Chapter 1 The First Game After the International Break

The first game after the national team game day was not a league game, but an FA Cup match.

This time Chen Hero was called in for a talk by O'Neill ahead of time.

He told him that he would not let him participate in this game. Because the league and Champions League were coming up soon, and the team could not be distracted at this time. As the FA Cup progressed, it was getting closer and closer to the semi-finals, and the opponents encountered were getting stronger and stronger, and the opponents were paying more and more attention. The game would be more intense. Such games would increase the risk of Chen Hero getting injured, and also increase the cost—the whole team would need to spend more energy to prepare for an FA Cup game.

For this game that was not originally in the plan, Martin O'Neill felt it was not worth it.

So he hoped that Chen Hero would continue to rest and not participate in the FA Cup.

Although Chen Hero was unwilling in his heart, he still agreed to Martin O'Neill's request.

In the fifth round of the FA Cup, Liverpool faced Newcastle.

Martin O'Neill sent out a full reserve team lineup.

The reserve team players realized what was going on when they found that Chen Hero had not appeared this time. The league had entered a white-hot stage, and the Champions League knockout stage had also fully started. Chen Hero was unable to do everything at once, and it was impossible for him to help them advance to the FA Cup quarter-finals.

Or in other words, they had been abandoned...

This was a serious blow to the morale of the reserve team.

After playing in these few FA Cup games, everyone had become accustomed to the feeling of Chen Hero being with them, as if they were members of the first team, or Chen Hero had become a reserve team player.

They were full of fighting spirit at the thought of being able to fight alongside Chen Hero.

But now, the situation they had always been worried about had finally arrived...

This made them realize that they were just reserve team players, and Chen Hero was not really one of them...

This kind of blow to morale was very serious.

Facing Newcastle, whose strength was already not weak, how could Liverpool, with their full reserve team, withstand the opponent's offensive?

In the end, the Liverpool reserve team was hammered by Newcastle with four goals in the FA Cup, losing by a score of 1:4. They were eliminated from the FA Cup as they wished.

The reserve team players who lost the FA Cup game seemed very sad, but O'Neill didn't care. At the post-match press conference, he feigned regret for the elimination, and then said his true intention: "Although it is a pity to be eliminated, in this way, we must strive for better results in the domestic league and the Champions League."

All the nonsense in front was to pave the way for this sentence. And the many FA Cup games before were also to pave the way for this failure.

In fact, everyone knew the result from the moment Chen Hero was not on the roster for this game. Facing Newcastle, it was impossible for the Liverpool reserve team to create any miracles.

Newcastle breathed a sigh of relief—Alan Pardew even sent out his strongest lineup to deal with Chen Hero, but he didn't expect Chen Hero not to come.

This result was not surprising.

The FA Cup has a long history, and its status in the hearts of fans is still very high. But after Liverpool lost this game, the fans did not blame the team's performance or O'Neill's choice.

Because at this time, everyone's mind was on the league. This season was the best season for Liverpool in more than twenty years of participating in the Premier League. They really had a good chance of winning the league title.

Liverpool fans were obviously more eager for the league title. In comparison, the FA Cup, which they had won many times, was no longer rare.

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Losing the FA Cup was losing it, nothing to be excited about, and no one would specifically care about the feelings of the players in the reserve team.

They were originally a forgotten group of people. They were all composed of exiles from the first team and players who had just been promoted from the youth team.

Moreover, compared with them, the next round of the league was more important, and the opponent was more worthy of attention.

Liverpool would welcome Manchester City at home.

This was the strongest opponent Chen Hero had encountered since announcing his reservation for the Premier League title.

Manchester City was currently ranked third in the league, only two points behind second-placed Manchester United, and twelve points behind Liverpool. This was a game related to six points. If Manchester City could beat Liverpool away from home, they could improve their own points while also preventing Liverpool from continuing to move forward.

In addition, this game was also of historical significance for Chen Hero—for him, who was already standing on the threshold of a new record, if he could score in this game, he would become the first player in history to score in seventeen consecutive top league games! Surpassing the Bomber Gerd Müller, becoming the first in history!

With dual significance, everyone was very concerned.

Before the game, according to convention, it was first the time for players, coaches, and famous players from both sides to spit at each other.

Before a fight, you always have to scold each other for a while. After arousing anger, it is good to fight. Football is also the same. As one of the oldest sports, football also continues the primitive atmosphere of mankind.

Before the game, shouting a few words to each other can boost morale and at the same time打击打击 the other party's fighting spirit. How great.

Aguero was the first to jump out to provoke, and his remarks also kicked off the war of words between the two sides.

When everyone else was full of praise for Chen Hero's sixteen consecutive goals, equaling Gerd Müller's record, Aguero scoffed at it.

"I don't think scoring in sixteen consecutive games is anything great now. It's obvious that Liverpool's tactics are to let Hero score at all costs. Look at how many goals the whole team has scored this season, and how many goals Hero has scored alone, and you can understand. I can do it too, but I won't sacrifice the interests of other teammates for my own goals..."

His meaning was that Chen Hero, you sacrificed the team's scoring to achieve yourself alone. What are you so proud of? What are you smug about? You stole other people's goals, and you are still embarrassed to take it as an honor? Are you guilty or not!

This was a heartfelt theory.

Some busybodies really ran to flip through the data to find out the truth. So far this season, Liverpool has scored a total of seventy-five goals, ranking first in the Premier League in attack power. How many goals has Chen Hero scored alone? Thirty-eight!

That is to say, apart from Chen Hero, the other Liverpool players have only scored...thirty-seven goals combined. The whole team combined has not scored as many goals as Chen Hero alone!

And how many assists does he have? So far this season...a pitiful four.

You should know that Chen Hero had ten assists last season. He was one of the only two players in Europe that season whose number of attacks and assists both reached double digits. The other person was Messi.

Comparing it like this, everyone felt that Aguero seemed to have some truth...

Chen Hero's number of assists has been greatly reduced this season, but his number of goals has increased significantly. What does this show? It shows that he has become more selfish, and more often chooses to shoot himself when he gets the ball, rather than passing it to a teammate in a better position.

Some people have cited new evidence—so far, Chen Hero has a total of one hundred and fifty shots, an average of six shots per game. These two numbers are the highest in the entire Premier League, and he has forty-nine more shots than Hulk, who has the second most shots.

What does this show? It shows that Chen Hero has "unlimited firing rights" within the Liverpool team.

Although Martin O'Neill did not say so, he did so.

In the Liverpool team, everyone knows that only Chen Hero has the power to shoot in any situation. Even if he shoots wildly, others cannot blame him. The number of shots must be guaranteed in order to guarantee the number of goals.

The end point of all attacks is Chen Hero. No matter who it is, as long as there is a chance in the end, they must pass the ball to Chen Hero, and Chen Hero will complete the shot.

With so many privileges, it is only natural for him to score thirty-eight goals in a season and score in sixteen consecutive games. No wonder Aguero is not convinced. He does not have Chen Hero's "unlimited firing rights" in the Manchester City team, and he also has to participate in defense. What about Chen Hero? In Liverpool, he never defends. If he participates in defense, it must be because he is in a good mood...

In the end, everyone came to the conclusion that Chen Hero was doing this a bit "unfair". "...Aguero certainly has sufficient reason to express disdain for Chen Hero's performance. Because Chen Hero enjoys too many privileges... 'Unlimited firing rights', no need to defend, the end point of the team's attack... These are only available to him. We have searched the entire Premier League and there is no one who has his privileges... Behind the sixteen consecutive goals is actually the self-sacrifice of the entire Liverpool to set him off alone. Liverpool really needs a heroic figure now, and no one is more suitable than the arrogant Chen Hero. He can boost the confidence of Liverpool fans and make them full of hope for the team's prospects... This is actually Martin O'Neill's helplessness, but it is actually a kind of deformed tactics... The hero is still the omnipotent hero, but the record piled up by this kind of wild shooting is not necessary and should not become the norm for the team. How to build the entire team so that the hero can better exert his strength should be what Martin O'Neill is considering..."

Finally, this media said so.

It seemed as if they were really thinking about Chen Hero and Liverpool. However, Liverpool fans only saw jealousy and smelled a strong sour smell from it.

However, the fans were insignificant, and their words had no influence, so naturally they could not make a strong rebuttal.

But they could count on Chen Hero, and they also knew that Chen Hero would never let them down. He would definitely slap those people in the face hard!

Indeed.

At this time, one sentence from Chen Hero made all the efforts of these people who had worked hard to analyze data, find information, and write articles to criticize him go to waste.

"In my first season with Liverpool, you said the team's tactics were chaotic, and I didn't have any 'unlimited firing rights', let alone any privileges that said I didn't have to defend... But we scored thirty-seven goals in a season. Those who criticize me and look down on me, who can do this, then come and talk nonsense in front of me!"

There was no more powerful counterattack than this. As soon as Chen Hero said this, everyone was speechless.

Because they really couldn't do it!

Core status, unlimited firing rights, no need to defend... These privileges were earned by me with thirty-seven goals in one season and thirty-nine goals in another season. Why are you pointing fingers at me? Go stay where it's cool!