Chapter 1 Media Frenzy

The next day, amidst the media frenzy surrounding Chen Hero's record-breaking performance, a small anecdote mentioned by the referee, Joseph, was particularly interesting.

"Yes, he did say that to me. He said he would score an identical goal to prove my first-half decision was wrong… and then he actually scored such a goal. I was really shocked, but thankfully, I still remembered the whistle and gesture for a valid goal…"

The media confirmed with the referee that Chen Hero wasn't lying, but telling the truth.

This further deepened everyone's "awe" of Chen Hero…

For a time, apart from Liverpool's local pro-Liverpool media, other media outlets were in a state of utter despair.

Everyone pessimistically stated that defeating Chen Hero was an almost impossible task.

This Chen Hero was too powerful.

People often say that a person's greatest enemy is not someone else, but themselves. Chen Hero proved with his actions that he could completely defeat himself.

Previously, he held the record for consecutive goals in the English top league, scoring in thirteen consecutive league games. Now, he had surpassed himself, breaking the record and creating a completely new one.

What did this mean? It meant that even the past him couldn't stop the present him.

He was truly a monster who had broken through the heavens!

Faced with such a Chen Hero, the media lamented that perhaps the day Chen Hero's form declined might even make the annual Top Ten News Stories that influenced the world…

※※※

Chen Hero was also very happy because he had completed the task, received the task reward, and was getting closer and closer to completing the final series of tasks.

Having not cared about what the media said for a long time, he began to actively pay attention to the media's evaluation of this matter.

As he expected, it was almost all one-sided praise, admiration, and amazement.

Looking at those flowery words, Chen Hero didn't feel embarrassed at all. On the contrary, he enjoyed it very much.

The media touted him as the world's number one player in football today, and he accepted it generously.

This time, his limelight overshadowed Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and he was already the leading figure in world football.

He felt great.

However, when he saw a report from a German media outlet, his pleasant mood was somewhat diminished.

"... Hero is indeed a genius in football today, and scoring goals has become commonplace for him. The media has also learned to remain calm about his goals. However, his recent performance in English football has shocked the entire country—he has scored in fourteen consecutive league games! He broke the record of thirteen consecutive league games with goals, which he himself held. Moreover, these fourteen consecutive games were completed in a single season, unlike the previous record, which spanned seasons. This is a remarkable achievement. He is only one step away from the record for consecutive goals in the five major leagues created by 'Bomber' Gerd Müller…"

What?

Seeing this, Chen Hero was stunned.

There was an even more awesome record than his consecutive fourteen-game scoring streak?

He really hadn't expected it. He had always thought that scoring in fourteen consecutive league games was a remarkable achievement, unprecedented and unmatched.

Who would have thought that someone was even more impressive than him!

Chen Hero immediately felt that he had been happy too soon. If he wasn't the most impressive, what was there to be happy about?

No! I can't allow anyone to be above me! I want to be number one! Not just the Premier League, but also the European champion! The greatest of all time!

However, the news didn't mention how many games Gerd Müller's record was.

He was too lazy to check, so he simply called Dekura to ask.

After Dekura understood Chen Hero's intention, he smiled, "But that's not what the task requires, Hero."

Chen Hero didn't care, "Whether it's a task or not doesn't matter. This has nothing to do with the task requirements, I just don't want to find someone above me when I look back at the records in the future… That feeling is very unpleasant!"

"That's a legend of German football, and even European football. Being just one step away from the legend is not bad, Hero."

"No, I want to be one step stronger than the legend!"

Chen Hero replied decisively.

"Okay, I knew it…" Dekura nodded, "Gerd Müller's record is sixteen consecutive league games with goals, scoring a total of twenty-three goals. From March to September 1970, it also spanned seasons."

Chen Hero was very satisfied, "So as long as I can surpass him, I can become the first person to complete this feat in a single season?"

"Yes, Hero. You are a genuine number one."

"Good! Then I will work hard towards this goal, it's just three more games!"

※※※

Chen Hero began to work hard towards his goal of scoring in seventeen consecutive league games.

The first obstacle was Chelsea.

In the first half of the season, Chen Hero was suspended due to a red card, and he was unable to participate in the away game against Chelsea, which resulted in his team losing 0:1 to Chelsea.

So far this season, Liverpool has only lost one game, and that was to Chelsea.

Therefore, Liverpool must win this game. If they were defeated by Chelsea, they would be double-killed, which was unacceptable for Liverpool.

Before the game, Chen Hero made a bold statement, claiming that he would make up for the half of the season that he didn't participate in during this game.

Everyone said that Chelsea seemed to be in grave danger this time.

Chelsea's coach, Dick Advocaat, remained silent.

He used to know his disciple the best, but the current Chen Hero had exceeded his understanding.

He only knew that Chen Hero was more powerful than before. He was no longer the person who limped around in Zenit St. Petersburg. He had become more versatile and more terrifying.

The possibility of stopping him was slim.

Therefore, Advocaat's attention was not on this at all. He was thinking about scoring goals. Although we can't beat Chen Hero, we might be able to beat Liverpool. Liverpool has Chen Hero, and Chen Hero is very powerful, but Liverpool is not composed of eleven Chen Heroes. There are always weaknesses.

Advocaat had studied the video of Liverpool's away game against Arsenal.

Although everyone was discussing Martinez's Wigan Athletic's tactics to deal with Chen Hero, Advocaat believed that this was of no reference value.

Arsenal's tactics were worth watching.

Because Wenger found Liverpool's loopholes and everyone exploited them.

However, Chen Hero's condition was too good in that game, and Van Persie's excellent performance clearly aroused Chen Hero's fighting spirit—others might not be clear about this, but Advocaat knew it very well. He knew what kind of person Chen Hero was. He was truly a person who became stronger when he met a stronger opponent. Van Persie's good performance would naturally arouse his fighting spirit and make him explode with greater energy.

It could be said that Arsenal's loss to Chelsea at home was really due to Van Persie, and also defeated by Van Persie.

Angering Chen Hero would definitely not end well.

He had been very clear about this from the beginning.

Look at Wigan Athletic, that was a typical example of failure.

If they only used foul tactics, but didn't anger Chen Hero, perhaps Chen Hero's anger would burn himself. But once the opponents tried to anger Chen Hero, Chen Hero's anger would be relieved because he finally found an object that he could vent on. The anger in his chest would pour out, and the opponents would not be able to resist it…

Therefore, he was particularly low-key. He even ordered the team not to respond to any of Chen Hero's remarks.

No matter what he said, everyone treated it like air.

Football is spoken with feet, not mouths. No matter how much you say, you have to see the truth in the game.

So Chelsea was indeed very silent before this game.

Chen Hero was a little bored when he saw that his provocation had not worked.

※※※

On February 1st, the last game of the twenty-fourth round of the league, which was also the focus of this round, the game between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield opened.

In this game, Chelsea unusually did not play conservatively away from home, but attacked directly.

They launched an offensive towards Liverpool's goal from the start of the game.

This was somewhat unexpected by Liverpool.

Liverpool had been too smooth sailing during this period. After being tied 1:1 by Fulham, Liverpool had won nine consecutive games.

Wigan Athletic had done so in the last league game, but still couldn't stop Chen Hero from scoring and Liverpool from winning. This made the Liverpool players feel that they were invincible.

For a time, Liverpool's goal was in a state of panic, which made the Liverpool fans tremble with fear.

Chelsea's attack was not a blind attack. To score, you still have to pay attention to methods.

Dick Advocaat knew where Liverpool's problem was. Their attacking lineup was already the strongest in the Premier League. The attacking combination of Chen Hero, Suarez, Sanchez, and Gareth Bale had allowed Liverpool to score seventy goals this season, far ahead of other teams.

But their defense was not that good.

Saying that, maybe many people would laugh at Advocaat. Because Liverpool had only conceded twenty goals this season, the third-fewest team in the entire Premier League. How could such a result be considered a bad defense?

But Advocaat found that Liverpool's defense actually had very serious hidden dangers.

This hidden danger did not appear because Agger was injured. It already existed before Agger was injured.

Their defense line was composed of two tall central defenders, who had no problem defending high balls, but had problems defending through balls because they were too slow to turn around… This was fatal.

But why couldn't any opponent use it?

With such a fatal weakness, they still only conceded twenty goals. This didn't make sense!

The reason was still in Liverpool's attack. Liverpool's attack was too powerful, and with their offensive tactics, they pressed their opponents for most of the time and took the lead in scoring. And the opponents were intimidated by Chen Hero's reputation, and they basically had no intention of fighting back. As soon as they fell behind, they surrendered early.

Because of this, Liverpool's defense basically didn't encounter any major tests.

Until the game against Arsenal, Wenger allowed Van Persie to return to the center forward, using his speed, flexibility, and technique to successfully score two goals for Liverpool…

Clear-eyed people could see the clues.

However, some people saw it but didn't have the ability to use it because the team was too weak and collapsed when Liverpool rushed.

Chelsea was different. Chelsea was a veteran team. Advocaat was very confident in his players. He believed that Chelsea could fully exploit the weaknesses in Liverpool's defense.

Therefore, the offensive tactics he formulated for the team were mainly direct passes. This could also fully exploit the weakness of Liverpool's two central defenders' slow turning speed.

Of course, the risk of direct passes was also very high, and the success rate was not high, but as long as it succeeded once, it would be fatal enough. This was quite similar to flying on a plane. The accident rate of airplanes was the highest, but once an accident occurred, there was basically no chance of survival, and the mortality rate was the highest.

Therefore, Chelsea could not use defensive counterattacks. There were too few offensive opportunities, and the success rate would naturally not be high.

They had to attack Liverpool head-on. Only in this way could they get more offensive opportunities, and only then could quantitative change lead to qualitative change…

Of course, the danger of doing so was also very high. Because once a through ball was intercepted by the opponent, it would be a very threatening counterattack.

In addition, they had a great forward like Chen Hero, who could turn decay into magic.

But Advocaat had no other choice. To defeat Liverpool, to avoid losing, he had to do so. There was never a perfect tactic in the world, just like Martinez said, if you want to get something, you may need to sacrifice more other things.

To defeat Liverpool, this risk was very worth taking!