Starting as a Defensive Midfielder at Real Madrid

After storming to three straight wins in the Premier League, Chelsea finally welcomed a full week of rest.

The early rounds of the new Premier League season weren’t particularly dense in terms of scheduling. Most clubs had the luxury of a week between games.

Chelsea, however, had already played the Community Shield and the UEFA Super Cup, adding extra fixtures to their calendar.

Naturally, this made their early-season load heavier than most.

And with several veterans leaving during the summer transfer window, Chelsea’s bench depth wasn’t quite what it had been the previous year.

Mourinho now had to rethink his squad rotation plan.

In the season’s early stages, the core starters still had plenty of rest time.

But come the second half of the season, during the title race sprint, Chelsea’s main squad would be relied on much more heavily than in past years.

The backup bench simply wasn’t the same anymore.

Last season, Chelsea’s bench included experienced, battle-tested veterans like Drogba, Lampard, Ramires, and Mikel.

Now? The bench was full of young blood: Loftus-Cheek, Zouma, Gnabry, and Van Ginkel.

During the lighter parts of the season, Mourinho’s staff could afford to give these young guns more minutes.

But when the crunch came—when titles were on the line—Chelsea couldn’t risk it.

That was when the experienced core would carry the load.

Li Ang, approaching 25, now officially counted among the squad’s ”grown men.”

In fact, just two seasons ago, Chelsea’s main lineup lacked any real balance in terms of age.

The veterans were getting on. The youngsters were still too green.

There were very few players in their prime—those crucial ages between 26 and 28.

But now?

Chelsea had transformed into a fully matured, title-hardened machine.

The oldest starter was Thiago Silva, still only 30.

The youngest, Maguire, was nearing 23.

In midfield, Matić (27), Li Ang (24), and Kroos (25) formed a golden trio.

Up front, Suárez (28) was the elder statesman, with Hazard and De Bruyne both 24.

Every starter was in their physical and technical prime—strong, fast, durable, experienced.

In terms of squad age structure, Chelsea were now the most scientifically built and battle-ready team in the entire Premier League.

No exceptions.

The coaching staff had spent two seasons protecting and grooming their young players.

Now it was time to start handing them real responsibility.

Li Ang, of course, didn’t count among the ”groomed” youth.

His load had always been the heaviest.

Perhaps it was because Mourinho felt a bit guilty about how hard he’d pushed him the past two seasons.

This year, he started giving Li Ang more frequent days off.

Still, Li Ang used most of those one-day breaks to relax with his girlfriend, Anastasia.

This time, he only slept in for a few extra hours—then drove to Cobham in the afternoon for extra training.

Joining him were Zouma, Loftus-Cheek, and Gnabry.

These three didn’t face much match pressure yet.

Aside from occasional training scrimmages, they hadn’t seen much real top-flight action.

Mourinho had tried sending them to play in U23 matches, but those games lacked intensity.

So he decided to throw them at Li Ang.

Let them train with the captain.

Just like how, in past seasons, Li Ang used to take Lukaku, Aké, and Van Ginkel under his wing.

Li Ang’s training sessions were intense.

But the young guys?

They had fresh legs, rapid recovery, and everything to gain.

For them, training with Li Ang wasn’t just helpful—it was a dream come true.

Apart from his ”devil-level” intensity and his ban on laziness, Li Ang was an incredible mentor.

He gave them rides, treated them to meals—and when they hit their targets in training?

His assistant would even take them to top-tier nightclubs in London as a reward.

The boys were all adults now.

They’d been clubbing since their academy days, of course.

But back then, their youth contracts couldn’t support high-end nightlife.

Now, with Li Ang’s assistant handling the tab, they could finally live it up—responsibly.

As long as they didn’t overdo it, the assistant would pay for everything—per Li Ang’s instructions.

Good luck finding another team captain in world football who does that.

Sure, some legendary Brazilian stars would take their favorite rookies out partying.

But few would also train with them, push their limits, and build up their skills like Li Ang did.

When Mourinho heard about this, he said nothing.

He trusted Li Ang.

And Li Ang had a clear system: no wild nights unless you hit your targets in training.

And when the club paid?

You had to be extra careful not to over-indulge.

Otherwise, you’d pay the next time—and your wallet would cry.

Eventually, the boys learned to party less, train more, and their improvement rate skyrocketed.

Sure, Li Ang spent a little more money—but he had plenty of it.

As far as Mourinho was concerned, he’d made the right call.

As Matchday 4 of the Premier League approached, Mourinho even considered rewarding the boys with more minutes.

Zouma, being a bit older, might even get a start—resting Maguire, who had played nonstop.

Zouma had the physical tools.

Sure, his football IQ still needed work, but with Thiago Silva next to him, he’d be fine.

The more Mourinho thought about it, the more he liked the idea.

During the final days of prep training, he tested out Zouma and Salah in the starting XI.

But before he could finalize anything, he had to turn his attention to something else:

August 27—two days before the fourth round of the Premier League.

The UEFA Champions League group stage draw was about to begin.

After the Afternoon Training Session

After that afternoon’s training session ended, all of Chelsea’s first-team players—except for Li Ang—gathered in the team cafeteria to watch the group stage draw for the new season’s UEFA Champions League.

And as for Li Ang, who was absent?

At that moment, he was already seated at the venue of the Champions League group stage draw. Once the draw ceremony concluded, he was set to take the stage and receive UEFA’s Best Player of the Year award!

As early as the end of last season, the media had already unanimously predicted that Li Ang would be the biggest winner at both the UEFA and FIFA annual awards.

And who could argue otherwise? There was no World Cup or European Championship over the summer, and Messi had failed to lead his national team to victory at the Copa América.

Meanwhile, Li Ang hadn’t just won the Premier League and Champions League—two of the most prestigious trophies in world football—but had also exploded with phenomenal personal stats. His individual performance last season was on par with, if not superior to, Messi and Ronaldo.

Now with six major titles under his belt once more, the media simply couldn’t imagine anyone who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Li Ang this year.

Live coverage of the draw frequently zoomed in on Li Ang, dressed sharply in a tailored suit. The cameras hardly spared a glance for Cristiano Ronaldo or Manuel Neuer sitting beside him—an unspoken message was being broadcast loud and clear.

Fortunately, the draw ceremony began right on time, allowing the focus to shift elsewhere, much to Li Ang’s relief. He tilted his head and resumed chatting with Ronaldo and Neuer.

This year, UEFA had finally changed the rules for Champions League seeding.

In contrast to previous seasons, where seedings were determined solely by club coefficient rankings, the new rules favored domestic league champions from UEFA’s top seven associations.

Under this revised system, the reigning Champions League winner and champions from the top seven associations in UEFA’s coefficient rankings would be placed directly into Pot 1.

That meant clubs like Benfica, Zenit St. Petersburg, Juventus, and PSV Eindhoven—all league champions—were now included among the top seeds.

Had the old rules still been in place, many of those teams would’ve landed in Pot 2 or even Pot 3.

Take Juventus, for instance. Though they dominated Serie A, their five-year European coefficient was still lower than Arsenal’s, who consistently made Champions League appearances.

In previous seasons, Arsenal would have just made it into Pot 1, but this year they were dumped into Pot 2 instead.

Joining Arsenal in that awkward position were Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, who also had five-year coefficients high enough for Pot 1, but were relegated to Pot 2.

This new seeding system had both pros and cons, but one thing was clear: ”Groups of Death,” once rare in the Champions League, were now likely to become a regular occurrence.

As reigning champions, Chelsea were automatically placed in Pot 1.

Initially, Li Ang had been pretty relaxed—Chelsea had drawn relatively easy groups in recent seasons, and he didn’t expect much trouble again.

But as the easier Pot 2 teams were gradually drawn into other groups, only Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid remained by the end. That’s when Li Ang and Neuer’s faces began showing signs of unease.

There were only two Pot 1 teams left without Pot 2 opponents: Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

On camera, Li Ang and Neuer both kept their polite smiles, but inwardly they were cursing UEFA’s setup.

Like hell this was a coincidence!

The two toughest teams in Pot 2—the Madrid giants—were apparently reserved for the two strongest Pot 1 sides, Chelsea and Bayern?

”Damn you, UEFA,” Li Ang grumbled inwardly. ”So you’re done screwing with Arsenal and now it’s our turn, huh? What did London ever do to deserve this? Why are we your punching bag every single year?”

Just as his internal rant ended, the draw presenter Paolo Maldini pulled Real Madrid out and placed them in Group G—with Chelsea.

”Oh my God! Chelsea and Real Madrid in the same group!”

”UEFA really went full chaos mode! Is Florentino not going to curse Infantino to hell after this?!”

”Lion Cub’s going home! I’ve waited two years for this storyline to unfold!”

”You sure it’s home? Looks more like he’s coming to wreck the place! But I love it—let there be blood!”

”Bayern vs Atlético isn’t bad either—are we looking at two ’Groups of Death’ this year? This is gonna be wild!”

The moment this shocking result dropped, football forums across the world lit up with chatter.

Chelsea vs Real Madrid!

Bayern Munich vs Atlético Madrid!

These were arguably the four most consistent elite teams in recent Champions League seasons, now going head-to-head in the group stage.

Among them, the Chelsea vs Real Madrid matchup drew the most attention by far.

At the venue, Li Ang and Ronaldo exchanged a wry smile and shook hands. Neuer, seated next to Li Ang, just sighed and pursed his lips.

But the draw wasn’t over yet.

As Pot 3 teams were announced, Neuer’s mood began to lift a bit.

That’s because Bayern and Atlético’s group drew Olympiacos—widely regarded as the weakest team in Pot 3.

Meanwhile, Chelsea and Real Madrid’s group drew one of the toughest possible third-seeded opponents:

CSKA Moscow.

Sure, it might be morally wrong to take pleasure in someone else’s suffering—but Neuer couldn’t help smiling and muttering to himself:

”Now this feels good.”

He wasn’t alone. Every other player watching the draw on TV from their own clubs also felt a wave of relief.

This season’s Group of Death had already emerged.

CSKA Moscow—one of the most difficult teams in Pot 3 and notorious for their cold-weather home field advantage—had joined Chelsea and Real Madrid in Group G.

Li Ang and Ronaldo shared another look.

They didn’t say a word, but they both knew what the other was thinking:

That Champions League final they’d played together years ago in Moscow—it was impossible to forget.

”A Moscow winter… and artificial turf too? Goddammit,” Li Ang thought bitterly.

He resigned himself to fate. UEFA wanted to make things difficult, and there wasn’t much he could do about it.

Then came the fourth and final team.

When Wolfsburg—a tough and disciplined Bundesliga side—was drawn into Group G as well, a strange, unreadable smile appeared on Li Ang’s face.

Group G now had a fully earned ”Group of Death” label.

Chelsea. Real Madrid. CSKA Moscow. Wolfsburg.

Even if Chelsea and Real Madrid were confident about advancing, they’d have to fight tooth and nail. There would be no comfortable top-place qualification this time.

Back at Cobham Training Ground, the Chelsea players in the team cafeteria were all grumbling about UEFA’s ”scripted” draw.

Mourinho didn’t say much—he just kept shaking his head at his coaching staff.

He had already known that defending the Champions League title would be difficult this season, but he hadn’t expected UEFA to stack the odds this blatantly.

But even amid the complaints, watching the live feed of Li Ang receiving UEFA’s Best Player of the Year award filled Mourinho with renewed confidence.

Artificial obstacles?

Fine.

Let’s see if UEFA’s so-called ”tough draw” can break the resolve of a truly tough team. Let’s see whose will is stronger—yours or Chelsea’s.

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