The Nottingham Forest manager, unlike Preston, did not complain after the game that Liverpool had insulted them by fielding Chen Hero.
He expressed his approval of Liverpool's strength and shrugged. "We were unlucky to run into them. But I'm still proud of my boys' performance!"
See? That's a lot nicer to hear than what Phil Brown said.
The Nottingham Forest manager also felt that Phil Brown was being unreasonable and couldn't afford to lose.
The Nottingham Forest manager's low-key approach after the game did not generate much interest from the media.
Chen Hero was a little depressed. He really hoped that someone would be so blind as to come and make trouble for him or Liverpool, so that he could test the effect of the "I'm MT" achievement.
But as if on purpose, before he got this achievement, there were always things coming to him or requiring him to step forward. Ever since he got the title of "MT," it has been calm. Did they all know that I can now openly scold people for the team, so they're being good?
Boring! Boring!
Chen Hero looked around with his sword, feeling lost. Was there really no one in the world who dared to fight him three hundred rounds?
※※※
After returning to Liverpool, Chen Hero returned to the first team.
Although the reserve team players were quite reluctant to let him go, they all knew that he could not stay in the reserve team unless he was injured and needed to adjust his condition.
But the chances of that were too small.
The reserve team players were reluctant to part with Chen Hero, but Chen Hero did not take his reserve team teammates to heart. They played together, and he treated them as teammates. But after all, they hadn't known each other for long, and there wasn't much contact. Chen Hero couldn't possibly become deeply involved with a group of players whose fate was uncertain, as he would with the first team. So as soon as the game was over, he left the reserve team, and he didn't feel the same reluctance towards his temporary teammates as the reserve team players did towards him…
Now in front of him was the match against Wigan Athletic.
※※※
The away game against Wigan Athletic was Chen Hero's fourteenth game after scoring in thirteen consecutive rounds. Whether he could break his own record for the longest consecutive scoring streak in the history of the English top flight depended on this game.
One reason why the media didn't pay much attention to the FA Cup game against Nottingham Forest was that the next game was even more worthy of attention.
Whether Liverpool could win was no longer important; the focus was on whether Chen Hero could score.
Inside Liverpool, everyone was discussing this matter.
Suarez felt that Chen Hero had deceived him. "In the blink of an eye, you're about to score in fourteen consecutive rounds, Hero. You said you didn't have any big plans this year?"
Chen Hero spread his hands, looking particularly aggrieved. "Of course, is this considered a big plan?"
"Uh…"
Suarez was stunned by Chen Hero's rhetorical question.
Yeah, was this considered a big plan?
He had already scored in thirteen consecutive rounds twice… Fourteen consecutive rounds didn't really seem like a big deal!
Seeing Chen Hero so calm, Gerrard was surprised. "Hero, are you really not excited? You're about to make history!"
Chen Hero frowned and thought seriously. "Let me think…" After thinking for a few seconds, he looked up again. "It doesn't seem like there's anything to be excited about, Steve."
Sanchez clapped his hands. "See, I knew it! The new record is definitely in the bag tomorrow!"
Gerrard shook his head, admiring Chen Hero's mental fortitude while also finding it incredible. Few players could remain calm when faced with such a great opportunity to make history. Even if they said they were calm on the surface and not nervous at all, they were actually lying. Their hearts were incredibly excited and nervous.
But from his understanding of Chen Hero, and from being with him day and night these days, he knew that Chen Hero's calmness was not an act, but genuine… very calm.
Perhaps such a person could really lead Liverpool back to the top? Because he was so calm, he could remain calm no matter how unfavorable the situation. Such qualities were essential for a leader!
Gerrard didn't know how much longer he could play, but he was getting more and more injuries, his physical strength was not as good as before, and his abilities in all aspects were declining. Only his strong mental strength was still supporting everything.
But how long could he support it? He himself wasn't sure.
Carragher retired even earlier than him, and Reina was also declining. He didn't know if he could stay at Liverpool forever. It seemed that he could only hand over the captain's armband to him.
Gerrard now hoped for one thing - to see Chen Hero lead Liverpool to revival before he retired.
※※※
As the game against Wigan Athletic approached, everyone was discussing Chen Hero's new record.
As one of the parties involved, Wigan Athletic naturally couldn't remain silent.
"Hero is a very good player, he's very powerful. But I'm sorry, we at Wigan Athletic don't want to be a foil for others. If you want to create a new record against Wigan Athletic, please forgive us for not accepting it. At that time, the whole team will go all out to stop him. This concerns Wigan Athletic's honor! We will not only defeat Liverpool, but also defeat Hero! He shouldn't even think about scoring a goal in this game!"
Wigan Athletic captain Caldwell told reporters.
In this game, barring any accidents, Caldwell will serve as the team's center back, and he will have plenty of opportunities to meet Chen Hero in the game.
But everyone felt that Caldwell was humiliating himself.
Chen Hero is 1.95 meters tall and weighs 96 kilograms. Caldwell? 1.78 meters tall and weighs 70 kilograms.
It's like a heavyweight boxer competing with a lightweight boxer, it's not even in the same league.
What can Caldwell rely on to fight Chen Hero?
※※※
Chen Hero finally waited for someone to provoke him, and he was so excited!
He hadn't even gone to Wigan yet, but he had already said his piece.
"I also respect Wigan Athletic, I welcome them to stop me, I think it will be a very fierce confrontation!"
When he said this, he was smiling. The reporters who heard him also laughed.
No one thought it would be a fierce confrontation.
Wigan Athletic's tallest center back is Steve Gohouri from Côte d'Ivoire. He is 1.88 meters tall and weighs 88 kilograms.
He is also not in the same league as Chen Hero at all.
What can Wigan Athletic do to stop Chen Hero?
The media felt that the only one who could stop Chen Hero was Chen Hero himself.
Other than that, nothing else mattered. Wigan Athletic was just a typical bystander.
All they could do was pray that Chen Hero would underperform because he was eager to set a new record, or that he would be affected by the pressure.
Many people even felt that provoking Chen Hero before the game was not a wise move.
Because there had been countless bloody lessons in the past proving that the consequence of provoking Chen Hero was a more miserable death.
※※※
But when the game came, the answer was revealed.
How would Wigan Athletic defend against Chen Hero?
The answer is fouls!
Rough defense coupled with fouls made it difficult for Liverpool's attack to advance smoothly to the frontcourt.
Most of the time, Liverpool had to entangle with Wigan Athletic in midfield, engaging in close combat.
Their fouls even advanced to Liverpool's defensive third... that is, about thirty meters from Liverpool's own area.
As for Chen Hero, they didn't deliberately foul him much. Because they knew how good Chen Hero was at free kicks.
Fouling him would give him a chance to score.
They greatly advanced the distance of the foul, also to avoid Chen Hero scoring a free kick.
The role of fouling in the frontcourt was to prevent Liverpool from successfully passing the ball to Chen Hero. Even if they used long passes, Wigan Athletic's pressing and fouling would make Liverpool players' long passes inaccurate... No matter how good Chen Hero was, he couldn't catch a ball that was two meters taller than him...
If Liverpool wanted to advance layer by layer? Then they would foul without hesitation!
In addition to fouling, their defensive actions were also very rough.
But this was Wigan Athletic's home ground, and the referee would be somewhat biased towards the home team. In addition, the shouts of the Wigan Athletic fans also created some interference for the referee.
Of course, no matter how much the referee took care of the home team, given Wigan Athletic's fouling situation, they would eventually receive a card.
Before the end of the first half, Wigan Athletic received five yellow cards, with all four of their defenders receiving one each.
It was very dangerous for defenders to have yellow cards, but after paying such a price, Wigan Athletic reaped the result they wanted - until the end of the first half, Chen Hero and Liverpool really did not score!
Liverpool seemed unprepared for Wigan Athletic's tactics and were very unaccustomed to them.
Players frequently fell to the ground, and in addition to raising their arms to complain and complain to the referee, they could not come up with effective countermeasures.
However, the commentators and most people were still full of confidence in Liverpool.
Because……
"Wigan Athletic's tactics cannot last too long, because all of their defenders have yellow cards, and they have to be careful in the next game! Liverpool is likely to deliberately find a few players with yellow cards and take the initiative to draw fouls, so that the referee will send off Wigan Athletic players. In this way, the balance will be broken... And Wigan Athletic's pressing also has a great impact on physical fitness. It is very difficult to last for ninety minutes..."
It was for this reason that Liverpool players did not seem too frustrated when they left the field.
They knew that the second half would be their world!