Chapter 226: Premier League's Top Star? He Already Is
After the most anticipated showdown of the Premier League's first half of the season ended, countless fans were still savoring the essence of the match.
The on-pitch action didn't unfold as many had imagined beforehand—a back-and-forth, evenly matched contest. In both individual performances and tactical execution, Chelsea had the upper hand over Arsenal.
Even though Chelsea had just over 40% possession throughout the match, there was no question—they controlled the game's tempo from start to finish.
If one had to compare the strength of the two teams based on this match, most fans would lean toward a 60-40 split in favor of Chelsea.
Arsenal's defense was actually quite solid. They successfully neutralized Ibrahimović and significantly limited Hazard's influence. Even Leon's two goals came from long-range strikes outside the box. It could be said that Arsenal lost this game to Leon's explosive performance.
For the majority of the match, Arsenal were able to keep up with Chelsea. They were not completely outclassed.
So, many fans concluded that Arsenal lagged behind Chelsea mainly in two aspects. First, they lacked a true world-class left winger.
Cazorla was excellent, but he performed better in the central areas, and his speed wasn't enough to match Walcott on the opposite flank. What Arsenal truly needed was to spend big and bring in a top-tier left winger. If Walcott could stay healthy more consistently, their attacking threat would undoubtedly increase to another level.
Want proof that twin-wing attacks work? Just look at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in recent seasons.
The second issue was the lack of physicality and steel in their midfield.
Once again, Arsenal failed to gain the upper hand in the midfield battle against Chelsea.
Whether in defense or attack, Chelsea's control of the central midfield tempo completely suppressed Arsenal. As a result, for much of the match, Arsenal could only hang in there—they were never able to impose their own game on Chelsea.
The current Chelsea midfield is simply too strong, too dominant.
Fans from other Premier League clubs, having watched the full match, could only sigh in frustration.
That's because Chelsea, even when facing Arsenal—arguably the second-best team in the Premier League—could systematically strangle them, stopping them from unleashing their full attacking power.
The rhythm and pressure Chelsea applied in this match weren't much different from how they handled mid-table or lower-tier Premier League teams.
At most, Chelsea were just more cautious, more focused, and more patient on the defensive end.
So, with both the second and third place teams in the league falling to Chelsea in a similar fashion, the question now is—what tactical plans can other teams possibly devise when facing Chelsea next? And how can they maintain morale?
Chelsea's sheer dominance had already far exceeded pre-match expectations from fans—including those of Manchester City.
Even though City had now overtaken Arsenal to claim second place, just six points behind Chelsea, their fans weren't exactly overjoyed.
While supporters of rival clubs were busy worrying about Chelsea's terrifying rise, the British media launched a full-on campaign to promote Chelsea's strength.
Apart from the 2011–2012 season, when the Manchester duo—United and City—had their thrilling title race, the Premier League had been losing suspense in the title chase over the past few years.
Manchester United had dominated, winning five Premier League titles in the last seven seasons.
To be honest, that wasn't the scene fans of English football wanted to see, and certainly not what the Football Association desired.
Manchester United were just too strong domestically.
Without any real competition for the title, how could the Premier League attract more neutral fans, convert them into long-term supporters, and boost overall viewership?
Initially, Manchester City's meteoric rise in the 2011–12 season brought joy to the FA's top brass.
City had heritage, a solid fan base, and deep financial backing. Promoting a team like this to go head-to-head with United was an ideal plan.
And City didn't disappoint at first. That miraculous title win on the final day of the 2012 summer campaign earned them widespread praise from fans and the media alike.
But their rise was as fast as their fall.
Last season, they represented the Premier League in the Champions League with high expectations from the FA.
But not only did they get hammered by Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund, they even failed to outplay Ajax!
After six rounds of group-stage matches, they embarrassingly finished last and were knocked out.
That performance wasn't just a slap in the face of Manchester City—it was a full-on embarrassment for the FA!
How could they continue supporting such a team?
The FA was ready to return to its old playbook and throw full support behind Manchester United, the Premier League's traditional powerhouse.
But things took a turn. After Ferguson's departure, United's once-mighty ship started to leak badly.
Luckily, José Mourinho's return to Chelsea brought about a spectacular start to the season.
This gave the FA some relief.
With each win Chelsea racked up, and with Leon proving again and again that he wasn't just a "flash-in-the-pan" talent but a legitimate core who could carry a top team—support for Chelsea solidified.
The FA had essentially made up its mind. All that remained was the outcome of this Chelsea vs. Arsenal clash.
Now that Chelsea had won, the FA no longer had any doubts.
Previously, they had only invested commercially in Chelsea because of Leon and Mourinho.
Now? They were going all-in—both competitively and commercially.
With official backing behind the scenes, the British media created a media frenzy surrounding Chelsea's dominance.
Naturally, CEOs of other Premier League clubs quickly sensed the backing Chelsea was receiving from the authorities.
There was jealousy and envy, sure—but nothing they could do.
Chelsea had lucked into the perfect window—Manchester United were sinking, Manchester City was rebuilding—and they were delivering strong results on all fronts. That kind of performance earned them the FA's favor.
Without real strength to back it up, no amount of envy would change anything.
On Chelsea's side, key personnel had already reached an unspoken agreement with the FA.
In UEFA, both the FA and Premier League clubs were never truly favored. So the FA could only help Chelsea on the PR and media front.
When it came to the Champions League, Chelsea would have to fight their own battles.
But at least domestically, Chelsea now had the FA's guarantee of "fair officiating."
To Mourinho, that was more than enough.
He had suffered too many injustices in this area during his previous stints in the Premier League.
Now, with the FA promising that each referee would call the matches fairly, Chelsea had already received the biggest boost possible.
The battle against Arsenal had brought a multitude of benefits.
Even though Chelsea's starting players had spent a tremendous amount of energy on the pitch, the visible boost in morale and fighting spirit was undeniable.
And while Mourinho did his best to immediately calm his players in the post-match locker room, warning them against overconfidence and arrogance...
But Deep Down, How Could He Not Feel Proud of His Players?
Even though the schedule was packed, Mourinho still gave all his players a day off after the training session on the morning of December 25th, Christmas Day.
Any player who participated in the club's Christmas events that day was allowed to head home early to reunite with their family and friends.
Leon, under Mourinho's insistence that brooked no refusal, spent Christmas night at the coach's home, joining him and his family in celebrating the most important holiday in the Western world.
That said, Christmas didn't hold much personal significance for Leon. He didn't post any pictures or tweets about the dinner; instead, he fully immersed himself in the food and quietly enjoyed the evening.
Chelsea fans only found out that Leon had gone to Mourinho's house for dinner after the coach posted about it himself on his personal social media that night.
The very next morning, on December 26th, the players were back at the Cobham training ground right on schedule, squeezing in the final preparations before their next match.
After the hard-fought battle with Arsenal, Chelsea only had two and a half days to rest before hosting Swansea City at home in the 18th round of the Premier League.
The younger players on the team could still hold up, but most of the veteran players who had played in the previous match had to be rotated out for this one.
The surprise for Mourinho, however, was that Ibrahimović was still in great physical condition.
He had the stamina and was fit to play in the upcoming fixture against Swansea.
That meant Chelsea wouldn't need to make major adjustments to their attacking setup. With Ibra leading the line up front, Leon would have more space and freedom to play his game.
At 3 p.m. on December 26th, eight matches in the 18th round of the Premier League kicked off simultaneously.
Among them was the Chelsea vs. Swansea game.
With the infamous Christmas "fixture pile-up" in full swing, teams across the Premier League were making extensive squad rotations.
Chelsea, fortunately, had solid depth and financial strength. Even their rotated players had strong capabilities.
Swansea, on the other hand, a mid-table team focused on just one competition, had a stark gap between their starting eleven and their backups.
In their previous round against Everton, they lost Ben Davies—an essential figure on their left flank—to injury in a grueling match that ended in a hard-earned draw.
That was a major blow for Swansea. Ben Davies wasn't just their left-sided defensive wall—his ability to tuck inside and provide central support was vital to their defensive shape.
Now with Davies out and many of their main players physically exhausted, head coach Michael Laudrup had no choice but to rest several starters for the Chelsea match.
It wasn't that he was surrendering before kickoff, but the limitations of Swansea's squad depth left him with no better choice.
He had to either risk the health of his core players and compromise future results, or wisely choose to back off in this round against Chelsea.
Laudrup chose the latter—an intentional tactical retreat.
For Chelsea, this was obviously great news.
When Mourinho received Swansea's starting lineup before the game, he let out a long, relieved sigh.
Starting striker Wilfried Bony, midfielders Jonathan de Guzmán and Pablo Hernández, defender Chico Flores… a total of six of Swansea's regular starters were rested.
That made this match significantly easier for Chelsea.
If, even under these circumstances, the game still turned into a tense struggle, Mourinho would have to seriously question the mentality of his players during halftime.
Thankfully, the worst-case scenario didn't materialize.
From the very start of the match, Chelsea, under Leon's command and distribution in midfield, pressed Swansea hard and launched a full-blown siege.
Partnering Leon in midfield today were Ramires and Marco van Ginkel.
With Hazard given the day off, Bertrand stepped up into the left-wing position.
Nathan Aké made a rare start at left-back.
In central defense, Ivanović partnered with Tomas Kalas.
César Azpilicueta, who had been excellent in previous matches, solidified his starting role at right-back.
Kevin De Bruyne started again on the right wing—his energy levels remained high.
Oscar wasn't great on the flanks; otherwise, Mourinho might've had him cover for De Bruyne to give the Belgian a rest.
Even with this rotated lineup, Chelsea's quality across the pitch was far superior to Swansea's.
Once they established control early on, Chelsea kept their attacking approach simple and direct.
The game plan was to leverage Ibrahimović's strength and pound away at Swansea's makeshift backline.
After all, with three of Swansea's regular defenders benched, Mourinho wasn't about to let such an opportunity go to waste.
Leon continuously spread the ball wide, allowing De Bruyne and Bertrand to repeatedly attack Swansea's flanks before delivering crosses and passes for Ibra.
Frustrated from being locked down by Arsenal's defense in the last match, Ibra came into this one with a fire in his belly.
Mourinho had given him free reign to fire at will, and Ibra didn't hold back.
In the first half alone, Ibrahimović unleashed nine shots in and around Swansea's penalty area!
Sometimes, the most straightforward tactics yield the best results—especially when the opponent can't stop them.
Swansea had no answer to Chelsea's wing play or Ibra's unrelenting barrage of shots.
By halftime, Ibra walked off the pitch content, having already bagged two goals.
With a high-profile clash against Liverpool looming, Ibra didn't want to miss that one, so he accepted Mourinho's decision to rest him in the second half without complaint.
Romelu Lukaku came on and continued to keep Swansea's defense under pressure.
But their efforts in defense did little to stop Chelsea from marching forward.
In the 67th minute of the second half, Leon slipped a perfect through ball past Swansea's midfield and defense, allowing Lukaku to slot it home and seal the win.
That assist marked Leon's 10th in the Premier League this season.
And with one round still remaining before the halfway point of the league, Leon had already achieved the coveted double-double of 10 goals and 10 assists!
In 17 appearances (he sat out one match), Leon had tallied 11 goals and 10 assists—a phenomenal and efficient output!
With half the season still to go, his total stats had already reached 15 goals and 13 assists across all competitions.
Just two more assists, and Leon would hit the target of 15 goals and 15 assists in a single season.
The Sky Sports commentators were practically running out of ways to praise his brilliance.
Become the Premier League's marquee star?
Sorry, but Leon already is.
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