Chen Hero didn't head the football in, but he wasn't worried about failing to score.

He was no stranger to this kind of forty-five-degree cross, though it wasn't very common. He needed to adjust his stride frequency so he could find the rhythm.

For this kind of cross, the most important thing was rhythm—being in the right place at the right time and making the right move to get to the ball.

The player making the cross needed rhythm, and so did the receiving player.

Chen Hero was finding the rhythm of his teammates' crosses and then adjusting his own rhythm to match.

When both sides' rhythms were aligned, Chen Hero believed he could definitely score.

He didn't care about Thiago Silva or Faccio.

The fact that he didn't head the football had nothing to do with their close marking. It was just that he was still adjusting his rhythm.

※※※

The audience and commentators could see Liverpool's adjustments because they were so obvious. First, they tried to go inside. If that didn't work, they immediately passed the football back and handed it to the full-backs on either flank, who would then make a forty-five-degree cross from a deeper position. The football would fly into the penalty area, and if the cross was good, Chen Hero would jump up and challenge for the header. If the cross wasn't good, Chen Hero wouldn't challenge and instead give a thumbs-up to thank and encourage his teammates to keep crossing.

"Liverpool seems to have made some adjustments... They're putting the crossing point further back..."

"Liverpool's play has become simpler, and although it's simple, it has to be said that it's quite effective. AC Milan's defense no longer looks as easy as it did before. Because they're defending in a more compact way, they can't do anything about Liverpool's crosses from deep, and they can only watch helplessly and pray that Chen Hero doesn't get to the football, or that he heads it wide..."

"The Reds are besieging Milan's defense, and after a long period of unsuccessful attacks, they've made adjustments. They're calling for support from the back, sending the football directly from the back to Chen Hero's head, bypassing AC Milan's heavily defended lines... It has to be said that this is a very good idea, but whether it can result in a goal... remains to be seen..."

The commentators could see it, so how could AC Milan's coach, Allegri, not see it?

Of course, he knew that Liverpool's adjustment was targeting their defense on the flanks.

He even knew what reaction Martin O'Neill wanted him to make—to pull out the heavy troops he had amassed on the flanks and push them forward, diluting the number of defending players in a certain area. This way, Liverpool would have more gaps to exploit.

But he wouldn't do that.

Because he didn't think this kind of forty-five-degree cross was the most threatening thing. Allowing the opponent to cross from within our thirty-meter zone was the most threatening thing—that would mean our flanks had been breached, and the central defenders would have to cover, otherwise the opponent would be able to break through straight to the goal and face the goalkeeper.

Crossing from a long way back at a forty-five-degree angle like this wasn't very threatening. Because the distance was greater, it required the crossing player to kick the football with more power, and with more power, the accuracy wouldn't be as precise as with those crosses that came from closer to the end line. To put it bluntly, why did AC Milan put so many defending players on the flanks? Wasn't it just to disrupt Liverpool's crosses? To prevent them from guaranteeing accuracy when they crossed.

Now that they couldn't maintain accuracy when they crossed, what was there to worry about? Wasn't this the ultimate goal of our defense? We've achieved the same effect without even needing to defend. Why not?

Of course, he couldn't do nothing. He could see that Thiago Silva and Faccio were having some difficulty dealing with Chen Hero on their own. After all, Thiago Silva was eleven centimeters shorter than Chen Hero, nearly half a head shorter.

This difference in height was a big disadvantage when both sides jumped equally high.

He couldn't let the two of them keep fighting Chen Hero like this; they needed support.

Taking advantage of a dead-ball situation, he called the team's captain, the thirty-six-year-old veteran Ambrosini, to the touchline and gave him instructions.

Ambrosini received his orders and returned to the field, then told his teammates about the coach's arrangements.

Soon, AC Milan took action.

When Liverpool crossed again, there weren't just Faccio and Thiago Silva next to Chen Hero; there were also Ambrosini and Boateng.

AC Milan had pulled both defensive midfielders back to help the center-backs challenge for headers.

They wanted to curb Chen Hero's aerial advantage.

Although Ambrosini was excellent in the air, and although he was old and his jumping ability wasn't what it used to be, he was experienced and knew how to position himself and how to disrupt attacking players.

Boateng, on the other hand, had the physique and drive to cause Chen Hero some trouble, such as bumping into Chen Hero during the challenge, causing him to lose some balance.

Didn't Chen Hero claim that he never faked a fall? Didn't he think that this kind of behavior was particularly righteous and honorable? Well, if you suffer a loss, don't blame us!

You don't fake falls, so we can openly bump into you when we defend. Anyway, you won't fall, and we won't get a card. How great is that!

※※※

Chen Hero quickly noticed AC Milan's change. Whenever he jumped, there were two more people around him, Boateng and Ambrosini.

He smiled.

Was Allegri actually trying to drown him with a human-wave tactic?

He was really being underestimated!

Since when could he be defeated by tactics involving stacking people?

It seemed necessary to remind them that the number of people wasn't the key issue...

※※※

Considering that the full-backs' forty-five-degree crosses weren't accurate enough, wasting many opportunities, Gareth Bale, who was good at crossing, also retreated—to take advantage of any gaps that might appear. After he retreated, Goetze pulled to the flank. If AC Milan's players dared to come and interfere with Bale's cross, then Bale could immediately change his strategy and pass the football to Goetze, and then accelerate forward, breaking through AC Milan's impregnable defense in one fell swoop!

If AC Milan knew what was good for them and didn't come out, he would just cross directly.

In the end, AC Milan's players didn't come up to block his cross. They had received the coach's latest instructions: no matter how Liverpool's players crossed from the back, don't go up, stick to your defensive positions, and leave the rest to your teammates in the center.

So when Gareth Bale crossed, he was almost completely unhindered, and he sent the football out directly.

The whole process was like Liverpool winning a long-range free kick on the flank...

When Bale crossed the football, Chen Hero was already surrounded by people. Four players wearing AC Milan's away jerseys surrounded him.

But Chen Hero didn't even look at them, as if they were all just a cloud of air around him that wouldn't attract his attention at all.

He wasn't even in the penalty area yet. Because Liverpool had increased the distance of their passes, AC Milan had moved their overall defensive formation forward appropriately to avoid Liverpool taking the opportunity to take long-range shots—when the football was still far away from them, their defensive line was on the edge of the penalty area.

If Chen Hero rushed into the penalty area in advance and his teammates hadn't crossed yet, then he would be offside.

And because of the long-distance cross, the football's flight time was longer, so there was no point in starting to run early.

So Chen Hero always made his move after watching the football fly over.

Just like this time.

Chen Hero estimated the time it would take for the football to fly over, as well as the most suitable position to challenge for the header, and then he started to rush forward.

At the same time, the other four AC Milan players followed closely. Chen Hero wasn't offside at this moment, and if they didn't pay attention, it would really turn into a disaster!

Faccio and Ambrosini were the main players challenging Chen Hero for the header, and they were both next to him, blocking his path forward.

Thiago Silva, on the other hand, was in the position between Chen Hero and the football. He would jump up and try his best to challenge for the header. If he could head the football, the danger would be averted. If he couldn't, he could at least disrupt Chen Hero.

Boateng was behind Chen Hero, ready to bump into Chen Hero when the referee wasn't paying attention, or simply reach out and pull his jersey, preventing him from maintaining his balance in the air and preventing him from easily heading the football.

Faced with this kind of tight defense, any center forward would probably have to surrender.

But Chen Hero was not one of them.

He judged the time and leaped forward.

Here it comes!

At that moment, the other four AC Milan players felt a chill in their hearts and then jumped up with him.

Ambrosini and Faccio were on Chen Hero's inside, preventing him from easily heading the football towards the goal.

At the same time, Thiago Silva also jumped up to challenge for the header at the right moment.

Boateng bumped into Chen Hero from behind.

If Chen Hero thought that there were only four people defending him, he would be very wrong!

Goalkeeper Amelia also came out quickly, expanding his defensive area.

Chen Hero was indeed unparalleled in challenging for headers. Even if four people defended him together, they might not be able to stop him. Because he had an advantage in height, and his jumping ability was also excellent.

But no matter how good you are, you can only use your head, and we can use our hands!

Amelia rushed out and punched at the football...

※※※

"Bale crosses, Hero—!"

Accompanied by the commentator's loud roar, the camera followed the football and moved to the front of the goal. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the six people who jumped up in the penalty area at the same time!

Among a patch of AC Milan's white and the goalkeeper's black, there was a splash of bright, dazzling red!

Chen Hero felt Boateng bump into him from behind, but he didn't react. His body was very stable in the air, and he didn't even sway.

Thiago Silva was in front of him, and he also knew what the other party wanted to do. His gaze went straight past the other party and stared at the football flying towards him. No matter what Thiago Silva did, he just needed to head towards the football according to his established plan.

As for the two people on his inside, he didn't care about them at all! Anyway, no matter what barriers blocked his way, he would eventually break through them with his head!