Chapter 148 The Fallen Leaf Strikes Again

Chen Hero stood a few meters away from the ball. In front of him was the defensive wall, and behind the wall was the left side of the goal. Goalkeeper Krul was on the other side of the wall, with the wall blocking the near post and the goalkeeper guarding the far post. This was a very standard free kick defensive strategy.

Generally speaking, this free kick slightly to the left would be taken by a player who was good at curling the ball with his right foot. The ball would be able to go over the wall, drawing an arc and heading straight for the upper left corner of the goal—of course, that was in an ideal situation.

However, it wasn't to say that only right-footed players could take it. Players who were good at using their left foot could also take it, but the arc would have to go around the outside of the wall, heading straight for the near post—this was still an ideal trajectory.

Besides choosing the near post, one could also choose the far post. In short, there were many options, entirely depending on the way the free kick taker excelled.

Basically, a free kick was a process of wits and courage between the free kick taker and the goalkeeper.

It all depended on who guessed correctly and had the higher skill.

With the previous free kick, Chen Hero had hit a fallen leaf ball.

Krul didn't think he could pull off another fallen leaf ball. That kind of thing relied on luck. He didn't believe Chen Hero was that lucky.

He guessed that Chen Hero would most likely kick the ball towards the near post, which was what most players would choose to do.

After all, there was a goalkeeper at the far post, and only the wall at the near post. As long as he could get the ball around the wall and hit it within the frame of the goal, the chances of scoring were quite high.

So he was ready. When Chen Hero kicked the ball, he would pounce towards the near post!

Ready, he lowered his waist, his eyes fixed on the ball through the wall.

The referee's whistle blew.

Chen Hero started his run-up!

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Hero's run-up was large, and he reached the ball in two or three steps, followed by swinging his right foot!

If there was a slow motion replay, perhaps people would see Chen Hero's shot clearly. He didn't use the entire instep to shoot the ball, but only the front of the instep, also known as the toe, to hit the ball.

The ball soared into the air.

This time, the Newcastle wall jumped up with all their might to stop Chen Hero's free kick. For this purpose, they also found some big guys to stand in the wall, hoping to block the ball with their heads.

If Suárez were a Newcastle player, he would definitely warn his teammates not to do this, because it could be more dangerous than losing a goal… But what did the life and death of Newcastle players have to do with him, Suárez? He wouldn't be so kind, anyway, if Chen Hero's shot hit their heads, they would soon know the consequences of doing so…

However, the ball didn't hit the Newcastle wall players. It still flew high over the wall.

Because of the relatively biased position, the free kick spot was further away from the goal than the previous one. The distance shown in the previous television broadcast was thirty-two meters.

This distance gave the ball kicked by Chen Hero enough time to complete the action of adjusting its posture in the air.

Moreover, Chen Hero didn't choose the closest point, he aimed at the longest one… the far post!

The place where Krul was originally.

When Krul saw the ball being kicked, he subconsciously ran towards the near post. He had just moved one step when he realized something was wrong—the ball was flying straight towards the far post behind him!

Looking at the ball again… it hardly rotated in the air!

He cursed inwardly and jumped up, stretching out his arms to reach the ball.

He was still too slow. He jumped backwards to save the ball, but didn't pull the distance enough. The ball easily passed over his fingers, then fell and plunged into the goal!

Almost a perfect corner!

"Ah…"

"This…"

"God…"

The commentators were collectively stunned. The old Liverpool commentator reacted the fastest. He shouted, "The ball is in again!! We've tied the score! Liverpool has tied the score! Hero! Hero! Liverpool's Hero! He scored twice! Both goals were free kicks! Beautiful! Two fallen leaf balls! So beautiful!!"

In his frantic shouts, Newcastle's St. James' Park… no, the Sports Direct Arena was silent.

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"Another one! Another one! Wonderful! Beautiful!"

"Hero scored twice! Two free kicks, simply amazing!"

"The ball is in—Hero! Hero! Hero!! He scored again!"

"Comrades! This is the legendary fallen leaf ball!!"

In China, the commentators of various local stations reacted the fastest than the commentators on the scene. They cheered when the ball flew into the goal, using their own strong personal and regional styles to comment on Chen Hero's goal.

And the Chinese fans had already excitedly waved their fists.

"Hero, well done!"

"After breaking the goal drought, he scores two in a row!"

"After being limp for two and a half games, Hero is finally a man again!"

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In Newcastle's St. James' Park… no, the Sports Direct Arena, the brief silence disappeared, replaced by the cheers of Liverpool fans and the exclamations of Newcastle fans, as well as the shouts of the commentators.

These sounds converged into a torrent, stirring the old stadium with a history of one hundred and twenty years. Even Mike Ashley, who was sitting in the chairman's seat, felt the chair vibrating.

In the huge roar, Chen Hero ran to the bottom of the stands, waving his fists and roaring.

This wasn't just a show to celebrate the goal, it was a natural release of his inner emotions.

He was really happy—he scored two free kicks in one game, this level really meant he could graduate! From now on, there would be another magical weapon in my armory!

I can win you without using my head!

His teammates swarmed up and hugged Chen Hero. Suárez also dashed onto Chen Hero's body, hugged his neck, and waved his fists towards the stands together.

From being two goals behind to tying the score, Liverpool's players had also experienced great ups and downs in their mood. This draw seemed even more precious.

For several games, Liverpool's performance had been unsatisfactory. They had no ability or will to fight back in the face of difficulties. Many players themselves felt unmotivated and lacked drive.

But Chen Hero's two goals changed this terrible situation. Liverpool finally had signs of revival!

Dalglish also thought so, so he clenched his fists and waved them vigorously when he came out to celebrate. His old face was flushed red—that was excitement.

If the first free kick could be said to be luck, then how to explain the second free kick?

Hero, is really resurrected…

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"Another fallen leaf ball?" The commentators were stunned.

They didn't expect Chen Hero to really score two free kicks in one game, and the way they scored was exactly the same, both were fallen leaf balls.

The ball hardly rotated, and there was a clear drop in front of the goal. This was a typical fallen leaf ball feature!

Everyone could say that one goal was "luck" or "a fluke," but were two goals still luck? Still a fluke? They were afraid that their own conscience wouldn't allow them to say that.

Blindly guessing two fallen leaf balls in a row within sixteen minutes, let them find someone to blindly guess and try…

They had to start accepting the fact—Chen Hero might really have grasped the essence of the fallen leaf ball and could kick such a wonderful free kick…

"What a beautiful goal… It seems that this is not luck. Hero must have secretly practiced free kicks… But we don't know when he started practicing…"

"Hero has subverted our common sense. He is simply a monster! Excellent header! Excellent long shot! Now there are also free kicks! He is not even twenty-four years old, God! How many surprises can he bring us in the future?!"

"Liverpool relied on Chen Hero's brace to force a draw with Newcastle on the road. Conceding two goals in a row within sixteen minutes, and both were free kicks… The Newcastle people must feel very wronged…"

Newcastle players and fans did feel wronged.

"Didn't they say he was guessing? Then is this goal also a guess?"

"Almost a perfect corner… This level is too scary, right?"

"Is it really a fallen leaf ball?"

"Is he a monster? I haven't heard that he can or has practiced free kicks…"

"We were tied like this? Weren't we two goals ahead?"

Whether players or fans, there were such or such questions in their hearts, and of course, there was also a trace of… terror deep in their hearts that they would never admit.

This person is really too terrifying!

Newcastle fans suddenly started attacking their club chairman Mike Ashley again.

Obviously, they believed that the team being tied by the opponent within sixteen minutes was also Ashley's fault.

Although this matter had nothing to do with Ashley, who told you to just do something that angered the fans?

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Everyone reacted to this goal. So did the reporters in the press box.

"Okay, tomorrow's newspaper headline has been determined, it's called—Hero's Revival!"

"Either he doesn't score for two and a half games, or he scores two as soon as he does. Hero's state is really like a roller coaster…"

"Two free kicks in a row? Has Hero mastered the ability of free kicks? Then there is one more thing to look forward to in the future…"

They had too many things to tell readers and fans about this game.

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After Chen Hero tied the score for the team, the morale of the entire Liverpool team was greatly boosted, while the Newcastle players appeared flustered and listless.

Faced with Liverpool's offensive, they could only retreat and defend, looking nothing like they were playing at their home ground.

Before, they felt they had the advantage of playing at home, but they forgot that the name "St. James' Park" was gone, replaced by an extremely unpleasant name that no one accepted, "Sports Direct Arena." How much of this so-called home advantage could be left?

In the end, Newcastle was forced to a 2-2 draw by Liverpool at their home ground. Although Liverpool still failed to win, anyone who had watched this game would believe that Liverpool had signs of revival, and their future was no longer a haze.

It was Newcastle's performance that was worrying.

"St. James' Park" had been buried by the fans, and the team seemed to have lost its soul.

Mike Ashley's idea may be good. For the development of the team, he must sell some things to get more money.

Football needs capital, a lot of capital.

But anyone involved in football must know that some things are priceless and cannot be sold.