used a change of pace to deceive goalkeeper Leali and then shoot, which probably would have scored as well.

But Chen Hero didn't choose that approach. He chose a direct shot, simple and straightforward.

He didn't want to play any tricks. He wanted to defeat Leali in the area where he was most confident! To completely defeat him!

So he chose to shoot directly.

From the previous shots, Chen Hero felt that Leali's reaction speed was very fast. Although he was 1.90 meters tall, he wasn't clumsy at all. On the contrary, he was very agile, which might be related to his slender build.

Such a goalkeeper was very confident in his reaction speed.

That was good. Let's see if your reaction speed is faster, or if my ball speed is faster!

The result was obvious…

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Leali fell to the ground and didn't jump up immediately this time, but was in a daze.

Yes, Chen Hero was right. Leali was very confident in his reaction speed. Buffon had also praised him for this, saying that his agility ensured that even though he was 1.9 meters tall, he could quickly dive to save ground balls. These kinds of balls were the ones that tall goalkeepers disliked saving the most. Even if they had to save them, they would use their feet more often than their hands.

But Leali could lower his center of gravity very quickly.

This was thanks to his excellent muscles and explosiveness.

But in the area where he was most confident, he was completely defeated by Chen Hero!

He didn't know that the reason was simple: Chen Hero's explosiveness was even greater!

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Seeing Leali somewhat dumbfounded after conceding the goal, Buffon frowned.

Conceding a goal wasn't a big deal. He was worried that the goal would have a serious impact on Leali's confidence…

He shook his head and muttered to himself, "This goal isn't his fault…"

Yes, this goal was indeed not Leali's fault.

Even the commentators said, "Although they conceded a goal, Leali's performance is still very good. This goal can only be said to be the result of the entire Juventus defense having problems. Chiellini suddenly slipped, allowing Chen Hero to calmly volley the ball…"

The Italian commentators simply said, "I hope this goal won't affect Leali's mentality. You have to know that he is Italy's number one goalkeeper of the future!"

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Chen Hero didn't care whether he was Italy's number one goalkeeper or not. Since you provoked me, I will make you pay the price!

How does it feel to concede a goal?

How does it feel to lose to me in the area you're best at?