Actually, UEFA was very aware of the hype surrounding Chen Hero and Messi's rivalry. Otherwise, with the Champions League knockout stage already four games in, how could Napoli have avoided any real obstacles along the way?

Unlike last season, when they encountered some shady dealings in both the round of sixteen and the quarter-finals.

This season, drawing either Lyon or Inter Milan would be normal, not necessarily targeting Napoli.

Because UEFA was well aware that, whether they liked it or not, the momentum of the Chen Hero and Messi rivalry had already been built up. And clearly, the media, broadcasters, sponsors, and fans all wanted to see this rivalry continue.

What did all this attention mean? It meant money!

Some people in UEFA, even Platini himself, wouldn't be so foolish as to turn their backs on money, no matter how much they disliked Chen Hero, right?

So, they didn't secretly interfere with Napoli's progress. They treated it like any other game, letting things proceed according to the normal rules of soccer.

For example, the current match between Napoli and Manchester United at Napoli's home stadium was quite normal.

Even after fifteen minutes, the referee had called more fouls on Manchester United than on Napoli.

But that was also normal, since Napoli was playing at home. The referee would naturally take that into consideration, and call some harmless fouls, or fouls where both sides were responsible, on Manchester United.

So, from the current perspective, this game was a very normal game.

The score was also normal: Manchester United leading Napoli 1-0.

Wait!

Something didn't seem quite right, did it?

This was Napoli's home ground! Even if Napoli's overall strength was a bit weaker than Manchester United's, they shouldn't have conceded a goal within the first fifteen minutes at home, right?

But that was the reality. Whether it was the scoreboard at the Stadio San Paolo or the broadcast feeds from various television networks, it all showed the same thing: Napoli was trailing Manchester United 0-1 at home.

※※※

Napoli's attacks were relentless, and the Napoli fans in the stands were shouting loudly, cheering for their team.

Judging by appearances alone, it seemed like Napoli was in the lead. But in reality, Napoli's attacks were so fierce because they were behind and wanted to equalize as soon as possible.

Mazzarri stood on the sidelines, arms crossed, his face grim.

The game was going terribly. Manchester United scored a goal in the first ten minutes. And the reason? Precisely because Napoli was too confident at home, pushing forward too aggressively, leaving their defense wide open and allowing Manchester United to seize the opportunity.

When he saw Rooney kick the ball into De Sanctis's goal, he finally understood what was going on.

He had been wondering earlier why Manchester United didn't seem to want to fall back and defend. It turned out they never intended to do so! They were planning to score! To get an away goal!

This wasn't exactly a brilliant strategy, anyone could have thought of it. Mazzarri had to admit that he had fallen into a psychological trap, believing that any visiting team playing at the Stadio San Paolo should immediately focus on defending, to avoid conceding a goal first. Any other objectives would have to be pursued gradually, without conceding. He didn't expect Manchester United to completely break the mold and focus on scoring an away goal from the very beginning of the game.

The reason why he had such a psychological misconception, to put it bluntly, was because he was a bit blindly arrogant.

This was a very dangerous sign. Napoli had easily defeated their previous two opponents, and were also leading the league standings in the domestic league. All of this made Mazzarri feel that it was no big deal, that Napoli was capable of dealing with any opponent and any situation.

Although he had always been careful not to become too proud, this complacent mood still affected him unconsciously.

And it was so subtle that even he himself didn't realize it.

The conceded goal alerted him. He couldn't continue to be so complacent. If he, as the coach, was being complacent, what about the players?

But it seemed a bit late to be thinking about this now. The game had already started, and it was a home game. If they lost this leg of the match, then their chances in the away game would be even slimmer.

It's never too late to mend fences, but now, even mending fences might be too late...

Mazzarri stood in the coaching area on the sidelines, his face grim as he considered the worst possible outcome for the team.

The more he thought about it, the colder he felt.

Logically speaking, reaching the semi-finals should be a remarkable achievement for Napoli. He would have already completed a historic task. But people are always greedy, especially after seeing a bigger stage. How could they still be content with those unremarkable goals? The bigger the stage, the bigger the dreams. It's human nature, and few people can maintain their original intentions in the face of the temptations of the world.

Not to mention that he had chatted with Chen Hero the night before the game and learned about the man's ambitions.

Now, Mazzarri was thinking about leading the team to the final and then lifting the European Champions Cup high, making himself famous in history...

The goal was noble, but the means had to be more realistic.

He at least had to figure out how to win this game first.

How could they win?

Of course, the first thing to do was to stop this practice of completely ignoring the gaps behind them. This style of play looked impressive and the fans loved it, but he didn't like it. The risk was too great. If Manchester United seized another opportunity and scored again, the game would be completely over... No, even the second leg of the match would be over.

※※※

During a break in play, Mazzarri told Hamsik about his adjustments, and Hamsik relayed them to the other players.

"Slow down the attacking pace, strengthen the defense?" Chen Hero was surprised after hearing Hamsik's message.

This was Mazzarri's adjustment. What he was most worried about was these few, ten minutes after conceding the goal. If Manchester United was deliberately trying to lure them in deeper, and then launch another counterattack, Napoli would be finished. And Napoli, having just conceded a goal at home, giving the opponent an away goal, they all knew what that meant. So, they were all determined to equalize as soon as possible, and they were currently overheated. It was entirely possible for that kind of situation to occur...

Therefore, Mazzarri planned to cool down the team's fervor and let them calm down. Anyway, there was still plenty of time left in the game, and since the goal had already been conceded, instead of regretting and lamenting why they conceded it, they should think about how to avoid conceding more goals.

Hamsik didn't explain the coach's purpose and ideas behind this adjustment to Chen Hero. He ran off to convey the coach's latest instructions to the next teammate.

Raúl, on the other hand, was experienced and saw through the coach's intentions at a glance. He came over to explain the key points to Chen Hero.

His Italian wasn't very fluent yet, but he could barely manage communication on the soccer field.

With his explanation, which involved both talking and gesturing, Chen Hero finally understood what was going on.

He hadn't considered the connection between the team's conceded goal and this intense attack. He just felt that the more intense the attack, the greater the chance of scoring... From this perspective, he really wasn't coach material. But maybe not. Hero was only twenty-two years old now, far from retirement and from having his mind opened.

"So, does that mean there will be fewer chances to score?" Chen Hero frowned and stroked his chin. He still hoped to help the team equalize as soon as possible, so that everyone would be under less pressure, wouldn't they? He knew that Mazzarri was doing this to prevent conceding goals, but if they could equalize quickly, the morale and balance of power between the two sides would change dramatically.

Raúl laughed: "Hero, do you know why I'm the Champions League's top scorer?"

Chen Hero felt a little puzzled. Did my question have anything to do with whether you're the Champions League's top scorer?

He shook his head blankly.

"For a good enough striker, scoring chances aren't waited for, they're created." Raúl said.

Chen Hero was taken aback at first, feeling that this sentence sounded familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere... That's right, he remembered. It was when he was learning off-ball movement from Inzaghi in the copy world, and he had said something similar.

"If we fall back, it means Manchester United's attack will start. And if Manchester United's attack starts, they can't maintain so many players in their defensive formation. So, in fact, there may not be fewer chances." Raúl enlightened Chen Hero.

He then realized that he still had a significant gap compared to veterans like Raúl and Inzaghi...

"Thank you, Raúl." Chen Hero sincerely thanked the other man for his guidance.

Raúl patted him on the shoulder: "I've been playing with you for almost a season, and I have high hopes for you, Hero. Maybe it won't be long before I have to give up my position as the top scorer."

Indeed, Raúl first represented Real Madrid's first team in a La Liga match on October 29, 1994, and he first appeared in the Champions League in the 1995-1996 Champions League group stage, in an away match against Ajax. His first goal and third goal were both in the same match - in Real Madrid's 6-1 rout of Ferencváros at home, Raúl, who was making his Champions League debut at the Bernabéu, scored a hat-trick. From then on, the legend of an evergreen tree in the Champions League officially began.

But it took him fifteen years to score seventy-two goals. Chen Hero? Two seasons weren't even over yet, and he had already scored twenty goals. If this trend continued, it was only a matter of time before Chen Hero surpassed Raúl.

Hearing Raúl's high praise and expectations, Chen Hero chuckled.

"Go, Hero. Go find opportunities to shoot and score. If you need help, I'll provide it for you." After saying that, Raúl turned and ran off.

Chen Hero glanced at the back of Napoli's number 7, and then ran to his own position.

Manchester United was leading in our home stadium, and they also had an away goal. This game was really difficult for Napoli.

Now, Napoli's coach Mazzarri was asking the team to fall back and pay attention to the gaps behind them, which meant there would be less support for the attack. Although there was still plenty of time, wouldn't it be better to equalize sooner? But now, the support he was getting was even less.

However, a fire was burning fiercely in Chen Hero's heart.

I want to try something so challenging!