Chapter 1 The Finale

The final round of the 2015-2016 English Premier League season was full of suspense, with battles for Champions League spots, Europa League qualification, and relegation survival.

However, in the end, everyone's focus still fell on Liverpool.

The match that was originally thought to be without any suspense became full of twists and turns due to the crazy performances of Liverpool and Charlton, attracting the attention of countless people.

Liverpool was still ten goals away from the record for the most goals in a single season, which was a large enough gap. Many people believed that this game would not have any suspense, whether in terms of the final result or the number of goals scored.

Who would have thought that this Liverpool reserve team would actually almost succeed!

They scored nine goals in the game!

Clearly, Martin O'Neill underestimated his players' desire to create this new record. If he had sent out the full starting lineup from the beginning, would the final result have satisfied the Liverpool fans?

There's really no point in discussing this question now.

The game can't be replayed, and Liverpool ultimately failed to break Aston Villa's record—a result that also met most people's expectations.

Therefore, one can imagine how many people would have had heart attacks if Liverpool had really broken the record.

They didn't after all, which relieved many people.

On the evening television program, the male host said with a smile, "The crazy Liverpool people have finally stopped their rampage. This game showed us that Liverpool also has times when they fail—they can't always do everything they want to do!"

Then the screen cut to the scene after the game, where Chen Hero, who scored five goals in the game but still couldn't help the team score more, said to the reporters in the mixed zone, "Not being able to complete our new record feels terrible. But Liverpool won't give up, we'll come back next season, I guarantee it!"

The host reappeared on the television screen, and he nodded, "Okay, we'll wait and see, Hero!"

※※※

The Premier League season came to an end.

Manchester City still failed to grab a Champions League spot because they lost to their arch-rivals Manchester United in the final round.

In old coach Ferguson's last game, Manchester United was united as one, and burst out with super strong combat effectiveness. Even on the road, they suppressed Manchester City. Then they finally defeated Manchester City with a score of 1:0. It drew a perfect end to Ferguson's coaching career.

Manchester United also relied on this victory to defend their second place in the league.

If it hadn't been for the sudden rise of Liverpool, Ferguson's Red Devils dynasty would have continued, they would still be the league champions, and there would be no opponents in English football.

But now, everything has changed. Even such an excellent Manchester United can only take second place in the league.

At the same time, with Ferguson's retirement, people are also worried about where Manchester United's future will go.

Perhaps in the near future, Liverpool will no longer have any opponents. England will become their backyard, and they can do whatever they want. Manchester United can only wait for the next Ferguson to come and pull the damned Liverpool from that throne.

So who will that person be?

There are already rumors that Manchester United is secretly contacting Real Madrid's coach Mourinho. And at present, Mourinho is probably the only one who is most qualified to take over from Ferguson...

But all of this has nothing to do with Liverpool.

Liverpool won this season's championship, becoming another team in the history of the English top league to win the league championship for three consecutive seasons.

In addition, they also created a series of staggering achievements. Even if they failed to break Aston Villa's record for the most goals in a single season, it would not diminish their brilliance.

What they left to posterity is a tall figure that can only be looked up to.

Thirty-six wins, two draws, and zero losses in thirty-eight rounds of league play created the best record for an undefeated championship season—even if everyone won the championship with an undefeated record, there would still be a distinction between high and low. If you have too many draws, then your undefeated season is not as valuable as one with fewer draws.

The record for the most consecutive wins in a single season belongs to them, sixteen games.

The record for the most wins in a single season belongs to them, thirty-six games.

The record for the highest points in a single season belongs to them, one hundred and ten points.

The record for the most goal difference in a single season belongs to them, one hundred and eight goals.

In addition, they scored a total of one hundred and twenty-seven goals, which is also an amazing achievement.

There were as many as ten games in a single season with a net score of four goals, and the terrifying attack power was the best in European football.

In addition, the team's top scorer Chen Hero has also achieved a series of unimaginable achievements this season.

This season he once again broke his own league goal record of sixty-two goals from last season. This season he scored a terrifying seventy-one goals!

Seventy-one league goals in a single season! Such an achievement is the strongest even in the world of football!

After the end of the season, the media announced that the series of records set by Chen Hero can only be broken by him, and no one else can even think about it.

For Liverpool, this just-concluded season was incredibly glorious.

They can't even imagine how much more glorious it could be.

Never in the history of English football, or even the world of football, has there been a team that can have such achievements.

Faced with such brilliant achievements, even Liverpool's mortal enemies, even those who are most hostile to Liverpool, have to take off their hats and pay tribute at this time. Because Liverpool has completed a feat that they would not even dare to think about, let alone do.

The *Liverpool Echo* published the following headline the next day: "Salute to the greatest champion in history!"

※※※

The day after the game, the Premier League teams still had to gather as usual.

However, other teams announced their holidays, while Liverpool had normal training.

"In theory, after the end of the season, I should give you a day off, at least one day. But no. Because I believe you don't need to rest now. In the last four rounds of the league, most of the games were played by reserve team players, and many of you have had enough rest. We don't have time to rest, because the Champions League final is just around the corner. That's the last game of the season. If we don't play this game well, all our efforts this season will be in vain."

Martin O'Neill stood on the field and said to the players around him.

No one expressed dissatisfaction with continuing to train after just finishing the last game of the league.

Their morale is high, and they can't wait to start the game.

However, this time, the people standing on the first team training ground are not only the first team, but also the reserve team.

The first team has to prepare for the Champions League final, and the reserve team also has to prepare for the FA Cup final.

These are games related to two championships, so you can't be careless.

Only by letting the reserve team and the first team train together can there be competition.

Now the training of the reserve team is much harder than that of the first team. The players of the reserve team are really daring to fight hard in training. With them around, none of the first team stars dare to put on airs.

At the same time, the two teams can often have competitive matches together, using matches instead of training. Doing so can improve each other.

Although making it to the finals of the FA Cup and the Champions League will mean that their holidays will be shorter than those of other players, and with the Brazilian World Cup this summer, the holidays of those international players will be even more tight.

But no one is dissatisfied, and from their eager expressions, you can even see the desire in their hearts.

They are enjoying it!

※※※

The FA Cup final is before the Champions League final.

During this period of training within Liverpool, the Liverpool first team played the role of Everton. They imitated Everton's tactics and ravaged the Liverpool reserve team in the game.

Although the reserve team lost more and won less.

But their hearts are fiery, full of hope and optimism.

Because they know that Everton is far less powerful than the Liverpool first team, they are fighting against the Liverpool first team, not against the Everton team.

Don't look at the fact that they lost more and won less in the game against the first team. As long as they continue to train and prepare according to this standard and intensity, when they meet Everton, whose strength is far less than that of the Liverpool first team, in the final, they will be able to handle it with ease.

Every reserve team player has such an idea in their heart: How can Everton be compared with our first team?

Even without Hero, our first team is a hundred times stronger than them!

If Everton knew that a group of reserve team players dared to underestimate them so much, they would probably be furious and vow to kill them all in the final!

Now... Everton is behaving very calmly and low-key before the final.

Everton's final ranking this season is eighth. If Liverpool hadn't won the League Cup, and if Everton hadn't made it to the FA Cup final themselves, this ranking would have made their season a complete waste.

Now it's different. Before the FA Cup final, they had already secured a place in the Europa League next season.

Although it is not as good as the Champions League. But for a mid-range team like Everton, being able to guarantee a place in European competitions every year is already a great success. Both in terms of competition and economy.

But this is not the reason for Everton's low profile.

They do not fail to value this final. The FA Cup final has nothing to do with European qualification, it has to do with honor.

This championship trophy is what everyone dreams of.

This season, Liverpool showed everyone their powerful dominance. But there are always some people who want to take risks and dig into Liverpool's foundation.

Everton is one of them.