Chapter 1

Chen Hero wasn't facing Messi for the first time, but in the previous two encounters, Messi's performance hadn't been great—at least, that's how Chen Hero saw it.

In last year's first leg, Messi didn't perform well, didn't score, and was completely contained by Napoli.

In the second leg, it was because Chen Hero was sent off, leaving Napoli with one less player, and their morale was greatly affected, so the defense against Messi wasn't as strict as in the first leg. It was under these circumstances that Messi came to life, dribbling past four players and scoring.

And then he scored again.

If he had been on the field, and Napoli hadn't been affected by that incident, who knows if Messi would have been able to dribble past four players? As for scoring twice? Chen Hero sincerely felt it was impossible.

But this game was different; Messi's performance was very active. Obviously, he was provoked by Chen Hero.

Besides the earlier long shot, Messi had many other highlights. His breakthroughs on the wings and in the center were almost unstoppable.

Criscito was defending with great difficulty; even someone who didn't understand football could see that he was completely overshadowed by Messi's brilliance.

"Messi nutmegged Criscito!"

"Messi! Beautiful dodge! His feet are so fast! Criscito can't keep up at all! He can only chase after him... how pitiful!"

"Messi is probably the player with the fastest footwork in the world! He always touches the ball one step ahead of his opponents, which helps him stay ahead in one-on-one situations..."

"Messi dribbles horizontally, Criscito slides in for a tackle! He missed!"

"Messi with a beautiful change of direction... and cuts back! Criscito is completely disoriented by Messi's feints! He thought Messi would break through on the right, but Messi pulled the ball to the left. He quickly lunged to the left, but Messi flicked the ball to the right, not forgetting to nutmeg him in the process..."

...

Barcelona fans were happiest during this time because they could fully appreciate Messi's outstanding technique. Watching Messi play was like enjoying art. The ball, difficult for others to control, was obedient under Messi's feet, like a pet. And his opponents could only desperately chase his shadow.

Barcelona fans in the stands constantly chanted, "Messi! Messi!"

The Catalan commentators and the Argentinian commentators were also very excited, and almost all the praise for Messi came from their mouths.

And Messi didn't disappoint those who had high expectations for him.

In the thirty-fourth minute, Messi equalized the score for Barcelona.

Again, he dribbled past Criscito, successfully breaking through on the right wing, then suddenly cut inside, bursting into the penalty area from the flank. After attracting everyone's attention, he suddenly passed the ball to Villa, who was supporting him in the center.

Villa feigned a shot, deceiving Napoli's defenders into rushing toward him, but he passed the ball back to Messi.

Now there wasn't a single Napoli player near Messi… no, there was one: Criscito!

He firmly remembered coach Mazzarri's instructions to him: "No matter what happens, you have to keep a close eye on Messi!"

He chased after him, ready to foul if necessary to stop him!

A sliding tackle from behind!

Seeing Criscito's tackle, Napoli fans held their breath… If Messi fell to the ground, they would certainly face a penalty and a red card…

But Barcelona fans laughed: Tackle! Tackle! Just try to tackle him! See who ends up suffering!

However, what Napoli fans feared and Barcelona fans hoped to see didn't happen. As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Messi moved to the side and pulled the ball away, avoiding Criscito's dangerous tackle.

Immediately after, he shot, curling the ball around De Sanctis's outstretched fingers and into the far corner of the goal.

"Beautiful goal! Unbelievable!"

"Messi equalizes for Barcelona! He also scores his twelfth goal in the Champions League this season!!"

"He ties Ruud van Nistelrooy's record of twelve goals in a single Champions League season, set in 2002-2003!! He also widens the goal gap between him and Chen Hero once again!"

"Truly worthy of being the World Footballer of the Year! Worthy of being the number one player in world football today! This small Argentinian has a strength that doesn't lose out to those bigger guys!"

"The competition between these two strikers this season is indeed wonderful! Hero just caught up with a goal, and Messi immediately reopens the gap!"

"Napoli's lead lasted only seven minutes before being equalized by Messi!"

The commentators cheered.

As neutral observers, they naturally hoped the game would be as exciting and entertaining as possible. As for who would win the championship or who would be the top scorer, that wasn't within their scope of concern.

Only commentators with obvious biases would have different opinions about this goal.

For example, the Italian commentator put his hands on his head and didn't say a word...

He Ping still tried to be as objective as possible. Messi's goal was indeed beautiful, so he didn't say anything.

But in his heart, he was cheering for Chen Hero.

※※※

After Barcelona scored, their players and fans became energized. The fans' momentum suppressed that of the Napoli fans, completely gaining the upper hand.

And Barcelona's players felt more at ease. Messi equalized the score so quickly, which filled them with confidence for the rest of the game—Napoli's goal was just an accident; Messi's goal was normal.

Now the game was back on the right track… What did they have to fear?

Hernandez Garcia Perez also breathed a sigh of relief.

After Chen Hero scored, he had been very nervous. If Napoli defeated Barcelona in the end, and Chen Hero defeated Messi, he would lose a lot of face. He had patted his chest in front of the editor-in-chief and guaranteed that his plan would definitely cause internal strife for Napoli and Chen Hero, greatly affecting their performance, and Barcelona would easily win the final without any problems…

The development of the game after it restarted further restored Hernandez Garcia Perez's confidence.

Encouraged by Messi's goal, Barcelona's players then fully demonstrated their excellent tradition of "pursuing the defeated enemy," pressing Napoli relentlessly.

Messi, Xavi, and Iniesta became active, making Napoli suffer unspeakably.

This period was very difficult for everyone who liked and supported Napoli. They watched as Barcelona's every attack seemed capable of penetrating De Sanctis's goal. Messi's dribbling and passing were unstoppable. Criscito was like a tail behind him, chasing him in a very sorry state. Xavi's passes were full of unexpected inspiration.

It seemed that if Napoli wanted to defend successfully, they could only pray to God that luck would be on their side a little more.

Mazzarri, who had been sitting on the bench, also stood up.

He realized that Barcelona in the Champions League final was a completely different team from the one in the quarter-finals. The fighting power of this Barcelona had increased geometrically compared to the one Napoli had played before.

※※※

"Napoli is on the verge of collapse! The only reason they haven't conceded another goal is that their dog shit luck hasn't run out yet, but it will soon!" the Catalan commentator said triumphantly. Fortunately, Napoli's fans couldn't hear his commentary, otherwise, many people would be so angry that they would smash their TVs…

But the news they heard wasn't very good either…

"Napoli's current situation is very critical. They might even concede another goal before the end of the first half… Their defense has been compressed into a thin sheet by Barcelona's attack; a single pass can penetrate it! Be careful!"

The commentator's exclamation startled all the Napoli fans.

Xavi's pass did penetrate Napoli's defense, but fortunately Pedro ran a little too early, and he was offside…

"Damn it! This can't go on!"

"Too dangerous! When will the first half end?"

Many Napoli fans touched the sweat on their foreheads, and some people's bodies were even shaking.

If the fans were under so much pressure, the players' pressure was even more conceivable.

The TV broadcast would occasionally show close-ups of Napoli's players, and these shots all had one thing in common—the expression on everyone's face was very serious, even a little nervous and panicked…

This wasn't a good sign.

They were obviously overwhelmed by the enormous pressure. If this continued, the whole team would collapse as a result. At that time, it would be like a landslide…

Fortunately, what everyone feared didn't happen. This time, luck was really on Napoli's side a little more. Napoli didn't concede a goal until the end of the first half. They withstood Barcelona's stormy offensive.

Logically, they should have been able to breathe a sigh of relief, right?

No, no one did. Most of Napoli's players still had ugly expressions on their faces when they went off the field.

Because they knew that luck couldn't last until the end of the game.

The Catalan commentator also held the same view: "Napoli's luck looks pretty good. But it doesn't matter, let them be happy until this point. The second half belongs to Barcelona, and they are destined to lose! Facts have proved that no matter how much of a dark horse they are, they are just a darker horse. They can't compete with the real kings! In this world, strength always speaks for itself. Trying to be clever will never be the right way!"

If Chen Hero could hear this sentence, he would definitely nod vigorously and express great agreement with it: "That's right! Diving and trying to be clever will never be the right way!"

But unfortunately, at this time, he could only lower his head and walk into the tunnel with his teammates, disappearing from the TV broadcast's cameras and everyone's eyes.