Home / Starting as a Defensive Midfielder at Real Madrid / Chapter 291 289: If You Ever Get the Chance, Think About Us—I’ll Be Waiting at Stamford Bridge

Read free on Ficlyn

Starting as a Defensive Midfielder at Real Madrid

Chapter 291 289: If You Ever Get the Chance, Think About Us—I’ll Be Waiting at Stamford Bridge · Nov 11, 2026

Prev Chapter Novel Info Next Chapter

Chapter List (401)

Page number / 9

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

Even though Salah had long since parted ways with Liverpool and Leon was fully used to having him as a Chelsea player,

seeing him celebrate a goal against his former club with such joy still felt a little surreal.

”Mo, how does it feel scoring at Anfield?”

Leon grinned, throwing an arm over Salah’s shoulder after the group celebration began to settle.

Salah beamed, his smile as wide as ever. He placed both hands on his chest, then opened them up into a firework-like gesture.

”Unbelievable! When the ball went in, I swear it felt like fireworks going off inside me!”

”Good, then next time if I’ve got the ball, and you make that same run, I’ll be looking for you. Let’s go get another one.”

”Thank you, brother. You really are a good man…”

The two walked back together, chatting casually—an easy camaraderie between teammates.

Meanwhile, on the sideline, Brendan Rodgers clutched his hair, fretting over his limited bench options.

Based on the first 20 minutes, Rodgers wasn’t too worried about Liverpool’s ability to build attacks.

Even though his young wingers had been inconsistent, Suárez was in top form.

Rodgers was confident that if he funneled enough play through the Uruguayan striker, something would happen.

But defensively, on the flanks, Rodgers had no answers for Chelsea’s relentless wide attacks.

With Salah replacing De Bruyne in the starting XI, Chelsea’s wing play became even more explosive.

Their midfield dominance meant they were dictating the tempo and controlling most of the possession.

And with Hazard and Salah receiving the ball constantly in forward areas, they were repeatedly shredding Liverpool’s wide defense.

If Liverpool had gone with a 4-4-2 today, at least they could’ve pulled the wide midfielders back to help the fullbacks defend.

But no—they stuck with an attacking 4-3-3. Neither winger was interested in defending.

That left the midfield with all the pressure.

Emre Can, for all his talent, loved to bomb forward—often leaving his zone wide open on defense.

Gerrard, aging, couldn’t cover the same ground anymore.

And Henderson? A willing workhorse, yes, but it was never enough on his own.

What Liverpool desperately needed was a reliable defensive midfielder with some ability to organize play.

But they didn’t have one.

They used to—last season, when Lucas Leiva was healthy, he had filled that role admirably.

He and Henderson made a well-balanced duo, shoring up both defense and midfield transitions.

But this season, after just four games, Lucas went down again.

And with that, Liverpool’s form took a nosedive.

Now, with Joe Allen and Lallana sitting on the bench, neither could truly replicate Lucas’s role.

Rodgers had tactical solutions—but without the right players to execute them, his hands were tied.

After the match resumed, Rodgers could be seen shouting from the sideline,

urging Emre Can to track back and cover his position,

while frantically signaling Sterling and Coutinho to drop deeper in defense.

It was a band-aid solution at best.

Having taken a 1–0 lead, Chelsea saw no need to keep hammering away at Liverpool’s defense.

Rodgers had set up his team with an attacking mindset at home,

and now that they were trailing, it was inevitable that Liverpool would start pushing forward aggressively.

Chelsea knew this. They didn’t even wait for Mourinho’s instructions.

The players themselves shifted into a defensive counter-attacking formation.

De Bruyne, who’d spent the first 20-odd minutes trying to figure out the holding midfield role,

was quietly nudged forward by Leon into a more familiar central position.

Chelsea were back in their go-to 4-2-3-1.

Meanwhile, Mourinho, still discussing tactical options with assistant coach Holland on the touchline,

looked up to see the players had already switched formations on their own.

The fluidity of the change made him smile—half-pride, half-resignation.

”Great. Now the media’s going to say I set them up to play conservatively again…”

He muttered jokingly.

Holland just chuckled. The media’s opinion wasn’t worth worrying about.

A winning tactic was a good tactic—simple as that.

And with the board and fans fully backing Mourinho after last season’s double trophy haul,

there wasn’t a better man to build Chelsea’s foundation for greatness.

From Holland and the coaching staff’s perspective,

the tactical framework they’d worked so hard to build was clearly the right one for this Chelsea team.

High-pressing, high-octane play looked great—sure.

And it could produce thrilling matches.

But it wasn’t always necessary.

When the opponent was clearly weaker, it made more sense to play a cost-effective strategy.

Expend less energy. Conserve player fitness.

Reserve full-throttle pressing for the real heavyweights.

If you could score and then sit back to counter, that was the smarter move.

The fact that Chelsea’s players chose to fall into this pattern today

proved just how much they’d internalized Mourinho’s philosophy.

As for Leon, inviting Liverpool forward to compress space and then launching a counterattack was absolutely the right call.

Any team that underestimated a trailing Liverpool at Anfield,

tried to go toe-to-toe and play open football against them,

was asking for trouble.

In the latter part of the first half, Chelsea sat deep and held firm.

If the counter was on, they went for it. If not, they patiently stayed back.

Liverpool didn’t immediately go all-in either.

They still tried to break through Chelsea’s defense with structured attacks.

But the outcome was clear.

Suárez was elite—but even he needed support.

Matic shut down Coutinho’s inward cuts,

and Leon turned Sterling into a confused mess.

And it wasn’t just that Sterling hadn’t matured into the left-wing killer he’d later become—

today, Leon was just on another level.

Even at his peak, not even Sterling could expect more than a couple of decent shooting chances per game when he was being man-marked by Leon.

Chelsea’s strategy of shutting down both Liverpool wingers and isolating Suárez had proven ruthlessly effective.

Still, in first-half stoppage time, Suárez managed to shake off Terry and curl a disguised shot that struck the far post.

That brilliant bit of solo effort left many Chelsea fans in front of their TVs breaking into a cold sweat.

At halftime, Mourinho repeatedly drilled into his players just how dangerous Suárez was in the final third.

Not just in the box—everywhere.

”Poaching, dribbling, long shots, set-pieces—he’s good at all of it. There’s a reason Liverpool fans call him a complete attacker.

You cannot give him time or space in our defensive third, especially when he’s unmarked.

He’s like a viper—he might lie in wait for most of the game, but the one time you let your guard down, he’ll strike and punish you!”

Mourinho’s warning put everyone on edge. Chelsea’s starting XI came out in the second half with their eyes locked on Suárez.

Liverpool, true to form, abandoned their patient build-up play and went all-out with a high press and full-frontal assault.

It was a risky move that left their back line exposed,

but on the other end, Suárez looked more alive than ever.

In the 56th minute, Gerrard surged up the right and, just as he entered Chelsea’s defensive third, whipped in a curving cross toward the far post.

Thiago Silva recognized the danger immediately and dropped back, tracking any potential runner.

But Gerrard’s delivery fell just outside his zone.

Terry was half a step late—and Suárez pounced.

Beating Terry in a burst of pace, he stabbed the ball toward goal.

Cech, however, was not to be beaten so easily.

Just when Suárez thought he’d scored, Cech extended an impossibly long arm and managed to tip the ball just enough to redirect it…

Off the post. Again.

Suárez, stunned, clutched his head and stood frozen in the box.

Terry and Cech collided in celebration.

Two goalposts.

Anfield’s woodwork had twice denied Suárez.

Liverpool’s growing rhythm and attacking confidence evaporated in a heartbeat—crushed by fate.

There’s a well-known saying in football that most fans believe in:

If you waste your chances, you will be punished.

It sounds superstitious, but in practice, it plays out all too often.

If Suárez had scored, Liverpool’s risky press would’ve been worth it.

But since he didn’t, all they’d done was leave themselves vulnerable.

And Cech’s miraculous save?

It lit a fire under Chelsea.

Before Liverpool could regroup or adjust tactics, Chelsea struck back on the counter.

With Emre Can and Gerrard both out of position,

and no fullbacks recovered yet, Chelsea’s counterattack tore straight through the heart of Liverpool’s defense.

Hazard zipped down the left and delivered a low ball across the box.

Ibrahimović, at the edge of the area, backheeled it sharply to the top of the arc.

Leon, sprinting in support, didn’t immediately fire.

He took the ball into the box, drawing out both Mignolet and Škrtel—

then flicked the ball sideways.

Ibra had barely moved after his pass, lingering near the far post.

His lack of urgency kept him onside.

And when Leon’s pass reached him again, he tapped it into the open net.

Ibrahimović turned to the bench, laughing and pointing at Leon.

Once again, the Milan brotherhood had delivered.

Thiago Silva, watching from the back, pumped his fist.

”Leon assists Ibrahimović! Another blow to Liverpool! This is becoming an uphill battle at Anfield…”

Jian Jun sighed in the broadcast booth, while Coach Zhang chuckled and launched into praise for Leon’s brilliant vision.

But the game wasn’t over.

In the 78th minute, Leon broke free again, driving forward from midfield and taking out two defenders before slipping a pass to Hazard—

who coolly chipped the keeper for Chelsea’s third.

With a hat-trick of assists secured, Leon was subbed off for Mikel.

The match, for all intents and purposes, was done.

Liverpool didn’t give up.

They fought till the final whistle, but they couldn’t salvage even a consolation goal.

3–0.

Not a massive scoreline, but certainly not small—

especially for Anfield, where Liverpool hadn’t suffered such a one-sided loss in years.

Twice they came within inches of equalizing.

But anyone who watched the game knew: Chelsea had simply been clinical.

When the final whistle blew, Suárez pulled his jersey over his head.

He was furious. Disappointed. But there was no one to lash out at.

Leon approached and exchanged shirts with him.

After a hug and a few whispered words, Leon turned and walked away smiling.

Suárez stood there, stunned for a moment… then cracked a smile of his own.

After thanking the fans alongside his teammates, Suárez returned to the dressing room.

He went through his usual routine, greeting staff and heading into the showers.

The hot water washed away the sweat from his body—

but it only stoked the fire burning in his chest.

Leon’s final words still echoed in his mind:

”If you ever get the chance… think about us. I’ll be waiting at Stamford Bridge.”

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

Prev Chapter Novel Info Next Chapter

Recommended Novels

Rebirth: General, Don't Mess Around! Azure Ascend

Maze Survival: Only I Can See Hints Los Angeles dried fr

Pillar of Yita Crimson Flame

Divine Level Witch Doctor 5 Zhi

All Beautiful Girls Want to Stick with Me Dao_Of_Heaven

Incredible Insight: Toy Factory Discovers Swarm Drones Li Ju Ai Chi Tu Dou

Tech Giants: Starting from Bankrupt Companies Bao Xiang Da Pai Gu

You Were Told to Design Software, But You Created Tiktok?! You Xi Jun Zi

Survival In the Crypt: I Can Hear the Tone Book raw cabbage

Tycoon War God Once Young

A God-tier Counter-damage Priest, I am the Master! Zui Ai Da Shui Keng

Urban Martial Saint River Handsome

Global Wanted: Start Casino, Capture Tsunade 笨笨的宇宙

Online Games: Billions Spent on In-app Purchases, Archery Becomes a God Man Man Meng You

Unlimited Top-ups, the Most Lavish Pay-to-win Live Streams Ever Ao Tian Wei Shu Tiao