Starting as a Defensive Midfielder at Real Madrid

Li Ang’s immense confidence in Chelsea’s upcoming clash with Atlético Madrid naturally had its reasons.

As the best-performing Spanish team in the Champions League over recent seasons — reaching the final twice — Atlético had earned the wariness of Europe’s elite clubs.

This season, Chelsea had identified Bayern Munich as their biggest rival in the Champions League, and second most important was Atlético Madrid — the team that had caused them considerable trouble in last year’s final.

Time proved that Mourinho and his coaching staff’s early focus and preparation regarding Atlético were absolutely correct.

Now, facing Atlético again, Chelsea’s coaching staff had multiple tactical plans prepared.

Mourinho didn’t dare claim he knew more about Atlético’s tactics than Simeone himself,

but among Europe’s top coaches, he was confident he could rank in the top three when it came to understanding Atlético’s style.

The reason was simple —

Atlético posed a real threat to Chelsea, and Mourinho genuinely admired their tactical setup.

A tough, defensively resilient team with deadly counters —

Atlético’s rugged style was exactly to Mourinho’s taste.

He could see traces of his own past coaching style in Simeone’s setup, along with influences from Capello and other legendary Italian managers.

No doubt about it, Simeone was a master student,

and his extensive experience playing in Serie A had laid a solid foundation for his managerial approach.

Mourinho had great respect for his Argentine counterpart —

but that respect only fueled his passion for finding ways to break Atlético’s system.

It was this thorough preparation by Chelsea’s staff that filled Li Ang and the players with such strong belief.

Whether or not Atlético had anticipated facing Chelsea again and prepared for it didn’t matter.

Chelsea, under Mourinho, had already started treating Atlético as a likely semifinal opponent two months earlier,

crafting tactical responses during internal coaching meetings.

Thus, when the semifinal draw was announced, Chelsea’s transition from tactical theory to practical drills was almost immediate.

Simulating Atlético’s playing style wasn’t too hard for Chelsea’s reserves either.

After all, the two teams shared many similarities —

aggressive defensive pressing, midfield congestion, quick wing-based counters, and timely tactical fouling…

Recreating this style on the training ground was straightforward.

The only minor challenge was getting the reserves to consistently play in a 4-4-2 formation.

In today’s European football, 4-4-2 had become somewhat outdated among top teams.

Of the Champions League Round of 16 qualifiers, only Atlético still played it traditionally.

Everyone else — Chelsea included — mainly played 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1.

Still, Atlético’s success continued to validate their “retro” 4-4-2.

Their repeated deep runs into Europe’s final stages proved it still worked.

Chelsea’s coaches gritted their teeth and insisted on replicating Atlético’s structure in training.

Because of the hectic Premier League schedule,

Chelsea didn’t have time for many full practice matches against simulated Atlético setups.

But compared to their preparations in past seasons,

this year’s tactical drills were thorough and detailed.

Everyone in the squad now understood Atlético’s tactical logic —

not just theoretically, but practically through drills and positional exercises.

Given the time constraints, this was as good as preparation could get.

Li Ang himself didn’t believe Simeone’s squad could have prepared any better.

With tactics drilled in, morale soaring, a full squad available,

and the first leg to be played at Stamford Bridge —

Li Ang felt the advantage was firmly with Chelsea.

He finished the final preparations brimming with confidence.

On April 26th, a day before Chelsea faced Atlético, the Champions League semifinals officially kicked off,

with Real Madrid facing Juventus first.

Playing away, Madrid struck first aggressively —

abandoning the cautious approach they used against Manchester City,

choosing instead to press boldly.

Juventus, surprisingly, showed weakness at home —

they surrendered midfield control early and focused on a compact defensive block.

Watching the match with his teammates in Chelsea’s training ground dining hall,

Li Ang commented aloud:

“If Pirlo were still at Juventus, Allegri would definitely have fought for midfield dominance.”

Pirlo could still perform in high-intensity matches,

but last summer, he had retired gracefully, ignoring pleas from Juventus and Allegri,

and moved to MLS for a more relaxed final chapter.

Without Pirlo, and after losing Vidal to Barcelona,

Juventus’ midfield both in terms of control and physical resistance had dropped noticeably.

Luckily, Khedira — newly arrived from PSG — had rejuvenated his career,

and paired with Marchisio, the duo re-established Juventus’ midfield backbone.

Add to that a career-best season from Pogba on the left side of midfield,

and Juventus had turned “bunker and counter” football into an art form.

Allegri, master of tactical flexibility,

once again proved his brilliance —

losing two key midfielders yet creating a new system.

Having led Juventus back to another Champions League semifinal,

those who doubted Allegri’s managerial ability had fallen silent.

Facing Madrid’s aggressive approach,

Allegri pragmatically stuck to a deep defensive setup —

perfectly matching both his tactical philosophy and Juventus’ current personnel.

Chelsea’s players half-expected Li Ang to continue siding with Madrid.

But only twenty minutes into the first half,

Li Ang was already shaking his head,

predicting Real Madrid would suffer later.

Many teammates were skeptical —

after all, on TV, Madrid still looked dominant, controlling possession and attacking fluidly.

There was no obvious sign of trouble.

Yet Juventus’ resolute collective defending successfully blunted Madrid’s attacks,

dragging a 0-0 scoreline into halftime.

At the break, Allegri made a clever move —

substituting the starting striker Mandzukic for Dybala,

pairing Dybala with Morata up front.

To the naked eye, Juventus’ formation still looked like a 4-4-2,

but something was clearly about to change…

With Dybala’s introduction, Juventus’ counterattack strategy was no longer the simple long-ball rush toward Mandzukic that they used in the first half.

Pogba pushed higher up, linking up with Dybala through much sharper and more frequent passing combinations.

The stamina that Juventus had saved during the first half now paid huge dividends.

Their midfield and defensive pressing pushed the battle line back toward midfield.

At this point, if Real Madrid wanted to penetrate Juventus’ defensive core like in the first half,

they would have to push their formation even higher up the field.

Ancelotti didn’t hesitate —

after all, Madrid had found their rhythm offensively during the first half,

and he couldn’t afford to pull back now.

But with Madrid committing more men forward,

their defensive backline began to and more gaps.

And Juventus, in the 63rd minute, struck with a lethal counterattack!

Khedira, using his physicality, dispossessed his former teammate Modrić and quickly moved the ball to Pogba.

The Frenchman delivered a perfect diagonal pass to the surging Morata!

The former Madrid striker showcased both his pace and technical ability,

blasting past Casemiro first,

then feinting brilliantly to breeze by a desperate Ramos.

Facing Pepe closing in,

Morata, under pressure, selflessly squared the ball to Dybala, who had sprinted up unmarked.

In dodging Pepe’s challenge,

Morata stumbled and fell to the turf —

but kept his eyes locked on Dybala.

The Argentine collected the ball on the left side of Madrid’s penalty box.

Normally, a forward in that situation would aim for the far post.

But Dybala, brimming with confidence, curved a shot toward the near post instead!

Keylor Navas was caught completely by surprise —

and Dybala’s precise strike found the back of the net!

Watching this brilliant goal unfold,

the Chelsea players at the training ground cafeteria could only admire Li Ang’s earlier prediction.

But Li Ang didn’t celebrate —

instead, he showed a faint trace of frustration.

He had hoped Real Madrid would seize control and reach the final.

But now, it was clear:

Real Madrid’s bold offensive approach had backfired at Juventus’ fortress.

True to expectations,

after taking the lead, Allegri ordered his entire team to retreat and defend like mad.

The “1–0 era” of the Italian giants was alive and well.

Juventus weren’t just torturing their own fans with their ultra-defensive bunker,

but millions of neutral viewers worldwide as well.

In the end, Juventus held on for a 1–0 victory —

grabbing a crucial advantage over Madrid heading into the second leg.

Now, Madrid needed to score three goals at the Bernabéu to advance —

a mountain of a task.

It was cause for celebration among Juventus fans,

but for the neutrals who wanted an open, beautiful semifinal —

it was disastrous.

There was even growing concern about the Chelsea–Atlético clash scheduled the next day —

would it turn into another brutal, suffocating defensive war?

With 30% excitement and 70% anxiety,

fans across the world tuned in for the second semifinal on April 27 or early morning of the 28th.

Full-strength Chelsea welcomed Atlético Madrid to Stamford Bridge!

Compared to last year’s Champions League final — where Atlético had been ravaged by injuries —

this time, they had most of their best players fit.

In the tunnel before the match,

Li Ang exchanged a polite nod and smile with an old acquaintance, Griezmann.

They hadn’t spoken for a long time —

their former camaraderie was genuine,

but now they were just opponents.

For Li Ang, it wasn’t anything to regret.

Meeting Griezmann as an opponent was simply part of football’s natural progression.

Of course, Li Ang planned to “teach him another lesson” on the pitch —

just like he had done so many times back in their La Liga days.

Griezmann had evolved and improved, yes —

but today, the victor would be Li Ang!

…

After the opening ceremony,

Li Ang, wearing the captain’s armband, gathered his teammates for a final huddle.

As the referee’s whistle blew,

Stamford Bridge erupted in deafening cheers!

The match kicked off on time,

and Chelsea immediately launched a probing long ball forward from the back.

Suárez reached the ball,

but Atlético’s defender — his national teammate Giménez — beat him in the air, clearing it.

Gabi raced toward the second ball,

only for Li Ang to beat him to it, heading the ball wide to the flanks.

Thus, within the first minute,

both sides had completed their opening exchanges.

Chelsea, regaining possession,

saw De Bruyne calmly pass back,

allowing Kroos to orchestrate and direct his teammates into position.

Seeing Chelsea trying to patiently build up,

Atlético immediately unleashed their trademark high pressing.

But Chelsea had clearly anticipated this.

Instead of panicking,

they calmly retained possession deep in their half.

Hazard and De Bruyne both dropped deeper to help with ball circulation.

Seeing this,

Simeone couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Mourinho, by contrast, sat confidently on the bench, pleased with how his side managed the tempo.

The pre-match predictions that Chelsea and Atlético would end up in a brutal, mutual-destruction defensive war were bound to disappoint.

Yes, both teams were famous for their physicality, running, pressing, and counterattacks —

and yes, they didn’t prioritize beautiful football.

Even though both sides had the ability to play elegant attacking football,

fans and pundits still stubbornly labeled them “defensive teams.”

But no matter how outsiders stereotyped them,

Chelsea had already made their response clear with their opening tactics:

These days, even the most ferocious bruiser teams need a little wisdom to be the best!