Some of Messi's solo performances in the games had sparked a debate among Barcelona's media outlets, focusing on whether it was a good thing for Messi to be so individualistic, and whether this Messi was still the one they knew.

But suddenly, overnight, these debates disappeared.

The Catalan media no longer argued about whether Messi being individualistic was a good thing.

They weren't stupid; they were keenly aware that it must have something to do with Chen Hero.

Chen Hero was able to score so many goals because of the support of the entire Liverpool team, so Messi was being individualistic, but that wasn't individualism; it was the support of the whole team, giving him unlimited shooting rights.

Like Messi, Guardiola, and any Barcelona player, those pro-Barcelona media in Catalonia naturally disliked Chen Hero.

They didn't want Chen Hero to win this competition.

Now that Messi had the support of the entire team to compete with Chen Hero, we couldn't exaggerate Messi's goals, but at least we shouldn't cause him any trouble.

If such debates escalated, Guardiola might be forced by public opinion to withdraw his support for Messi.

Were they just going to sit back and watch Messi get further and further behind that damn Chen Hero?

No, they had to help him! This wasn't just a war between Messi and Chen Hero, it was a war between the entire Barcelona and Chen Hero!

A day later, not only was there no debate in the media, but their attitude had taken a 180-degree turn, and they began to sing praises for Messi's "individualism."

All sorts of nauseating flattery emerged one after another.

Those articles were so sickeningly flattering that it felt like Messi was their own father.

If you really wanted to find a reason, you could always find one. They were the ones who said that Messi was too individualistic and it affected the team's performance, and now they were the ones saying that Messi's individualism wasn't really individualism, but a full display of his abilities.

In short, with a little bit of lip service, everything made sense.

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Chen Hero naturally paid attention to the developments on Barcelona's side.

Just like Messi was actually very concerned about Chen Hero, Chen Hero was also very concerned about Messi. However, the difference between him and Messi was that Chen Hero's concern for Messi was something everyone knew; he had mentioned Messi many times in public, and he knew his opponent very well. And when Messi was concerned about Chen Hero, he would tell others that he didn't care about that person at all, and didn't want to hear any news about him—of course, he didn't want to hear it, because what others told him was outdated, he already knew it all...

To put it bluntly, Chen Hero was consistent, while Messi was a bit *tsundere*.

Chen Hero's IQ was still higher than that of the Catalan media. When he saw that Messi had suddenly become so individualistic, he immediately realized that the other party must be trying to fight him to the death.

As for the media's fickle comments, he didn't take them to heart.

He only cared about what Messi did. Even if the media talked until the end of time, it wouldn't make him score fewer goals or Messi score more goals; it posed no threat to him.

Messi had made his attitude clear, and so had Barcelona.

Supporting Messi with the strength of the entire team...

That was fine. It would avoid making excuses after losing.

With the whole team supporting you, if you still lose to me in the end, you should have nothing to say, right?

Chen Hero didn't show the slightest worry about the fact that the entire Barcelona team was supporting Messi in fighting him; on the contrary, he was very happy. Because doing so would only make Messi lose even more miserably.

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To be honest, supporting Messi with the strength of the entire team was indeed quite useful.

In that round of league games, Messi scored a hat trick in the match.

And Chen Hero, in the same round of league games, only scored one goal.

This was also related to the team's rotation. Considering that the schedule Liverpool faced after the knockout stage would become dense, Liverpool rotated players in this league game. Most of the main players were replaced, but Chen Hero still started.

In the end, with goals from Chen Hero and Suarez, who came off the bench in the second half, Liverpool narrowly defeated Middlesbrough 2:1 away from home.

The impact of the large-scale rotation on the team was finally gradually manifesting itself.

However, Martin O'Neill didn't have time to consider this matter. Because besides doing so, he had no other choice.

In the next game against Aston Villa, Martin O'Neill couldn't send out a full-strength lineup either. Because next was the second leg against Juventus. Although Liverpool had already scored two away goals, O'Neill still didn't dare to be careless. At 2:2, both sides were on the same starting line. Every goal Juventus scored now was an away goal, so he couldn't be too complacent. If they capsized in the gutter, then he and Liverpool would become the laughing stock of all of Europe.

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Ferguson specifically found the recording of the game between Liverpool and Middlesbrough to watch—he was now very concerned about the performance of this old rival.

Because it was directly related to Manchester United's performance this season.

He watched the game twice, the first time just watching, and the second time analyzing, he would constantly press the pause button while watching, and then think for a while.

It took him an entire evening to watch the two recordings—from returning home after dinner to locking himself in the study, and then going to bed until almost twelve o'clock.

As he rustled into bed, his wife Cathy, who had been lying next to him, suddenly said, "Is the situation very bad?"

Ferguson had already lifted the quilt with one hand, but after hearing his wife's question, he stopped and answered his wife's question first.

"No, it's not bad, just a little troublesome."

"I think you must be encountering a very strong opponent?" Cathy said. Because she didn't like football and stipulated that there should be nothing related to football in the house, Ferguson couldn't even put trophies and medals at home. It was precisely for this reason that when Ferguson did not hesitate to break Cathy's rules and locked himself in the study to study the game recordings, Cathy naturally knew that the situation was likely to be more difficult. You know, although Ferguson was very strong in Manchester United's locker room, he was a standard "henpecked husband."

Ferguson got into bed, tucked in the quilt, lay flat and looked at the ceiling and said, "It's nothing, don't worry, don't you not like football? Sleep, huh?"

"You men always like to lie to your women..." Cathy mumbled and fell asleep.

But Ferguson couldn't fall asleep for a while. He couldn't toss and turn in bed, that would disturb his wife next to him and prevent her from falling asleep.

He could only keep lying flat and quietly look at the ceiling.

In his mind, it was still the game recording from just now.

Liverpool didn't win this game easily. It took so much effort to play against a relegation team like Middlesbrough away from home, which could only show that they had already felt the pressure brought to them by the two-front battle...

Hero's condition was still very good, and he scored a goal in the game.

This was his goal in the eighteenth consecutive round of league games. Just like he said himself, after surpassing Gerd Müller, he didn't stop there, but continued to move forward, breaking his own new record.

But Ferguson firmly believed that no star could completely transform a team on his own. Not even Maradona could do it. Whether in Argentina or in Naples, he actually had a group of excellent teammates.

This was Ferguson's philosophy, football needs superstars, but in the final analysis, football is a whole.

No matter how well Chen Hero is performing now, there will be a time when he is exhausted. Even if he is in good shape alone, he can't withstand the fluctuations in the state of other people in Liverpool. No matter how strong his power is, there will be problems that he cannot solve.

Anyway, if this continues, Chen Hero will eventually find that he cannot really become Liverpool's savior.

What Manchester United has to do now is to continue to win, at all costs, and keep winning.

As long as pressure is applied to Liverpool, when Liverpool makes a small mistake, under this pressure, small mistakes will turn into irreparable big mistakes...

Manchester United's next game is not easy either.

In addition to Liverpool, that deadly rival in the same city is also not very honest, always thinking about defeating the elder brother and unifying Manchester...

In addition, Manchester United's own lineup is not very strong.

This season, for Ferguson, is indeed the kind of situation he has not encountered in many years.

Liverpool has made a strong comeback, and the deadly rival in the same city is very restless.

Now Manchester United is under attack from both sides.

Ferguson has to instill confidence in the players almost every day, telling them not to look at the fact that they are already ten points behind Liverpool, but as long as we persevere, Liverpool will definitely make mistakes!

It can be said that if it weren't for his old face, Ferguson, still having some prestige, Manchester United would have collapsed long ago. Being ten points behind their deadly rival, anyone would feel hopeless, but he never said a word like "We have no hope for the league title."

Never admitting defeat is Old Sir's life creed.

What he needs now is patience, at the most unfavorable time for Manchester United, nothing is more precious than patience.

At this time, he must not make mistakes before Liverpool, otherwise all his efforts will be in vain.

Rooney is the team's biggest star, and this card must be used well.

In addition, Nani and "Little Pea" Fernandez are also important pieces. If they are used well, they can determine the outcome, but if they are not used well...

The most critical thing is the defense. In order to ensure victory, defense is the top priority now. Ensure that no goals are conceded, and then consider scoring goals.

In order to catch up with Liverpool, Ferguson doesn't care if the game is ugly.

The result is more important than everything. He has passed the stage of proving himself by the scene. He doesn't want to become someone like Wenger. Not to mention that even Wenger is seeking change, why should he take Wenger's old path?

Just thinking about it, Ferguson, who had been tired all day, finally fell asleep.

Loud snoring echoed in the room...