Chapter 141 The Championship Is Decided

Chen Hero's two goals in the first half had basically removed all suspense from the match.

Even though there were still more than fifty minutes left to play.

But the reality of Liverpool having Chen Hero meant that Manchester City had virtually no hope of turning the tables.

Even Villas-Boas lost all his energy after the second goal. He just stood on the sidelines, making no adjustments, neither shouting for the players to do this or that, nor pacing back and forth, thinking of solutions.

He was like a stone statue.

If the coach was like this, what more could be said about the others?

Manchester City's players on the pitch were even more shaken.

Before the match, Villas-Boas had constantly drilled into them the tactical idea that "Liverpool is already arrogant and underestimating us, we just need to wait for a chance to counterattack during the match."

So they had always believed that Liverpool would underestimate them, that Liverpool would give them loopholes to exploit, that Liverpool would do this, that Liverpool would do that…

But unexpectedly, when the match actually started, it was a completely opposite situation.

They weren't sure if Liverpool had underestimated them, but they were sure that they couldn't deal with this Liverpool!

Mainly, they couldn't deal with Chen Hero.

This reality was frustrating. How could a team not even be able to deal with one person?

But this was the reality that all Premier League teams now faced.

Liverpool's strength was actually Chen Hero's strength.

Those who didn't want to be bossed around could always get relegated to the Championship to be kings there.

But that was a joke. No matter how much they were suppressed by Liverpool and Chen Hero in the Premier League, it was still better than going to the Championship.

※※※

Villas-Boas stood on the sidelines until almost the end of the first half before finally making a move—he shook his head, his body swaying.

Then he walked back to the coach's bench, sat down with a thud, and stopped talking.

He had made a decision.

This match…

He was giving up!

This was a difficult decision, and it took him ten minutes of thinking to make.

The team's morale had now plummeted to rock bottom. If he tried to force them to fight, it would probably have little effect and might even make the players feel厌战 (yàn zhàn—weary of war).

At this time, the most important thing was to preserve morale and fighting spirit, while also avoiding injuries during the match.

By deciding to give up this match, he could also give the players an explanation—giving up this match was to go all out in the next four league games.

Manchester City's next four opponents were Sunderland, Aston Villa, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur.

From these four opponents, it could be seen why Villas-Boas was so determined to fight Liverpool to the death. Because two of these four opponents were not easy to deal with… especially the Manchester derby against Manchester United. Manchester City's only advantage was being at home.

But now, after experiencing such a match, not only Villas-Boas, but also those Manchester City players, probably realized it.

Compared to Liverpool, Manchester United was simply kind and amiable.

※※※

Having made his decision, Villas-Boas felt much lighter. Now he could observe Liverpool from an outsider's perspective.

He had to admit that Liverpool's overall strength was much stronger. Even if some of their players showed signs of underestimating the opponent, Liverpool was still able to lead by two goals, which said a lot.

Forget about this season. Next season he would definitely make a comeback, with the goal of defeating Liverpool!

By then, Agüero would be gone, and starting from the summer transfer window, he could build the team according to his own ideas. He believed that next season, the situation of spending half the season on infighting would not happen again.

As long as he had a full season, he believed he could lead Manchester City to rise again. Even if they couldn't win the league title, at least they could qualify for the Champions League more easily.

※※※

During halftime, Villas-Boas announced the decision to give up the match.

He could see that many Manchester City players also breathed a sigh of relief.

They themselves felt that even if they went all out against Liverpool, they might not be able to achieve the result they wanted. It was better to give up this match.

Seeing the players' reaction, Villas-Boas really didn't know what to say.

Should he say that his decision was timely and correct, or that his players lacked confidence from the beginning, so his plan was never feasible in the first place?

Villas-Boas smiled bitterly in his heart.

※※※

With Villas-Boas giving up on the match, it naturally wasn't very exciting anymore.

In the second half, Manchester City completely retreated to defend. They didn't attack, only hoping to lose by fewer goals.

As for Liverpool, they now had the right to underestimate their opponent.

In fact, in this situation, underestimation was equivalent to relaxation.

With a two-goal lead, the Liverpool players were very relaxed.

In a relaxed state, they played freely. So even if they underestimated their opponent, it was now impossible for Manchester City to turn the tables at home.

In the second half, Liverpool's Sanchez scored a goal.

In the end, the score of the match was fixed at 3:0.

In fact, before the match was even over, Liverpool's substitute players were all standing on the sidelines, waiting for the end of the match to arrive.

Along with them were Liverpool's coaches.

Liverpool's fans had long since stood up from their seats, cheering and singing non-stop.

Because the victory in this match meant that they would win the league title for the third consecutive year!

They would become the second team in Premier League history to win the title for three consecutive seasons!

There were three minutes of stoppage time in this match, but the referee was very understanding. He could see that Manchester City had no fighting spirit left, and Liverpool's players were clearly not focused on the match anymore. In that case, there was no need to continue the stoppage time.

So after only one minute of stoppage time, the referee blew the whistle in his mouth. Three whistles, the match was over!

"The match is over! The match is over! Liverpool has successfully defended their title! They will lift the Premier League trophy for the third time!"

The commentator roared with all his might, but he was already drowned out by the noise on the scene.

This noise was of course not the cheers of Liverpool's fans, but the boos from Manchester City's fans.

After all, this was Manchester City's home ground. One of the teams they hated the most had won the championship right under their noses. It would be a miracle if they could offer their blessings!

These boos were Manchester City fans' "championship gift" to Liverpool.

However, the boos from Manchester City fans had no effect on the excited Liverpool players.

Chen Hero even ran over to provoke the Manchester City fans, shouting at those Manchester City fans in the stands: "Come down and pay tribute to the champions, you Manchester City bastards!"

Of course, what he got in return was the most frantic boos and insults from Manchester City fans, and some emotionally charged Manchester City fans even tore off their seats and threw them at him, creating a mess on the scene.

Riot police quickly rushed over to isolate Chen Hero.

※※※

"Liverpool has done it! They have won the league title four rounds in advance! Now they can free up more time to deal with Barcelona. This is their fifth title this season… At the end of last season, when Chen Hero shouted that he would win all the titles in the new season, how many people were laughing at him for overestimating himself? Now, I believe these people are silent, right? Chen Hero has proven with his own performance that he never makes empty boasts!"

"Now Liverpool has only the FA Cup and the Champions League left. In the Champions League semi-finals, Liverpool will face their defeated opponent Barcelona. Winning the title four rounds in advance gives Liverpool more time to prepare for these two semi-finals. I think Guardiola should be vigilant. This is a major advantage for Liverpool. Barcelona must take this factor into account when preparing…"

It wasn't just the media and Liverpool fans who were paying attention to this match.

There was also someone else who was watching the live broadcast of the match.

When he heard the commentator say this, his eyes narrowed.

This person was Barcelona's coach, Guardiola.

He didn't need the commentator to remind him. He knew what the result of this match meant for his team. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been watching the live broadcast of this match.

It was because if Liverpool won the title in advance, they would have more time to prepare for the semi-finals. In that case, his strategy might have to be adjusted.

Of course, he hoped that Liverpool would not win the title. He wanted Manchester City to delay Liverpool. Who would have thought that Manchester City would be so disappointing, surrendering after only thirty minutes?

It seemed that he couldn't rely on others, he still had to rely on himself.

Now that Liverpool had more time to prepare, his own preparation plan had to be adjusted as well.

However, what gave Guardiola the biggest headache was that no matter how he adjusted, the semi-finals against Liverpool would be sandwiched between a Clásico against Real Madrid.

That was a match that would determine who would ultimately win the La Liga title!

Damn Real Madrid, they refused to agree to his suggestion to change the date of the match… Damn it, you better pray that you don't run into such a problem next time!

Guardiola angrily turned off the TV, and the living room fell back into darkness.

He sat on the sofa, quietly thinking about the problem.

※※※

Liverpool had left Guardiola with a big problem. They didn't care about the life or death of their opponents. As soon as the match ended, they started celebrating, and they were still celebrating all the way from the football field to the locker room.

Although there would be no award ceremony after this match, they could celebrate in advance.

After a long season's journey, they had finally seen the smile of the goddess of victory.

At this moment, no matter how great the price they had paid before, it no longer mattered.

Because they were the champions, they were champions again, they were still champions, they… were still champions!

In the locker room, everyone was stripped down to their underwear, and they were soaked in beer and champagne from head to toe.

But everyone's excitement didn't diminish.

Chen Hero shouted, "How does it feel to win three consecutive championships?!"

Everyone answered him loudly: "Great!"

"Then let's win four consecutive championships next season!"

"Okay!!!"

At this time, no one was thinking about the fact that winning four consecutive league titles would be a record-breaking event, or whether it was realistic.

Everyone was excited, and it was also the time when their confidence was at its peak. Not to mention winning four consecutive league titles, they felt that there was simply no one in this world who could stop them.

So the league title next season would definitely still belong to them, Liverpool!