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Starting as a Defensive Midfielder at Real Madrid

Chapter 295 293: He’s Already a Young Legend · Nov 11, 2026

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Chapter List (401)

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251 Chapter 251 249: What the Hell, You Still Dare to Fight Back? 2026-11-11
252 Chapter 252 250: Iron-Blooded Blow to Özil, 8-Goal Rout of PSG 2026-11-11
253 Chapter 253 251: Facing Barça in the Quarterfinals — Li Ang’s Smile! 2026-11-11
254 Chapter 254 252: Arsenal, It’s Time to Stop Dreaming 2026-11-11
255 Chapter 255 253: I Don’t Want to Say Chelsea Will Clinch the Title Early, But That’s the Reality 2026-11-11
256 Chapter 256 254: Returning to Camp Nou Feels Just Like Coming Home~ 2026-11-11
257 Chapter 257 255: Damn, Messi, You’re Actually Going All Out?! 2026-11-11
258 Chapter 258 256: The Counterattack Begins Now! 2026-11-11
259 Chapter 259 257: What We’re Doing Is Pure Torment—Crying? That Counts Against the Clock Too 2026-11-11
260 Chapter 260 258: Stop Scoring, Man—You’re Already Fourth in the Premier League Golden Boot Race 2026-11-11
261 Chapter 261 259: See You Next Year, Leo 2026-11-11
262 Chapter 262 260: The Red Devils Are Dead—Long Live the Blues! 2026-11-11
263 Chapter 263 261: The Champions League Is Full of Giants Lining Up to Get Revenge on Li Ang 2026-11-11
264 Chapter 264 262: Chelsea’s Midfield and Defense Still Need Major Reinforcements! 2026-11-11
265 Chapter 265 263: Hey Kuan, Bro, The Boss Here’s Generous—High Salary, Come Quick! 2026-11-11
266 Chapter 266 264: You Know It—The Little Lion’s My Brother, and Zlatan’s a Beast 2026-11-11
267 Chapter 267 265: Reinforcements Assembled, Legends Return—This Time, We’re Taking It All! 2026-11-11
268 Chapter 268 266: Li Ang, When Are You Winning the Ballon d’Or and Becoming a Grand Slam Champion? 2026-11-11
269 Chapter 269 267: A Dominant First Win—The Rise of the Galactic Chelsea Begins 2026-11-11
270 Chapter 270 268: The “British Battleship” Makes His Premier League Debut — The Excellent Maguire 2026-11-11
271 Chapter 271 269: Not a Single One Can Keep Up 2026-11-11
272 Chapter 272 270: Rotation? Even Chelsea’s Rotation Is a European-Class Powerhouse 2026-11-11
273 Chapter 273 271: Replicating Kaka’s 2007 Season? Why Not! 2026-11-11
274 Chapter 274 272: A Premier League El Clásico Reimagined 2026-11-11
275 Chapter 275 273: Guardiola, I Am Your Nemesis! 2026-11-11
276 Chapter 276 274: Your Blade Is Sharp, But So Is Mine 2026-11-11
277 Chapter 277 275: Premier League’s Finest—A Duel Between Possession and Relentless Pressing 2026-11-11
278 Chapter 278 276: In This Era, I Am Destiny! 2026-11-11
279 Chapter 279 277: A Hat-Trick to Be Crowned! The One True God of the Premier League! 2026-11-11
280 Chapter 280 278: Ambition on All Three Fronts 2026-11-11
281 Chapter 281 279: It’s Not That We Played Well—The Opponent Was Just That Bad 2026-11-11
282 Chapter 282 280: What, Arsenal Wants to Be the New Top Dog Too? 2026-11-11
283 Chapter 283 281: Eden, Stand with Me at the Summit of World Football 2026-11-11
284 Chapter 284 282: Everyone’s Showing Off—Except United, Who Are Getting Beaten Up 2026-11-11
285 Chapter 285 283: Tyrant Leon 2026-11-11
286 Chapter 286 284: Smashing the Face of the Premier League’s ”Top Club” 2026-11-11
287 Chapter 287 285: Double Digits in the League – Top Scorer in the Premier League! 2026-11-11
288 Chapter 288 286: Closer to the Ballon d’Or Than He Ever Imagined 2026-11-11
289 Chapter 289 287: I Want to Face the Strongest—But If It’s Barça First, That’s Fine Too 2026-11-11
290 Chapter 290 288: Luiz, Don’t Let Your Loyalty Ruin You 2026-11-11
291 Chapter 291 289: If You Ever Get the Chance, Think About Us—I’ll Be Waiting at Stamford Bridge 2026-11-11
292 Chapter 292 290: The Winning Streak Ends, But an Undefeated Title Run Is Still Possible 2026-11-11
293 Chapter 293 291: Little Lion, Are You Seriously Going for the Golden Boot?! 2026-11-11
294 Chapter 294 292: Time for Everyone’s Favorite Event—Beating Spurs Again 2026-11-11
295 Chapter 295 293: He’s Already a Young Legend 2026-11-11
296 Chapter 296 294: Someone Please Shut His Mouth Next Time! 2026-11-11
297 Chapter 297 295: Aiming for a New Midseason Record—Time to Sharpen the Blade Against Sky City 2026-11-11
298 Chapter 298 296: Nineteen Wins, the Big Boss of the League—A Perfect Midseason Finish! 2026-11-11
299 Chapter 299 297: 2014 Silver Ball Winner—Leon! 2026-11-11
300 Chapter 300 298: Hype Helps, but Performance Is What Truly Matters 2026-11-11

The expressions on the faces of the Spurs players were ugly—

whether on the pitch or on the bench.

As the chants at Stamford Bridge grew louder and more unified,

anger started to cloud their features.

And sometimes, a surge of emotion like that pushes players to make irrational choices.

Pochettino may have remained composed on the sideline,

but the Tottenham players, openly ridiculed by a full stadium of Chelsea fans, were losing their cool.

Rather than sulking after conceding, they quickly reset the ball and rushed back to the center circle.

They didn’t look defeated—they looked determined. Fueled by rage.

Leon noticed the anger in their eyes. But he didn’t worry.

In fact, there was a sharp glint of anticipation flashing in his own.

Chelsea’s players didn’t drag out their celebration either.

After all, it was just the first goal—they wanted to build on it.

The match restarted with Clattenburg’s whistle.

Pochettino’s men didn’t waste time with short passes at the back.

Ryan Mason, who was supposed to be their midfield metronome, wasn’t interested in calming the pace.

Every time he got the ball, he tried to switch play wide as quickly as possible.

At the moment, with Eriksen out on the left wing, he had become the true heartbeat of Spurs’ attack.

Mourinho saw it.

And he knew Leon did too.

Modern football had evolved—playmakers now operated from deeper positions.

There were good reasons for it:

It reduced unnecessary physical clashes, conserved energy for creative work,

and gave them a wider view of the pitch and more time to assess.

Yes, it put them farther from the box, but accurate long balls and versatile wingers more than made up for it.

Today, elite clubs don’t build around classic No. 10s anymore.

They’re too possession-hungry, too turnover-prone.

Strong teams now focus on maximizing transition moments.

Play retro? Refuse to modernize? Keep giving opponents chances to counter? You deserve to lose.

Spurs’ approach today was exactly that—a throwback system.

The only twist was that Eriksen wasn’t playing centrally—he was wide left.

But the idea was the same: the team moved around him.

If he managed to slice through Chelsea’s lines with a killer pass, it could lead to something.

But Leon wasn’t going to fall for it easily.

He saw everything: the tactical shift, the pressure Spurs were building around Eriksen.

And he knew Eriksen had the quality to take on that responsibility.

But instead of pressing him hard, Leon backed off—just a little.

He seemed to be encouraging Eriksen to keep playing those incisive passes.

Why?

Because he trusted the system behind him.

And he knew Chelsea thrived in transition.

Leon wasn’t just reading Spurs’ movements—

he was waiting for the right moment to break them.

He believed this wasn’t Pochettino’s plan.

The Argentine coach wouldn’t have sent his players into a high-risk, double-edged attacking setup.

This chaos had grown from within.

And now that Spurs had walked into Chelsea’s trap, they weren’t getting out.

To the neutral fans watching on TV, it looked like the match had opened up—

Spurs were getting more shots off, pushing higher, stretching Chelsea’s back line.

It looked dangerous.

And to be fair, visually, it was far better than getting pinned in their own half like earlier.

Chelsea, for their part, had quieted down.

Only two counters had looked remotely threatening, both halted just outside the box.

Hazard fired wide once.

Ibra lost a header.

Spurs fans took heart.

The stadium echoed with renewed hope, and Spurs players started to believe.

They pushed harder. Played with more freedom.

Pochettino paced nervously.

He wanted the equalizer before halftime,

but deep down, he knew this game had drifted beyond his control.

Leon had been right: this wasn’t Pochettino’s game plan.

It was a natural consequence of a team lacking leadership in midfield.

Mason was a solid support piece—he worked well next to Dembélé or Dier.

But asking him to run Spurs’ midfield? Too much.

And in moments like this, teams naturally turned to the player with the most talent—Eriksen.

He knew what was expected.

He didn’t want to disrupt the system.

But when everyone looked to him, he had to step up.

He had no choice.

And so far? He was doing fine.

Pochettino, after much thought, chose not to rein it in.

Whatever happened next, Eriksen would carry them forward.

But Leon’s behavior kept Eriksen on edge.

What is he doing? Is this a trap?

Every time Eriksen played a forward ball, he’d glance at Leon—wondering if this was bait.

If Leon had gone all in on shutting him down, Eriksen would’ve adjusted.

Dropped deeper. Looked for safer options.

But Leon didn’t.

And that, more than anything, unsettled him.

They’d clashed before—back in the Champions League.

And if there was one thing Eriksen knew, it was this:

When Leon backed off… he was setting the stage.

Back when Eriksen was still at Ajax, he had experienced firsthand just how suffocating it felt to be tightly marked by Leon for an entire match.

With that history in mind, it wasn’t hard for him to recognize what was happening now.

Old rivals know each other too well—there’s no hiding tricks.

So Eriksen was certain: Leon was baiting him. Fishing.

But what could he do about it?

He couldn’t just singlehandedly change Tottenham’s game plan on the fly.

At best, he could be more alert, try to anticipate Leon’s movements during transitions,

and maybe—maybe—disrupt his plans before they could unfold.

Eriksen was ready to make sacrifices to stop Leon from launching counters.

But when the moment finally arrived, and Leon broke forward with the ball—

his pace, his explosive burst, the way he slipped through challenges—

all of it brought back that familiar sense of helplessness.

In the 41st minute, Eriksen lobbed a through-ball behind Chelsea’s line,

trying to find Lennon making a diagonal run into the box.

But Maguire charged out early and won the header with ease.

Kroos, stationed deeper on the left, calmly brought the ball down,

spun away from pressure, and played a short vertical pass.

The ball zipped cleanly between Lamela and the backtracking Eriksen.

Leon exploded into motion, accelerating before Spurs’ midfielders could even react.

Lamela and Eriksen were left chasing shadows,

unable to even commit a tactical foul—they simply couldn’t catch him.

And just like that, Leon broke past the halfway line.

The Stamford Bridge crowd erupted.

Forty thousand fans, united in ecstatic, thunderous roars.

Leon could feel the adrenaline surging in his veins.

The power rising through him felt endless—unstoppable.

Back in his Real Madrid days, he had spent hours learning from Kaká.

Back then, he didn’t have the speed or control to pull it off.

But now? He had the body. The technique. The vision.

And Spurs hadn’t even put a true stopper in his path.

So—why not try it?

As the wind rushed past his ears, Leon met the lunging Bentaleb without hesitation.

No fancy tricks. Just a sharp cut and an explosive burst.

He left Bentaleb stumbling behind him, the gap widening with every step.

Simple. Brutal. Efficient.

That had always been Leon’s takeaway from watching Kaká.

You don’t need flash. You need execution.

Unless you’re Ronaldinho with glue on your boots,

or Messi with hummingbird feet,

you’re better off mastering the basics—

tight control, fast cuts, and acceleration.

After joining the Premier League, Leon had committed to that philosophy.

And it worked.

Now, after blitzing past Bentaleb, he didn’t give Mason a chance either.

He bulldozed through, blasting through the last line of Spurs’ midfield defense.

To the fans, he looked like a tank. A man-sized missile slicing through Tottenham’s heart.

Mourinho stood on the touchline, arms folded, face still—

but his fists, hidden in his coat pockets, were clenched tight.

Leon wasn’t slowing down.

With so many Spurs players chasing him, if he stopped, he’d be surrounded.

Ibrahimović hovered right on the edge of the offside line,

pulling Vertonghen to the right side of the box with a diagonal run.

That forced Fazio to rotate left—and confront Leon head-on.

Leon stepped into a flurry of stepovers—fast, but only two or three.

Just enough to cloud Fazio’s vision.

Fazio didn’t bite.

He held his ground. Stayed big. Didn’t lunge.

He wanted to use his 6’5” frame to wall Leon off,

to wait for the right moment.

It was smart—on paper.

But then came the mistake:

Fazio expected Leon to go outside, toward the end line.

That was the safe route, the more traditional play.

Leon, however, went inside.

And when Fazio shifted to follow,

Leon dropped a second sharp cut.

One feint. One cut. Two devastating moves.

Leon kept his balance.

Fazio, lumbering and tall, lost his.

It was like watching a puppet jerk awkwardly, pulled by invisible strings.

Leon had blown past him.

Suddenly, the box opened up.

Lloris stood in front of him—eyes wide, steps hesitant.

The angle was perfect. The space was wide.

Leon cocked his right leg and unleashed.

The ball flew like a missile, screaming toward the top far corner.

Lloris dove the right way—but too late.

The ball smashed off the underside of the crossbar and into the net.

Stamford Bridge exploded.

Leon grinned and lifted both arms to the sky.

He wasn’t celebrating himself.

He was paying tribute—to Kaká.

The Sky Sports commentator nearly screamed into the mic:

”Unbelievable! UN-BE-LIEVABLE!

A goal beyond description!

Sixty meters! Five defenders beaten!

Leon has delivered a moment of magic at Stamford Bridge that will shatter Spurs’ confidence!

Look at that celebration—he’s saluting Kaká, his mentor and friend!

Mark my words—after today, Leon won’t just be admired.

He will be idolized.

He’s already a young legend in world football!”

Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.

Read 40 Chapters In Advance: /johanssen10

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