After the match started, Norwich put up fierce resistance—they actually didn't expect to beat Liverpool on their home turf. Although everyone had been saying that Liverpool had declined and was no longer a force... that was in comparison to other top teams. What was Norwich? Even a weakened Liverpool could easily handle them. As the saying goes, a starving camel is still bigger than a horse!
Liverpool could easily take down Norwich, even on the road.
So Norwich's wishful thinking wasn't about winning at home, but about securing a draw. Anyway, they had already secured their spot in the league, and one point or three didn't make much of a difference.
They just didn't want those who looked down on them to score goals on them and compete for the top scorer title. In their eyes, Robin van Persie was obviously much more likeable than Chen Hero. So they absolutely didn't want Chen Hero to climb to the top over their dead bodies.
Chen Hero sensed this hostility from the Norwich players—he hadn't figured out why they were so hostile towards him, so he found it baffling.
Eleven minutes into the game, Adam Johnson created a golden opportunity for Chen Hero. He crossed the ball from the wing, but it wasn't a high ball; it was a low, driven cross that precisely bypassed the defending players and zipped past the toes of the Norwich defender.
Perhaps because Chen Hero himself didn't expect the opponent to let the ball through so easily, he was a little unprepared. When the ball came over, he reflexively kicked at it, but he ended up sending it flying.
The Norwich defender, Zak Whitbread, who was next to him and being held back, whistled, clearly mocking Chen Hero for missing the shot.
Chen Hero turned to glare at him, but Whitbread glared back without showing any weakness.
Hey!
Chen Hero thought, "You're actually getting tough with me!"
I glare at you, and you glare back? Very good! You just wait!
Chen Hero turned and ran back.
Whitbread really went head-to-head with Chen Hero. Clearly, Chen Hero's glare had upset him.
Actually, he had been unhappy with Chen Hero for a long time, ever since Chen Hero made that arrogant declaration. He felt that this person had no manners and didn't know how to respect his opponents. So when he saw Chen Hero miss the shot, he was very happy and whistled to express his feelings—he admitted that he was deliberately trying to disgust Chen Hero.
If Chen Hero had ignored him, he might have let it go. But he didn't expect Chen Hero to dare glare back at him, which made him even more upset—you dare glare at me? You really have no manners and don't know how to respect your opponents!
He didn't seem to consider that his actions weren't very respectful to his opponent either...
Of course, humans always selectively forget some things—in short, the fault is always with others, and they are always right.
Seeing Chen Hero turn and run back, Whitbread deliberately provoked him, shouting at Chen Hero, "Ooooooh! Need to raise the goalposts, mister!"
Even for private grudges, doing this seemed excessive. Yes, Whitbread had other intentions—he knew Chen Hero had a bad temper, and he intended to provoke Chen Hero. The most important quality of a striker is a calm head. When Chen Hero lost his cool and reason, his performance would drop significantly, and it would be much easier to defend against him.
Chen Hero heard his shout, turned around, and pointed at Whitbread, making it clear: you just wait, kid!
Whitbread shrugged, spread his hands, pursed his lips, and raised his eyebrows, also making it clear—I'll wait if you want, I'm not afraid of you!
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Modern television broadcasting technology is truly advanced. Although the TV broadcast didn't capture Chen Hero and Whitbread's confrontation, and the commentators didn't know what had happened.
But soon, the story between the two became known to everyone through replays that Chen Hero and Whitbread didn't get along.
"Oh oh, look what happened, Hero seems to be communicating something with Whitbread..." This was a more euphemistic way of putting it.
"The two don't seem very friendly... glaring at each other, at this rate, they might start fighting!" This was a more normal way of putting it.
"Ah ah ah! Hero and Whitbread are going at it! Looks like we're in for a good show in the next game!" This was... well, you know!
When Chen Hero and Whitbread looked at each other, the fans in the stadium didn't know what had happened, but when Chen Hero turned around and pointed at Whitbread, they all knew—there must be some conflict between these two...
Norwich fans certainly couldn't sit idly by and watch their own player get bullied on their home turf.
So boos immediately rang out.
Chen Hero didn't care about these boos at all. After his experiences in Naples, the fans' most powerful weapon had no effect on him. What Chen Hero said to the Manchester City fans wasn't just to provoke them; he was telling the truth. Just booing him and stimulating him with racist language had no effect. Playing in Naples made him immune to boos, and playing in the Russian Premier League, where racism was rampant, made him immune to racist insults.
The Norwich fans' boos couldn't affect him at all.
Amid the boos from Norwich, he received the ball and passed the ball as normally and energetically as ever.
※※※
Chen Hero always kept Whitbread in mind.
He couldn't swallow this insult no matter what—he, Chen Hero, was definitely not the kind of person who would keep quiet after suffering a loss. The saying "A gentleman takes ten years to exact revenge" was absolutely not applicable to Chen Hero. He believed in "I settle my scores overnight."
In Whitbread's view, Chen Hero seemed to be genuinely angry.
During one play, he and Chen Hero were fighting for the ball. When chasing back, he blocked Chen Hero's position, and Chen Hero directly pushed him to the ground from behind—of course, he definitely exaggerated the fall a bit, but the end result was actually the same.
The referee's whistle blew, and Chen Hero was called for a foul.
Chen Hero glared at the other person fiercely—you dare to fake a fall? I've made a big enemy of you today!
Whitbread didn't care about Chen Hero's accusation of him faking a fall. For a defender, it was also a defensive strategy.
※※※
Revenge cannot wait too long, otherwise it will be ineffective, because hatred will gradually fade with the passage of time.
So revenge and eating fried dough sticks are the same—you have to do it while it's hot.
Twenty-five minutes into the game, fourteen minutes after the initial conflict between Chen Hero and Whitbread, Chen Hero got another chance.
Suarez and Chen Hero played a one-two near the edge of the penalty area. Chen Hero passed the ball back to Suarez. After receiving the ball, the Uruguayan used his skillful footwork to break through and disrupt Norwich's defense, then suddenly passed the ball to his diagonal rear.
Originally, everyone thought that Chen Hero would follow up and enter the penalty area to meet his teammate. Who would have thought that after Chen Hero passed the ball to Suarez, he didn't rush in, but waited outside the penalty area.
Suarez didn't look back after passing the ball to avoid exposing Chen Hero. So his pass was very sudden, and Chen Hero's reception was also very sudden.
When Chen Hero received the ball outside the penalty area, there wasn't even a single Norwich player around him.
To save time and prevent the opponent from rushing up, Chen Hero didn't stop the ball. He unleashed a furious shot at the ball passed by Suarez!
The football flew towards the goal like a cannonball, and by a strange twist of fate, even went through Whitbread's legs!
The football flew past Whitbread's crotch and suddenly appeared in front of goalkeeper John Ruddy. He had no time to react, because the shot Chen Hero unleashed was so fast and concealed...
"gooooooooooooooooooooooAL!!! gooooooooooAL!!" the commentator roared.
"Beautiful! Hero scores!"
"A long shot! His thirty-third goal of the season! Only one goal behind Van Persie!"
"A wonderful direct long shot without stopping the ball! And it went through the legs of Norwich defender Whitbread! Whitbread must be very depressed, hahaha!"
※※※
After scoring, Chen Hero didn't run to the sidelines to celebrate, nor did he hug his teammates. He ran to Whitbread, first gave a loud whistle, then shrugged, spread his hands, pursed his lips, and raised his eyebrows, returning the exact same actions Whitbread had made to him earlier!
This was blatant provocation, blatant humiliation!
Immediately, Norwich players stood up for their teammate and rushed up to push Chen Hero away.
Chen Hero still relentlessly rushed towards Whitbread and shouted, "Hey, kid, do you want to raise your legs a little higher! Be careful not to get kicked in the balls!"
This kind of provocation was completely unbearable!
Whitbread rushed up to cause trouble for Chen Hero, and Chen Hero continued to unleash his "taunt" skill.
"Didn't you want to go head-to-head with me? Come on! Who's afraid of who! Come on if you have the guts!"
Whitbread was so teased by Chen Hero that he got hot-headed and was about to go find Chen Hero's trouble. He even planned to push Chen Hero through his teammates.
Norwich's teammates naturally wouldn't let him actually touch Chen Hero. They knew very well that the Liverpool players were waiting for this opportunity. They quickly pulled him away, while others went up to stand up for him.
"Hey! Hey! Watch your mouth!"
"Don't push it too far, Chinese!"
"Why bother? Why bother? You've already scored..."
Everyone pointed fingers at Chen Hero while arguing with the referee and putting pressure on him.
Meanwhile, the Liverpool players came up to help Chen Hero.
"That kid provoked him first!"
"That's right, it was that kid! Your number six!"
"I saw with my own eyes that he whistled to mock Hero after Hero didn't score..."
The Liverpool players had a clear division of labor. Some went up to argue with the referee and Norwich players, while others pulled Chen Hero away, telling him not to continue provoking and taunting, as it wouldn't be good for anyone if things got out of hand.
In the end, the referee showed Chen Hero a yellow card because of his provocative celebration after scoring.
But Chen Hero didn't care about the yellow card at all. From ten meters away, he pointed at Whitbread and shouted, "You're done for! You're dead in this game, kid! This is just the beginning!"
Whitbread didn't show weakness on the surface, pointing back at Chen Hero: "Come on, do it again if you have the guts!"
But in reality, he was already feeling a little nervous—it seemed that provoking Chen Hero hadn't made him lose his cool... but had made him even more terrifying!
Damn it, this isn't what I expected!