Manchester City players' protests were useless, and instead earned them a yellow card. Chen Hero shook his head as he watched from the sidelines—if you'd known this would happen, why bother in the first place? What good does this do besides waste time?

Did you think you could change the outcome?

Destiny is destiny, how can you humble mortals change it?!

So, honestly accept fate's judgment!

The Manchester City players were dispersed, and they nervously lined up to form a wall.

Of course, they tried to stall as much as possible, delaying the game. There was very little time left in the first half.

Chen Hero didn't urge them or protest to the referee. He just quietly watched them. Even if the first half ended after this free kick, it didn't matter. Because he only needed this one goal, and the rest of the time was useless to him.

Looking at the tense expressions on the faces of the Manchester City players, he felt smug and accomplished.

He didn't even let Gerrard help him confuse the opponent with this free kick. He plainly told the opponent—I'm taking this free kick, so what? Are you scared? If you are, then be even more afraid!

※※※

The Manchester City players painstakingly built their wall.

Considering that Chen Hero would definitely shoot directly, the wall consisted of as many as seven players, almost completely blocking Chen Hero's shooting angle. If he wanted to score, the ball would have to fly over the top of the wall.

There were a total of eleven players on the field. With one goalkeeper, there were ten left, and if seven of them were in the wall, that left only three to cover the other Liverpool players.

Manchester City's wall arrangement showed how much they valued and feared Chen Hero.

The commentators were surprised: "Manchester City's wall... There are so many people! Obviously, they don't want Chen Hero to score at the end of the first half..."

"With so many people in the wall, Manchester City isn't afraid of Hero passing the ball..."

"Of course, they know that Hero will definitely not pass the ball, he will definitely shoot directly."

"In the matches against Manchester City, Hero always scores, and scores a lot. But the first half of this match is almost over, and he hasn't been able to score a goal yet. So, will he be able to score this time? Let's wait and see..."

With the commentator's voice, everyone quieted down... no, the viewers in front of the TV quieted down.

The scene was a chorus of boos.

This was when the Manchester City fans could boo Chen Hero without any psychological pressure—they didn't have to worry about accidentally hurting their own players... This had often happened before, Chen Hero would get the ball, and they would boo wildly, then the ball would be intercepted by their own player, or fall at their feet. The booing had momentum and couldn't stop immediately, so for a few seconds their own players would be shrouded in deafening boos, making many people think they were being booed by their own fans.

Now that wouldn't happen. Chen Hero stood alone in front of the ball, and there wasn't even a Liverpool player within five meters of him.

Everyone could boo him to their heart's content, throwing all kinds of swear words at him like water.

So, during this time, all that could be heard in the Etihad Stadium was booing and cursing.

Chen Hero naturally heard these sounds aimed at him, but his heart didn't beat faster, and his legs didn't weaken. He was calm and composed, as relaxed and casual as if he were in his own home.

You think this little bit of booing can affect me?

Naive!

Let me show you... what it means to "add fuel to the fire"!

※※※

The wall was finally set up, and the referee stepped back.

While he stepped back, the wall began to slowly creep forward. Chen Hero ignored it, he even rolled his eyes.

Only mortals thought that creeping forward could prevent his goals.

Haven't you seen my previous free kick highlights?

He didn't protest, but other Liverpool players complained to the referee.

Seeing this, the referee blew his whistle and waved them back, but he didn't go forward, because this had already taken up too much time. He didn't want to drag it out any longer.

The Manchester City players were also clever. Seeing that the referee didn't come up, they perfunctorily took two small steps back in place, but quickly stepped forward again, even closer to Chen Hero than they were before.

The Liverpool players protested loudly again.

The referee ignored them, or rather, he was too lazy to pay attention. He blew the whistle directly.

Almost at the same time as the whistle, Chen Hero rushed out.

Run-up, shot!

The speed of this movement was so fast that the wall didn't even have time to react. Some people jumped up, some people were still standing still, looking surprised, as if they didn't expect Chen Hero to kick the ball so quickly.

The ball flew over the heads of those who didn't have time to jump.

A gust of wind swept over the top of the Manchester City wall.

Whoosh, they even heard the wind.

※※※

Joe Hart stood in front of the goal behind the wall, his eyes fixed on the ball. He knew that Chen Hero would most likely send the ball over the top of the wall, so he didn't consider any other possible saves.

Just staring at the wall.

Sure enough, like the rising sun, the ball leaped out from the top of the wall!

Hart didn't have much time left, not enough time to carefully observe which direction the ball was going... He lunged forward.

The rest was up to God...

※※※

Joe Hart couldn't touch the ball until he landed. He watched the entire process of the ball flying into the goal. He dove in the right direction, and the ball didn't curve strangely in the air. The ball went straight... bypassing the wall, avoiding his fingers, and then flying into the goal along the lower edge of the crossbar.

It was a blind spot, and he was completely helpless!

※※※

"Goal... Goal! Goal!!"

The commentator was stunned for a moment, then roared.

He still couldn't believe that the ball had flown into the goal so easily.

Before, everyone was speculating about whether the ball would go in. But they didn't expect that Chen Hero could really kick the ball in, and so easily!

It was as simple as him blowing a breath, and the ball flew into the goal...

So the commentators were stunned for a moment, they suspected the authenticity. It wasn't until they saw the Liverpool players in front of the goal raising their arms that they realized the ball had really gone in...

"Liverpool takes the lead! At the end of the first half, Hero scores a goal!"

"Hero finally scored! I knew it, how could a match against Manchester City be without Hero's goal? A Liverpool against Manchester City without Hero's goal is definitely abnormal! Now it's normal! Finally, we can breathe a sigh of relief!"

"Chen Hero's direct free kick! In this match, Manchester City actually paid a lot of attention to him, but no matter how careful you are, there are always loopholes. They still gave Chen Hero a great opportunity. If Chen Hero let such an opportunity pass, wouldn't that be too bad for Manchester City's good intentions?" This commentator from a local Chinese TV station was quite familiar with Chen Hero's way of thinking.

※※※

After scoring, Chen Hero opened his arms, and then raised them high.

Then he was overwhelmed by his excited teammates.

But his hands were still raised high, reaching for the sky.

At the end of the first half, Liverpool unexpectedly took the lead. For the Liverpool players, this was a great thing. No matter what, they were now in the lead. No matter how well Manchester City adjusted during the half-time break, they would have to score two goals first in the second half to beat them...

On the other hand, look at Manchester City's side.

Joe Hart got up from the ground, and he spread his hands as if complaining to his teammates.

More Manchester City players held their heads in their hands, their eyes a little confused, not knowing what they should do.

Mancini was very angry about this goal on the sidelines. He wasn't angry with the players, he was angry with the referee.

"This shouldn't have been a free kick at all! It was Sanchez's dive!" Mancini shouted on the sidelines. "This is a damn misjudgment! This goal shouldn't exist at all! Did the referee's eyes grow on top of his head!"

Mancini vented his anger, which resulted in him earning a red card...

The referee heard from the fourth official that Mancini had slandered him, saying his eyes had grown on top of his head, so naturally he wouldn't let it go. He ran over directly, raised the red card in his right hand, pointed to the stands with his left hand, and firmly told Mancini: "Get out!"

Mancini naturally couldn't accept this outcome. He stepped forward to argue with the referee, but was pulled back by his assistants. They thought Mancini had been overwhelmed by the goal, and that no one should be so impulsive. Because if you were impulsive now and felt good for a moment, the referee would definitely write down everything you said and did in the match report. When the FA imposed additional penalties on Mancini based on this match report, it wouldn't just be a one-match ban...

They were wrong. In fact, Mancini wasn't overwhelmed by the goal. Maybe he himself thought so. But in reality, his excessive behavior stemmed from a deep-seated fear... a fear of Chen Hero. As long as Chen Hero scored, it could threaten Manchester City's excellent situation, and all the advantages they had built up would be in vain, and it would further affect the players' mentality.

Because of this thought, Mancini cared so much about Chen Hero's goal.

As for the score of 1:2, he didn't really care about it...

As long as it wasn't Chen Hero who scored, 1:2 was just an ordinary deficit.

The key was that the scorer was Chen Hero, and this person's name always evoked painful memories in the hearts of Manchester City players.

It was like a nightmare, making them unable to stay calm and become hysterical as soon as they thought of it.

Mancini was a typical example.