Chapter 271: Replicating Kaka's 2007 Season? Why Not!
After the 60th minute, Swansea switched gears. No longer pushing forward with confidence, they shifted to a more cautious counter-attacking setup against Chelsea.
It was clear: Garry Monk, the 35-year-old rookie head coach, had ambition—but he was also pragmatic.
Down two goals, he read the situation on the field, suppressed his urgency, and quickly adjusted his tactics to play on the break.
Li Ang couldn't help but look at him with new respect.
Unfortunately, that awakening came too late.
Li Ang knew Mourinho wouldn't give Swansea the chance to mount a comeback at this stage.
Sure enough, once Mourinho noticed that Monk had backed off from his earlier press, he simply signaled to the Chelsea players: no need to trade punches anymore.
This was a rotated squad, after all. Time to bank the win.
With a wave of his hand, Mourinho shifted the entire team into half-field containment mode.
In the 70th minute, Drogba came off for Matić.
At the same time, Maguire, Kalas, and Lampard started warming up.
Chelsea's intentions were clear.
Monk realized Mourinho wasn't going to give him a way back into the match, so he threw on more attackers for one last gamble.
Among them was Bafétimbi Gomis, a well-known Ligue 1 striker who had arrived on a free transfer from Lyon this summer—but was clearly still adjusting to the Premier League.
In the final twenty minutes, Monk subbed in Wilfried Bony, who had scored 17 goals for Swansea the previous season.
But even the Bony-Gomis duo couldn't gain any advantage in aerial duels or poaching positions against the rock-solid pairing of Terry and Maguire.
In the 87th minute, Li Ang was subbed off for Lampard, earning a standing ovation from Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge.
He had scored his fourth goal of the Premier League season.
One goal per game—yes, he'd benefited from a favorable early schedule, facing only one formidable opponent in Everton so far.
But let's not forget—he wasn't a striker.
For a midfielder to post four goals in four games?
That was more than impressive. It was terrifying.
Li Ang's increasingly consistent performances were making the rest of the league nervous.
In modern football, there are plenty of players who can explode for a few matches.
But those who consistently deliver, and show up when it matters?
That list, according to many, included only Messi, Ronaldo, and Li Ang.
Everyone in the game—players, coaches—knew the pressure of facing a guy who produces one goal every match.
Sure, Li Ang wasn't yet on Messi or Ronaldo's level in terms of pure goal-scoring output.
But in terms of impact—his ability to bend matches to his will—he was top three in the world. Full stop.
Because whatever he lacked in scoring explosiveness, he made up for in organization and defense.
Watching Li Ang lead his teammates toward the fans to thank them after the match, even the Sky Sports commentators had to admit:
"Chelsea have found their new captain. Li Ang isn't just their tactical heartbeat—he's emerging as a true leader.
This Chelsea is more mature, more dangerous than last season. Retaining the Premier League? That's not their ceiling.
The heartbreak of last year's Champions League will fuel their next run.
I have a feeling this Chelsea will give us something special on the European stage…"
With four straight wins to start the season, Chelsea were the hottest team in England.
Swansea? Their unbeaten start was over.
City? They dropped points too—falling 2–1 at Arsenal, who climbed back to their familiar fourth place.
Liverpool remained sluggish, losing 1–0 to Aston Villa.
And Manchester United?
Finally got their first win of the season—a 4–0 hammering of QPR.
Van Gaal now had a little breathing room in press conferences.
Better yet for United—they had another full week of rest coming up.
Because Chelsea, City, Liverpool, and Arsenal were all heading into the Champions League.
Their focus would be divided.
United, who finished seventh last year, didn't qualify for any European competition—not even the Europa League.
On the surface, it was a failure.
But there was a silver lining.
If United were willing to sacrifice both domestic cup competitions, they could focus entirely on the league.
Some optimistic fans were already calling on the club to ditch the League Cup and prioritize just the Premier League and FA Cup.
The squad wasn't deep enough for a full three-pronged assault, but two competitions? Manageable.
In his downtime, Li Ang loved scrolling through online forums, reading United fans' suggestions for how to fix their club.
He even joked to himself that if United's management ever took some of those ideas seriously,
they might actually return to the right path sooner than expected.
But it was just wishful thinking.
United's leadership didn't listen.
Li Ang genuinely sympathized with United's hardcore supporters.
But as a Chelsea player?
He was more than happy to see United sink deeper into their mess.
Because a well-run United—that was more dangerous than City.
City had money.
But United, with their revenue, history, and global pull, could outspend anyone when motivated.
If they were smart, they'd be terrifying.
The longer they stayed broken? The better.
As for England's reputation in the Champions League?
That was Chelsea's responsibility now.
Last season, the Blues had revived the "Iron-Blooded Chelsea" name in Europe.
And when the Champions League group draw was announced,
Schalke 04 and Sporting Lisbon fans cried out in despair.
Being placed in Chelsea's group was unlucky, to say the least.
Chelsea fans, on the other hand, were thrilled.
They had arguably the best group draw of any Pot 1 seed.
Arsenal also drew from Pot 1, but landed in a tougher group with Dortmund, Anderlecht, and Galatasaray.
Not an easy ride—but they'd likely still advance.
Liverpool, drawn into Pot 3 for this season's Champions League, found themselves in a group with Real Madrid and Basel. While beating Madrid might be out of reach, they were expected to handle Basel without much trouble.
Manchester City, on the other hand, weren't so lucky.
As a Pot 2 team, City once again landed in the same group as Bayern Munich, and not only that—they found themselves in this year's Group of Death.
Group E: Bayern, City, Roma, and CSKA Moscow.
No wonder it was the most talked-about group of the draw.
Li Ang, meanwhile, was quite satisfied with Chelsea's luck.
Rather than drawing the spotlight from the get-go and shouldering unnecessary pressure, he much preferred the quiet but deadly route.
"Prosper in silence and progress steadily"—that was the path he liked.
On September 16th, the first four Champions League groups kicked off their Matchday 1 fixtures.
Aside from Dortmund vs. Arsenal, none of the matchups particularly drew fan attention.
That German-English showdown ended in a 2–2 draw at Signal Iduna Park.
Both Aubameyang and Cavani got on the scoresheet, and Arsenal fans were quite satisfied with the point—it matched their pre-match expectations.
Elsewhere, Real Madrid crushed Basel 5–1 at home.
Cristiano Ronaldo had two goals and an assist, launching his campaign with a bang.
Juventus beat Malmö 3–0, with Carlos Tévez scoring a brace, seemingly rejuvenated in Turin.
But the real shock of the round?
Atlético Madrid, considered one of the strongest contenders, lost 2–3 away at Olympiacos.
They became the first major European team to suffer a Group Stage upset.
It served as a wake-up call for the rest of the heavyweights playing on September 17th.
Mourinho, confident in his team's strength, still made sure to caution his players repeatedly.
It was the first Champions League match of the season, and while Chelsea were at home, a slip-up would mean disaster.
At worst, a draw was acceptable.
But a loss at Stamford Bridge? That would mean facing the wrath of their own fans.
That night, Chelsea's fully loaded starting XI took the field at Stamford Bridge to face last season's Bundesliga third-place finishers, Schalke 04.
The two sides had already met in last year's group stage.
So this rematch felt… like fate.
Li Ang even joked pre-match that it was "destiny" to meet them again.
He had been planning to "properly greet" Julian Draxler and Max Meyer.
But once the match began and he saw Draxler drifting wide to avoid him, Li Ang was… surprised.
"Kid's matured, huh? Not charging headfirst this time?"
With Draxler staying wide, Li Ang didn't bother chasing him down.
But Meyer, who tried to orchestrate from the center, was a different story.
Now that Kroos was handling Chelsea's deep buildup, Li Ang had the freedom to personally bully Meyer in midfield.
A year had passed, and Meyer was still the same size—1.73 meters, under 70 kg.
Li Ang had a field day.
Eventually, Schalke were forced to drop Meyer deeper and shift playmaking duties to Dennis Aogo and Kevin-Prince Boateng.
The attack switched to a double-wing setup.
But with Meyer shut down, Huntelaar was left starving in the box.
Already limited in self-creation ability, and now aging, Huntelaar became more reliant than ever on his teammates' service.
With no deliveries, he had no choice but to drop deep and act as a link-up forward.
Smart, perhaps—but flawed.
Draxler and Sidney Sam, Schalke's two wide players, weren't exactly elite 1v1 threats.
Even with Huntelaar sacrificing his positioning, neither winger could break through Chelsea's flanks.
Ironically, the best attacking plays came from left-back Fuchs and the hard-charging Boateng.
Fuchs was clever, using Draxler's positioning to repeatedly overlap and whip in decent crosses.
Boateng, meanwhile, used Huntelaar as a decoy and got a few good headers in.
But Li Ang had seen this script before. He knew this style inside out.
And while these moves annoyed Chelsea's backline slightly, they didn't lead to anything serious.
Once Schalke had exhausted their basic attacking patterns, Chelsea's counterattack exploded.
Compared to Schalke's clunky wing play, Chelsea had the real deal.
Hazard and Salah, moving like twin engines.
Fuchs looked great in attack—but defensively? Salah tore him apart.
On the opposite flank, Höger was destroyed by Hazard.
Speed wasn't the only issue.
Hazard's technique was on another level.
And behind him? Li Ang and Azpilicueta, always ready to support.
In just the 19th minute, Höger fouled Hazard and got a yellow.
From then on, he didn't dare touch him again.
Boateng had to start tracking back just to protect the right side.
Li Ang, ever the opportunist, took full advantage—teaming up with Hazard to relentlessly abuse Schalke's right flank.
In the 32nd minute, Hazard latched onto a through ball from Li Ang and curled it into the far corner.
That goal opened the floodgates.
Chelsea's attacks flowed freely.
Schalke couldn't keep up.
Already inferior in quality, they now had to chase the game against a better team.
Their defense started falling apart.
In the 56th minute, Li Ang latched onto an Ibra layoff and blasted one into the net.
In the 69th, he fed Salah for a signature inside-cut curler.
Salah's first ever Champions League goal for Chelsea.
With the score at 3–0, Li Ang was feeling it.
Back in 2007, Kaká led AC Milan to Champions League glory as a midfielder.
Now, Chelsea were at their peak, and Li Ang felt his own ability had surpassed Kaká's.
Replicating that legendary run? Maybe even going beyond it?
Why the hell not?
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