Chapter 109 Hat Trick!

"Oh——Hero!! He's flying! Head——er!" declared Shirgayevski with a roar. "Beautiful! Oh! Beautiful! Truly beautiful! Goal!"

Chen Hero, as if thrown, crashed sideways into Booth and Khusin, the enormous impact knocking all three men to the ground.

But this couldn't stop the football from flying into the goal.

Goalkeeper Robas made a save attempt, but his reaction was noticeably slow. He only leapt into action when he saw the ball coming, and by then it was too late.

"Oooooooooh!" A tremendous cheer erupted from the stands, drowning out all other sounds, even the referee's whistle!

After scoring, Chen Hero jumped up from the ground and rushed toward Anyukov, who had passed him the ball, to hug him. But he didn't make it to Anyukov because, halfway there, Martin Škrtel and Erik Hagen jointly tackled him to the ground and piled on top!

"This is simply incredible!" Shirgayevski exclaimed, watching Chen Hero buried beneath his teammates. "Three goals in three games was already astonishing, but now he's scored twice in his third game… For a young player just promoted to the first team, playing in his first professional league, this debut is absolutely dazzling!"

"If he continues at this pace, he will quickly become the most watched rising star in the league!"

The fans in the stands once again chanted Chen Hero's name. He was being accepted by more and more of Zenit Saint Petersburg's supporters.

"Hero! Hero! Hero!!"

"Well done——Hero! Just one more!! Keep it up!" Denisov on the bench was jumping up and down, cheering Chen Hero on, when he heard assistant coach Potter shout, "Denisov——"

He turned his head.

"Go warm up!" Potter waved his hand.

Denisov knew he was going to play!

Haha, now all the members of the Eat, Drink, and Be Merry Gang were on the field!

Denisov, the gang leader, happily ran to the warm-up area.

After celebrating the goal, Chen Hero got up from the ground and hugged Anyukov, thanking him for the pass.

Anyukov laughed. "When I saw you run out, I really didn't know what you were going to do. I didn't expect you to have this idea…"

"They were sandwiching me, one in front and one behind, so I couldn't possibly head the ball. I simply pulled out to give myself some room to charge." In fact, Chen Hero had another plan: he absolutely couldn't out-jump the two opponents working together, but with a running start… he could knock them out of the way to score.

His "Knockdown" talent wasn't a waste of points!

"Keep it up, Hero. Just one more to go!" Anyukov encouraged him.

"Mm!" Chen Hero nodded.

He certainly had to complete the hat trick.

He turned his head to look at the media section, then held up two fingers in their direction.

Two goals!

When the reporters in the media section saw Chen Hero turn to look their way, many had the same intuition: he's definitely looking at us!

Sure enough, he held up two fingers. Earlier, he had held up one, and that was still pretty normal. But now it was different. What did two fingers mean? Considering he had scored two goals, the meaning was very clear.

He was showing off to the press!

Because they had said before the game that Chen Hero was out of form, and he was proving them wrong with his goals. One goal wasn't enough; he had to score two!

These were two solid slaps in their faces!

They could say the first goal was just luck, but what about the second? Still luck?

Many reporters wouldn't admit it themselves.

Booth couldn't get up this time. Chen Hero's shoulder had slammed into his chest, and he couldn't catch his breath, nearly getting the wind knocked out of him.

Actually, he had been competing physically with Chen Hero throughout the whole game. The two of them were constantly colliding, and they were already covered in injuries. But Booth was older, after all, while Chen Hero was in his prime, so Booth had the disadvantage.

While Chen Hero and his teammates were celebrating the goal wildly, the Samara team's doctor and stretcher-bearers came onto the field.

When the doctor lifted up Booth's jersey, everyone watching gasped. His upper body was covered in bruises and marks from violent collisions, especially around his chest. These were proof of his battles with Chen Hero. Before, everyone thought he had easily contained the kid, seeing Chen Hero being ineffective with him defending. Now they knew… that was an illusion. Neither of them had it easy!

When the doctor pressed on the bruises, Booth, his eyes tightly shut, frowned and gritted his teeth.

Everyone stood around Booth, watching his pained expression as he clenched his teeth. They were all silent.

They had allowed the same opponent to score two goals, and their center-back was injured. How was this game going…? Before the game, head coach Gadzhiyev had said that if they could contain Chen Hero, they would have a chance of taking a point away from home. During the halftime break, Gadzhiyev changed his mind. After watching the first half, he thought that even taking three points wasn't out of the question.

But what was the result? Now the score was 0:2. They were two goals behind.

When Booth was carried off on a stretcher, everyone knew that he couldn't continue the game. Sure enough, Samara soon made a substitution, and Booth was replaced.

This South African international, the only center-back who surpassed Chen Hero in height and weight, who had fought against Chen Hero for seventy-five minutes, left the battlefield with his battered and bruised body.

His war was over, but Chen Hero's war continued…

Only two goals scored. One more to go!

This was Chen Hero's only thought now.

He didn't have much time left; it was already almost the eightieth minute.

After the game restarted, Denisov came on, replacing Li Hao.

After entering the field, Denisov gave Chen Hero a thumbs-up. "The gang leader is here to help you, Hero!"

Chen Hero returned a thumbs-up. "Thanks, gang leader!"

With Matthew Booth off the field, the pressure on Chen Hero eased slightly, but Khusin was moved over to defend him, so he still faced a lot of pressure.

Despite this, nothing could stop Chen Hero's pursuit of a goal.

He charged! He flicked his head! He fought for the spot! He pushed his heading ability to the limit, hoping to score in the time remaining…

Commentator Shirgayevski had also noticed. "Although he's already scored two goals, although there's very little time left in the game, Hero is still looking for opportunities to score. It's as if he's not satisfied with this… Could he be about to perform a hat trick? If that were the case… it would be even more incredible! A hat trick in his third official professional league game since his debut! What does this say?"

The more Shirgayevski talked, the more he felt this was… inexplicably exciting. He felt excited just talking about it. He himself didn't know what he was excited about, but he was very happy to see such a scene: Chen Hero completing his first hat trick in his third game!

Knowing that the situation was hopeless, trailing by two goals, Samara had lost their enthusiasm for counterattacks. Zenit Saint Petersburg began to besiege them, and Chen Hero got more chances. However, Khusin remained very tough, not backing down in one-on-one situations with Chen Hero.

Perhaps he was motivated by the situation of his partner; he became even more energetic.

Chen Hero had thought that with two goals already, it would be enough to crush Samara's defense. Who would have thought that both of their center-backs were tough guys!

This hat trick was truly difficult!

But… what's the point of an easy hat trick? His first hat trick of his career should be a little more difficult, so that he can remember it more clearly and it will be more meaningful.

Ten minutes passed quickly. As the ninetieth minute approached, Chen Hero still hadn't scored.

The Zenit Saint Petersburg fans in the stands were singing and dancing. This score was enough to ensure they would win.

But many Zenit players, including Chen Hero, weren't happy at all. They didn't seem to slow down the pace in the already secured match, or smile as they waited for the referee to blow the final whistle.

They were constantly looking for opportunities to attack, using simple and crude means: directly passing the ball into the penalty area and letting Chen Hero compete for it.

But Khusin used all his strength and every means allowed within the rules to stop him.

Chen Hero also refused to back down. The two of them were locked in a struggle.

The fourth official held up a sign indicating four minutes of stoppage time, meaning there were only four minutes left in the game. In these four minutes, Chen Hero had to score a goal.

In the ninety-first minute, after Denisov got the ball in midfield, he didn't pass it around slowly. Instead, he kicked a long pass directly to the wing. Arshavin beautifully controlled the ball with his chest, flicked it inside, and then crossed it!

It was a half-high ball, about waist-high.

This kind of ball wasn't really suitable for heading. After passing the ball, Arshavin knew that his pass wasn't very good…

But this pass surprised the Samara defense.

Andrei Khusin was originally preparing to jump up and compete with Chen Hero, but just as he adjusted his center of gravity, he saw that the ball was coming in at waist height!

He quickly readjusted his center of gravity and swung his leg, preparing to clear the ball far away!

At that moment, Chen Hero arrived at full speed. He had originally been blocked behind Khusin, but the moment Arshavin crossed the ball, he suddenly rushed in front! He pulled on Khusin's jersey with one hand and spread the other out to maintain his balance…

Flying header!

Khusin saw a person appear at his waist. The back of his jersey was facing him, and the number and name on it were very conspicuous…

But his leg was already swinging up. He couldn't stop it, and he didn't want to stop it, so he just swung it straight up!

Chen Hero's eyes were only on the ball. He didn't see Khusin's movements at all.

The ball flew over, and he headed it forcefully, not forgetting to flick his head as he hit the ball to ensure it was directed toward the goal.

Then… just as the ball flashed past, he saw a leg coming!

Whoosh! It even stirred up the wind!

Damn!

Chen Hero knew what the consequences would be if that kick landed, but he couldn't avoid it. He could only rely on his strong core muscles to twist his body slightly in the air while tilting his head.

Khusin's foot kicked him on the shoulder…

But Chen Hero couldn't worry about any of that. After falling to the ground, he immediately looked up at the goal.

The ball?!

Lying in the goal…

"Goal——" Shirgayevski shouted again. "Hat! Hat! Hat trick!!"