Starting as a Defensive Midfielder at Real Madrid

While the final sprint of the World Cup qualifiers was heating up across Europe, back at Chelsea’s Cobham Training Ground, Li Ang was leading a group of starry-eyed young prospects through their daily training routine.

With Mourinho’s successful track record of promoting Castilla talents during his time at Real Madrid—developing a generation of promising Spanish youngsters—the English media had started to turn their spotlight toward the young blood at Chelsea.

Names like Marco van Ginkel, Nathan Aké, Tomáš Kalas, and Ryan Bertrand were now beginning to attract considerable attention.

But contrary to all the positive headlines circulating in the press, Mourinho wasn’t feeling particularly jubilant. In fact, he was weighed down by a deepened sense of responsibility.

Yes, he had once developed a batch of standout young players at Real Madrid—some homegrown academy products, some talented imports. The results were something to be proud of.

Yet, it was precisely because of those two years of hands-on experience nurturing youth and managing their mental states that Mourinho was now approaching Chelsea’s young players with even greater caution.

The path of talent is riddled with unknown forks in the road. Not every young player could be as reliable as Li Ang, someone Mourinho could confidently send out on loan with no worries.

If these young players eventually made it, even if they didn’t stay at Chelsea, Mourinho would still be happy for them. At worst, the club would cash in on their transfer fees—which wasn’t a bad outcome at all.

But the greatest fear remained: injuries, stagnation, and the loss of potential due to a lack of game time.

That’s why it wasn’t just Mourinho taking things seriously—the entire coaching staff and youth development team were working hard to build comprehensive development plans for each young talent.

”Let’s loan out Aké and Kalas in the winter window,” Mourinho said during a meeting. ”We’ve already got plenty of full-back options. They won’t get many chances this season.

Young defenders need game experience and even mistakes to grow.

Don’t be afraid to let them go. If you only loan them out for one season, they’ll feel awkward adjusting to a new team and won’t easily earn their coach’s trust…”

After finalizing the plans for the two young defenders, Mourinho turned his attention to van Ginkel’s detailed medical report.

”No need to say more about Marco—his talent is obvious. But his body is too injury-prone right now. The team doctors strongly recommend increasing his weight gradually and easing him into the tempo of the Premier League.

Don’t put him in matches against lower-division teams just yet. I’ll try to give him minutes in the second half of the league and domestic cup campaigns.”

”What about Ryan?” assistant coach Steve Holland asked. ”He’s not exactly young anymore. Are we sending him out on loan again?”

Mourinho smiled and shook his head.

”No, Ryan stays. We’re fighting on four fronts this season, and Ashley [Cole] has been inconsistent lately. So Ryan’s going to get his chances. He’ll be an important part of our attacking and defensive play down the left.”

With that, everyone in the meeting room understood: Bertrand was likely about to be promoted. If he delivered, Ashley Cole might slowly lose his starting spot to him.

After wrapping up the development plans for several youth players, Mourinho asked for an update on the squad’s injured players.

Upon hearing that both Mikel and Azpilicueta were recovering well, he finally breathed a small sigh of relief.

With Ramires, Lampard, Essien, and Matic all capable of playing holding midfield, Mikel’s temporary absence was manageable.

But the right-back situation was another story. With Ivanović being the only reliable option, Azpilicueta’s recovery was much more critical.

And Mourinho’s concerns proved to be justified.

Just two days after that meeting, Ivanović picked up a mild ankle sprain in an international qualifier and was subbed off at halftime. He returned to London early for further assessment and therapy.

Essien’s presence and Azpilicueta’s timely recovery suddenly became crucial.

But a few more days passed, and as Chelsea players began reporting back to the training ground from international duty, Mourinho’s worries only deepened.

Perhaps the only good news was that, aside from Ivanović, no other Chelsea first-team players came back injured.

However, many of them returned exhausted after playing two full international matches in the span of ten days—leaving Mourinho with quite a selection headache.

Ashley Cole, Lampard, Gary Cahill, and Ibrahimović had all played full matches in both World Cup qualifiers with barely any rest.

As such, none of the four were considered fit to start in Chelsea’s upcoming league fixture against Everton.

At left-back and holding midfield, Bertrand could cover for Cole and Essien for Lampard.

Mourinho still trusted the central pairing of David Luiz and Gary Cahill, even if he had to manage Cahill’s minutes.

But at center forward, with Ibrahimović needing rest and Torres still unconvincing, Mourinho’s only real option was Romelu Lukaku.

With the Premier League resuming in just a few days, Mourinho quickly locked in his lineup based on the players’ physical conditions.

On the afternoon of September 14th, Chelsea traveled to Goodison Park to take on Everton—undefeated so far in the league.

Everton had drawn all three of their opening matches.

It was clear that the departure of David Moyes and midfield linchpin Marouane Fellaini had left the team tactically disjointed.

Still, Everton fans and club executives remained optimistic about Roberto Martínez, the manager who had led Wigan to a historic FA Cup victory over Manchester City.

Three draws weren’t ideal, but they hadn’t lost. Against Chelsea, expectations were modest.

As long as they could break Chelsea’s winning streak, fans were willing to give Martínez more time.

What they didn’t know was that this Chelsea side—seemingly storming in full force—was internally unsure of victory.

The FIFA virus had taken its toll on Chelsea’s veterans, and Mourinho was forced to field a rotated squad.

What he didn’t expect, however, was that Martínez would still be so cautious.

Despite Chelsea not fielding their strongest XI, Martínez lined up in a solid 4-2-3-1 formation.

His backline featured all first-choice defenders, and in holding midfield, he deployed a strong veteran-youngster pairing in Gareth Barry and James McCarthy.

Unlike Chelsea’s recent opponents, who had all crumbled under midfield pressure, Everton were different.

The seasoned Barry, alongside the talented youngsters McCarthy and Ross Barkley, offered both defensive steel and technical ability.

This was going to be a tough match for a depleted Chelsea.

And as the game kicked off, Everton’s midfield block held firm against Chelsea’s early high press.

Li Ang’s form remained consistent. He quickly regained control of the tempo and directed his teammates’ movements, orchestrating attacks.

However, Hazard was showing signs of fatigue and wasn’t sharp on the dribble today.

Li Ang had to redirect more attacks through Kevin De Bruyne or the overlapping Bertrand on the left flank.

Despite dominating possession and attacking initiative, Chelsea couldn’t break through.

Without Ibrahimović dropping deep to pull defenders, the attacking dynamic suffered.

That left space for Everton to launch dangerous counterattacks.

With Chelsea pushing high up the field, there were gaps in the flanks and half-spaces—prime targets for long balls.

And Barry was more than capable of launching those from deep. A title-winning starter for Manchester City, Barry had both the vision and technique to trigger counters.

McCarthy’s inexperience wasn’t an issue—his job was to help Barry absorb pressure and clean up defensively.

And with Barry pulling the strings, it didn’t take long for Chelsea to feel the threat.

In the 13th minute of the first half, Gareth Barry personally intercepted Hazard’s attempted cut-in dribble, adjusted his steps ever so slightly, and then launched a long diagonal pass that sliced across the entire midfield!

Everton’s left winger, Steven Naismith, was already sprinting at full speed toward the right-side channel of Chelsea’s half!

Ramires, who had previously pushed up with the team near the halfway line, was too far away to disrupt Naismith’s advance in time.

Fortunately, David Luiz didn’t retreat this time—instead, he decisively stepped up and launched into a sliding tackle!

The Brazilian center-back’s aggressive defending could sometimes be a double-edged sword, but at this moment, he was undoubtedly the hero of Chelsea’s backline!

John Terry and the retreating Essien immediately ran over, lifting David Luiz off the turf with a high-five and a hug full of passion.

Although the referee awarded Everton a free kick just outside Chelsea’s penalty area, the players in blue felt the price was well worth it.

At least they had prevented Naismith—and Nikica Jelavić, who had already made it into Chelsea’s box—from taking a shot.

Li Ang, however, wore a grim expression and slightly shook his head.

On the sidelines, Mourinho stood with arms crossed, sharing the same concern.

There was nothing wrong with his original tactical setup—to push forward from the opening whistle and try to pin Everton back.

The issue was that Chelsea had the upper hand but failed to capitalize on their momentum. As a result, they were vulnerable to quick counterattacks.

Sure, David Luiz had dealt with this one effectively.

But what about next time?

Could Chelsea really guarantee their backline would remain flawless every time Everton countered?

That thought alone made Mourinho instinctively glance toward Li Ang on the pitch.

But after only a few seconds of serious consideration, the manager shook off the idea of pulling Li Ang back.

If deployed as a pure defensive midfielder, Li Ang could do the job better than both Ramires and Essien combined.

But to assign him exclusively to defense would be a massive waste of his offensive capabilities.

”Damn FIFA virus…”

Scratching his head, Mourinho couldn’t immediately think of a solution, so he had no choice but to keep relying on Li Ang to do it all.

With great power comes great responsibility—and Mourinho had complete faith in Li Ang.

He simply had to work harder for now.

Li Ang didn’t mind in the slightest. Whether defending or attacking, he was willing to step up wherever the team needed him most.

For the rest of the first half, he did exactly that—covering every blade of grass, transitioning from defense to attack like a man possessed.

Even non-Chelsea fans watching the game had to admit:

That was emotional to witness.

Thanks to Li Ang’s relentless midfield sweeping and positional awareness, Everton’s counterattacks never truly threatened Chelsea’s goal.

Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for Chelsea’s attack, which remained utterly ineffective.

De Bruyne, who had played both of Belgium’s qualifiers, looked just as fatigued as Hazard, who had only featured in one.

With both wingers underperforming, many of Li Ang’s passes forward amounted to nothing.

And at the very front, Romelu Lukaku kept failing to position himself correctly.

His off-the-ball movement and space-finding were fine, but when it came time to make that decisive run before a shot, he was either too early or too late—leaving Li Ang sighing helplessly inside.

Li Ang believed that if Chelsea were to adjust their tactics and focus more on direct counterattacks—giving Lukaku more open space to charge into—his performance would undoubtedly improve.

But that wasn’t how Chelsea played.

Such a system might earn a Europa League spot, but it wouldn’t win titles.

So, Chelsea wasn’t changing, and Lukaku’s central striker habits weren’t changing either.

That left Mourinho to search for new variations in attack.

During the halftime break, Mourinho scanned his bench and paused on Oscar—but then shook his head.

The youngster had talent, no doubt, but he played in a role that clashed with Li Ang’s current position. More importantly, Oscar wasn’t yet good enough to break a deadlock like this one.

In the end, Mourinho chose to drop Lukaku from the central striker role.

At the start of the second half, Fernando Torres was brought on to lead the line.

Even if he couldn’t score against Everton’s backline, at least Torres could come deep and act as a link-up player.

Lukaku wasn’t subbed off entirely. Instead, it was Hazard—who had struggled badly all half—who made way.

Not only had Hazard failed to beat his man, he even sent one of his best shooting chances flying into the stands.

Lukaku, meanwhile, had raw power. Shifting him to the wing gave Chelsea at least one physical option capable of driving forward.

Hazard, to his credit, accepted the decision without complaint. He knew he had played poorly.

And with the new shape, Chelsea finally found a breakthrough down the left flank.

Given space and the ball, Lukaku turned into a bulldozer.

At the same time, Li Ang was granted more tactical freedom and boldly advanced toward Everton’s penalty area.

His shooting stat might have just climbed to 74, but his 85+ long-range shooting ability and 87-rated heading made him a legitimate attacking threat inside and outside the box.

As he pushed higher up the pitch, Everton’s central and box defenders naturally grew nervous.

After all, it was just last week against Aston Villa that Li Ang had scored a brace—a powerful shot and a header—cementing his reputation as a late-arriving menace.

So now, with multiple defenders keeping a close eye on him, Lukaku found more space down the left wing.

In the 64th minute, Li Ang received a backward header from Torres, but didn’t rush to push forward or switch the ball wide.

Instead, he drifted out to the right wing, signaled De Bruyne to go for the baseline, then calmly passed the ball back to the onrushing Essien.

The weight and timing of Li Ang’s pass perfectly matched Essien’s movement.

Essien faked a long shot to confuse Everton’s defenders and, just before Barry could intervene, slipped the ball to Bertrand, who had made a late overlapping run down the left.

At the same time, both Torres and the now-cutting-in Lukaku raised their arms and darted into the box.

Bertrand took a quick glance and sent in a beautiful, slightly curved cross.

Sylvain Distin instinctively went toward Lukaku, who looked like Chelsea’s most dangerous aerial threat.

But Phil Jagielka sensed something was off.

He turned to track Li Ang, who had just repositioned himself at the far post—but Torres used his experience to subtly block Jagielka’s path.

Before Jagielka could even curse, Li Ang rose above Leighton Baines—who stood no chance in the air—and powered a header toward goal!

”Oh! What a chance this is! Lukaku lets it go, Bertrand hits the baseline, makes the adjustment… Crossed in! Far post in the Everton box! Li Ang—!!!”

As commentator Jian Jun’s voice cracked from excitement, countless Chinese Premier League fans watching live erupted with cheers in unison.

Li Ang’s header was perfectly timed and struck with force.

Baines, only 1.70 meters tall, provided little resistance in the air.

Veteran American keeper Tim Howard, once renowned for his reactions, couldn’t even get his body moving.

All he could do was watch the ball glance off the inside of the post and nestle into the side netting—clearly over the line.

After 65 minutes of deadlock, Li Ang had finally shattered the stalemate with brutal finality.

Mourinho couldn’t contain himself—he was more pumped than when Chelsea shut out Manchester United at Old Trafford.

He bolted from the dugout and, just like Li Ang, sprinted a few meters before jumping up and pumping his fists in celebration.

Sure, he didn’t get as much air as Li Ang, but the passion was just as fierce.

As Chelsea’s players swarmed Li Ang in a group hug, fans across the globe were on their feet, screaming at their TVs.

They were completely awestruck by Li Ang’s clutch ability in big matches.

They always say seeing is believing.

And now that fans everywhere had seen it for themselves, there was nothing more to say.

The FIFA virus may have hit Chelsea hard—but so what?

Li Ang was still standing tall, holding the line.

His ability to step up was simply unmatched.

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