Chelsea's tactics were indeed causing Liverpool some problems. Škrtel was great in the air, but his turning speed was slow. Carragher was slightly better, but he was getting old, and his body wasn't as agile as it used to be.

So, facing Chelsea's frequent through balls, they were completely overwhelmed.

If they weren't lucky, Liverpool's goal would have been breached long ago.

Advocaat stood on the sidelines, directing the game, looking very tense.

Even though his team had the advantage on the field.

But he knew the dangers lurking beneath the surface. Liverpool had fatal flaws, but didn't his Chelsea's tactics also have fatal flaws?

As long as the opponent seized one counter-attack opportunity, the situation would fundamentally change...

That was why he was so nervous. He hoped Chelsea could score soon and take the lead, which would alleviate his anxiety.

Unfortunately, Chelsea's Brazilian striker, Hulk, wasted an excellent opportunity. His close-range shot was deflected by Reina, and the ball hit the post. When it bounced back, he didn't follow up with a timely shot, and defender Carragher cleared it away.

Advocaat almost had a heart attack watching this.

Then came the anger—score! Score! How could you waste such a chance? Don't you know which team you're fighting? Facing Liverpool, facing the Hero, how dare you squander opportunities so carelessly?

Hulk held his head, looking very disappointed.

This powerful center forward, who once dominated the Portuguese league with Porto, was originally named Givanildo Vieira de Souza, but everyone knew that Brazilian players were referred to by their nicknames, and their real names were often forgotten...

Hulk's name sounded very similar to the famous comic book character "The Hulk". In fact, it *was* "Hulk."

It was said that he loved reading the comic book "The Incredible Hulk" when he was a child, and he was taller and stronger than his peers, so his mother simply gave him the nickname "Hulk."

From then on, everyone called him by that name.

And he did have something in common with the Hulk: speed, strength, immense power, and a volatile temper.

Chelsea had admired this strong forward for a long time, and last summer, they finally lured him away from Porto to Stamford Bridge, where he donned the Chelsea jersey.

So far, he has played in twenty league games, scoring ten goals, performing well.

He had already gained the approval of Chelsea fans and the media.

But his missed shot might make him and the Chelsea fans regret it.

※※※

They regretted it very soon...

While Chelsea used through balls to constantly attack Liverpool's goal, Liverpool quickly launched counter-attacks. Martin O'Neill's response was quick and correct—since you want to exploit the space behind us, I won't give you that space. Fall back on defense and then launch a quick counter-attack!

There were many mistakes in the through balls, and as soon as we intercepted them, we'd immediately send a long pass to find Chen Hero for a counter-attack.

We might not have as many attacking opportunities as you, but every move is deadly!

Was Chen Hero's ability to seize opportunities worse than Hulk's?!

In the thirtieth minute, Liverpool intercepted a Chelsea pass in their own half, and Gerrard sent a long pass directly to Chen Hero up front.

Chen Hero used his right foot to bring the high-falling ball steadily to the ground. This was something he had practiced diligently in the instance.

It wasn't the first time he'd displayed it, but how many people paid attention to ball control? Unless it was a particularly difficult one, but those were rare. Basic skills were reflected in the most ordinary ball control. There were still people who couldn't control these seemingly simple balls...

Ball control was the most important basic skill. Whether you wanted to dribble, pass, or shoot, if you couldn't control the ball well, it would affect your next move. So, ball control was the most basic of basics.

Van Basten made Chen Hero practice ball control diligently for this reason.

This ball control was excellent! Next, Chen Hero used the outside of his right foot to flick the ball away!

Evading John Terry, who had come to challenge him.

After evading Terry, Chen Hero didn't continue dribbling but immediately raised his right foot to shoot!

From more than twenty meters away from the goal, he took a long shot!

Because Chen Hero's ball control was very stable, his subsequent movements were fast, clean, and without any hesitation. This series of movements was very smooth and rapid, making the long shot seem very sudden.

Goalkeeper Čech dove to save, but he was still a step too late and couldn't palm the ball away.

The ball flew past his fingertips.

And then plunged into the net...

After scoring, Chen Hero punched the air forcefully!

Got it!

※※※

Martin O'Neill also punched the air, relieved!

Before, Chelsea's through balls were very threatening, and Liverpool's goal was under constant pressure, making Martin O'Neill very nervous.

Now, that was good. Chen Hero had scored, all the pressure was released, and it had shifted to Chelsea.

※※※

Advocaat saw Chen Hero score and almost simultaneously punched the air—bad!

After falling behind, the situation immediately reversed, and the previously accumulated pressure came down like a mountain, posing a severe test for Chelsea.

The situation he feared the most had appeared...

※※※

Chen Hero only celebrated with a punch to the air after scoring, not because he wasn't excited, but because he remembered that Chelsea's coach, Advocaat, was his mentor and didn't want to be too ostentatious.

In fact, he was very excited. Because the last time the two sides played, he didn't play, which led to Liverpool's first defeat of the season, and also their only defeat. If he had been in that game and hadn't lost, wouldn't Liverpool still be undefeated this season? Coupled with the last seven unbeaten league games of last season, Liverpool would now be on a thirty-game unbeaten streak.

He felt somewhat guilty and hoped to use his ability to help the team defeat Chelsea in this game, and also to vent his frustration.

This goal was him paying back the debt, paying back the goal he owed the team against Chelsea in the first half of the season.

※※※

Liverpool's players were celebrating the goal.

Chelsea's players looked very depressed.

They had conceded a goal, their tactics had failed, what should they do next? Continue to play like this or shrink their defense to avoid conceding more goals?

Advocaat saw confusion and wavering in the players' eyes, which was the most frightening thing. He had summarized that he believed most teams lost to Liverpool because they fell behind early in the game, which brought them a lot of pressure and shock, making them doubt whether their tactics were correct and effective. In such a situation, they certainly couldn't concentrate on the game. Then it was only natural that Liverpool would score more goals...

Therefore, after Liverpool scored, the most important thing was to strengthen their belief and stabilize the team's morale. The team must not be thrown into disarray.

He shouted the name of his captain, Terry, and called him to the sidelines to give him instructions.

Then Terry would bring his instructions onto the field and relay them to his teammates.

His instruction was to continue to stick to their tactics and continue to put pressure on Liverpool. Since they had already conceded a goal, they should simply stop thinking about the "what if we concede a goal" issue and release all the pressure. That would be better.

※※※

After the game restarted, Liverpool discovered that Chelsea was not flustered, but continued to insist on attacking, using through balls to target the space behind them.

This was something that Liverpool hadn't expected. They thought Chen Hero's goal would cause Chelsea to collapse directly.

This had often happened to Liverpool's opponents before.

Chelsea's approach was indeed effective. They managed to equalize the score before the end of the first half, and the scorer was none other than "The Hulk"!

He was much more unrestrained than Chen Hero after scoring. He didn't have to suppress his emotions and could release all the passion in his heart at once. He sprinted, he took off his shirt, he tore at the hem of his shorts and roared at the sky, showing the entire stadium and the audience in front of the television his muscles and strong body!

"Chelsea has equalized the score! That's not easy! When facing this Liverpool team, even equalizing the score seems so difficult, let alone surpassing them and winning the game!"

The commentator also seemed very excited.

"This goal showed Hulk's strong body to the fullest! He forced his way through with his body! Beautiful! Carragher was completely vulnerable in front of him!"

※※※

Just as Chelsea's players were celebrating the goal, Škrtel pulled Carragher up from the ground. Hulk had just bumped into Carragher to win the header.

"Damn it! What a disgrace!" Carragher spat on the ground.

Škrtel patted him on the shoulder to comfort him.

Carragher looked at Hulk, who had taken off his shirt, and curled his lips: "Actually, no one is as strong as Hero. If I were a few years younger, he wouldn't be so arrogant!"

Then he sighed.

"I'm really getting old..."

After speaking, he fell silent, looking very depressed.

Škrtel wanted to say a few words to comfort his center-back partner, but he didn't know what to say.

His relationship with Carragher wasn't as good as his relationship with Chen Hero, some things he could say casually, but he didn't dare to with the vice-captain.

He could only pat Carragher on the shoulder again, this time a little harder.

Carragher seemed to sense the other's meaning from Škrtel's action. He raised his head and smiled at Škrtel: "Don't worry about me, Martin. I'm fine."

But the more he said that, the more Škrtel felt a little sorry for him. He still remembered what Carragher was like when he first arrived at the team. At that time, he was still Liverpool's main defender, the team's vice-captain, with unquestionable prestige in the team, and he worked very hard on the field.

At that time, because everyone was a defender, Carragher and Škrtel had more contact, and he was Škrtel's guide to integrating into the team.

Now, in the blink of an eye, he looked so dejected, time really waits for no one...