Chapter 1 Chen Hero's Unreasonable and Domineering Goal

Chen Hero's unreasonable and domineering goal sounded the charge for Liverpool's attack. While smashing through Valencia's desperate defense, it also loosened the Valencia players' determination and fighting spirit to defend to the death—they were already behind, was there still any need to defend so stubbornly?

In the eyes of Valencia coach Emery, it was necessary to continue to defend resolutely. Because when the two teams had the same points, the first thing to compare was the head-to-head record between the two teams, and if the head-to-head record was the same, then the goal difference in the matches between the two sides was compared. Currently, Valencia had a goal difference of one, while Liverpool had a goal difference of negative one.

Valencia still had the advantage.

But his players obviously didn't have the foresight of the coach. As soon as they saw their team fall behind, they began to think about the tangled question of "is there still hope if we defend like this?"

The psychological defense line thus loosened, and they couldn't go all out when defending. They were always thinking, should we attack? Maybe attacking can tie the score? If we show an attacking posture, maybe Liverpool won't be so arrogant, they will shrink back, and we will have more shooting opportunities...

Things like that.

So, in order to prevent them from being so entangled.

Liverpool scored another goal before the end of the first half, completely dispelling their and Emery's forward-looking thoughts.

In the thirty-seventh minute, Gerrard's long shot pierced the goal guarded by goalkeeper Alves for the second time.

A 2:0 lead gave Liverpool a great advantage, and they also tied Valencia in terms of goal difference in the matches between the two sides. If they were tied in terms of head-to-head record and goal difference, then it would depend on the number of away goals scored in the matches between the two sides. Liverpool had one away goal, while Valencia had none. Therefore, if the score remained like this, Valencia would have no chance to compare their head-to-head record with Liverpool, and their ranking would definitely be below Liverpool if they had the same points.

During the half-time break, Emery said to the dispirited players: "Okay, let's put aside our fantasies. Let's play this game well first, gentlemen. First of all, we can't be completely shut out by them like this, we have to score a goal. Secondly, the defense can't be chaotic. We must stick to counterattacks, and we can't press forward in a big way just because we are eager to score. You have all seen how strong Liverpool's attack is. If we are caught behind because we are eager to score, we will only face a disastrous defeat!"

Emery was reflecting on his strategy, while Martin O'Neill also put forward his requirements for the second half—now he had the time and opportunity to explain to the players how to break through Valencia's dense defense: "Valencia will definitely attack in the second half, but they won't give up defending, because they don't want to lose too badly—they are still thinking about comparing goal difference with other teams. They will definitely use counterattacks... Pay attention to their transition between attack and defense, their transition between attack and defense is very fast, and if you are not careful, they may hit you in the vital area..."

Chen Hero generally didn't listen to this kind of tactical arrangement for how the team should defend against the opponent, because it had nothing to do with him. He just needed to score goals. As a player, Chen Hero's task was the simplest, but it might also be the most difficult...

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After the start of the second half, Valencia stabilized their position and began to counterattack Liverpool.

Because Liverpool already knew how Valencia would deal with them, their defense line didn't press up either, and they were careful when attacking, first ensuring that the defense line wouldn't be chaotic.

Although Valencia was counterattacking, they were also afraid of Liverpool's attack, so the defense line didn't dare to press forward.

If both teams were like this, the pace of the game would slow down.

The second half was obviously not as good as the first half.

Although it wasn't good-looking, Martin O'Neill didn't care. As long as he could win the game.

Valencia was cautious and didn't dare to press up, and he didn't bother to press out to attack either. Not conceding a goal was better than anything.

Martin O'Neill was satisfied, but Chen Hero was not necessarily satisfied.

He had only scored seven goals... Note the word "only." If it were other players, they would have scored seven goals in four Champions League group matches, and they would be grinning from ear to ear, and they would be woken up by laughter in their dreams. But Chen Hero was not satisfied. What were seven goals? Messi had also scored five goals in these three Champions League group matches, and the difference between the two sides was only two. Chen Hero didn't dare to be careless, and felt that it was better to widen the gap as much as possible...

He had been looking for opportunities, but unfortunately, the pace of both sides slowed down in the second half. Valencia was forced to do so, while Liverpool was doing it voluntarily. In this way, the support provided to Chen Hero was naturally less, and the shooting opportunities he could get were also less.

He was unable to score another goal until the end of the match.

Neither side scored in the match.

The final score was that Liverpool defeated Valencia 2:0 at home, which was considered revenge for Valencia's 3:1 victory over them at home before.

After the match, Chen Hero was slightly depressed. In Barcelona's Champions League match on the same day, Messi also scored again, and the gap between the two sides was only one goal.

Perhaps Chen Hero's performance stimulated Messi, and Messi's form on the field this season was also very good, especially in the Champions League. He scored six goals in four group matches, which was also a very terrifying scoring efficiency.

The competition between the two super shooters was becoming increasingly fierce...

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After finishing the match with Valencia, Chen Hero had to devote himself to the league matches again.

In the twelfth round of the league, Liverpool played against newly promoted West Bromwich Albion at home.

There was no suspense in such a match. Liverpool were playing at home, and it was unlikely that they would lose to West Bromwich Albion.

In fact, there was indeed no suspense. Chen Hero scored a goal in the match, helping the team defeat West Bromwich Albion 4:0 at home. Although he only scored one goal, he was not the protagonist of the match. However, this was his third consecutive match with a goal. He was steadily moving towards his mission goal.

Whether it was Chen Hero, or the previous Van Nistelrooy, and Liverpool's legendary shooter John Aldridge, the consecutive scoring match records they created were all across seasons. Van Nistelrooy scored in a maximum of eight consecutive matches in a single season, and Aldridge scored in a maximum of nine matches in a single season.

In Chen Hero's most crazy season, he only scored in eight consecutive rounds at the end of the season.

No one has ever completed ten consecutive scoring matches in a single season in the history of the English top league, let alone fourteen consecutive matches... Chen Hero was really going to challenge a limit this time!

But so far, no one knows what Chen Hero is going to do, and he hasn't told anyone. This was a task to prove that he could be a trusted core for Liverpool, and he didn't want to tell others. He didn't want to rely on the help of his teammates, because that would make him feel that it was not Liverpool who depended on him, but he who depended on Liverpool. He wanted to handle this matter single-handedly, without the help of any external forces.

Of course, he didn't mind normal passing assists. He just didn't want to become like he was in the previous season when he was aiming for thirty goals in the Europa League, with the whole team unilaterally supporting him and even sacrificing themselves to provide him with help.

In that case, even if he completed the task, those media and bitches would probably still have something to say.

Since he was going to do it, he would make an indisputable achievement, so that all those who were deliberately nitpicking would have absolutely nothing to say!

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In the League Cup, Liverpool were eliminated in the fourth round. This time, Chen Hero was not able to start, and he scored twice after coming on as a substitute, but it was too late.

In the end, Liverpool were eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur 4:2 away from home.

Chen Hero was very unwilling to lose the League Cup. O'Neill didn't seem to care. His goal this season was to strive for a major breakthrough in the league, and the League Cup, a chicken rib-like competition, was naturally abandoned. So, he used the entire second-tier team in this match. If Chen Hero hadn't kept asking to play on the sidelines, he might not have let Chen Hero come on as a substitute in the end.

Unexpectedly, Chen Hero, who came on as a substitute, went crazy and scored two goals... Unfortunately, because the gap was too big before, Chen Hero alone was unable to change the result.

Losing the League Cup allowed O'Neill to concentrate on leading the team to play in the league—he even planned to give up the FA Cup.

Liverpool have won a lot of domestic competitions such as the League Cup and the FA Cup, otherwise why would people say that Liverpool is the "King of Cup Competitions"? This title is sometimes a kind of irony and ridicule, mocking Liverpool's poor record in the league.

So, O'Neill valued the league more.

Chen Hero's ideas were different from O'Neill's. Of course, he also valued the league, but he felt that the League Cup and the FA Cup were also very important, and he also wanted to win them. After all, he now desperately needed championship honors...

If he could make the decision, he would hate not giving up on any front, and be able to win the championship in any competition he participated in... But he also knew that this was his delusion. Even if his physical fitness was not a problem, he couldn't stand the fact that the physical fitness of other teammates couldn't last that long.

Therefore, losing the League Cup only made him feel a little depressed, and not to the point of running to O'Neill and making a scene.

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The League Cup was gone, and although Chen Hero scored two goals, he was unable to save the team's fate. He had to vent his anger on the league.

On November 15th, in the first match of the thirteenth round of the league, Liverpool challenged Bolton away from home.

Chen Hero performed brilliantly in the match, scoring a hat-trick!

"Hat! Hat! Hat-trick! Hero's second hat-trick of the season!"

"A powerful long shot!"

"This is his eighteenth league goal of the season! What a terrifying statistic! The league has only played thirteen rounds, and he has already scored eighteen goals! It seems that he wasn't bragging when he said at the beginning of the season that he was going to defend the league's top scorer..."

"Hero raised his head after scoring, with a look of disdain and arrogance. But look at his scoring data... He really has the right to be arrogant!"

His teammates swarmed up and hugged Chen Hero, who had completed a hat-trick.

In the previous match, Liverpool defeated West Bromwich Albion 4:0 at home, Chen Hero only scored one goal and was not the protagonist. In this match, he stole the limelight!

This is the demeanor of Liverpool's number one star!