Starting as a Defensive Midfielder at Real Madrid

“Li Ang actually scored! Holy Mary! The commentators were right — he really is the Beckenbauer of our era!”

“What a beautiful strike! Even La Liga’s best goalkeeper couldn’t do anything about it — I love that cannon shot!”

“Will Li Ang switch to playing center forward full-time next season? Honestly, his 10 minutes as a striker today were better than 95% of so-called strikers in world football. I totally believe in his potential up front.”

“Then if Li Ang moves to striker, who becomes football’s best midfielder? Kroos, Modrić, or Fàbregas?”

“That depends on Mourinho. As long as Li Ang plays midfield, he’s still the best defensive and central midfielder in the world. If he moves up front, then we’ll reconsider…”

After Li Ang — playing as an emergency center forward — scored, fans around the globe exploded with excitement, flooding online forums to debate the possibility of Li Ang permanently switching to a striker role.

None of them considered the real tactical reasoning:

Mourinho was only using Li Ang temporarily as a striker to fulfill a specific strategy.

Most fans believed this was a sign of an inevitable transformation.

Because Li Ang had already given them too many unexpected miracles every time he switched roles.

From world’s best defensive midfielder, to world’s best central midfielder, to world’s best attacking midfielder —

Li Ang had repeatedly proven that with him, nothing was impossible.

Three years ago, no one believed he could dominate at attacking midfield.

Two years ago, even fewer believed he could leave Real Madrid and still build a dynasty at Chelsea — let alone win the Ballon d’Or.

But all of it had already happened.

Those who once doubted Li Ang still felt the sting on their faces.

So now predicting that Li Ang could conquer the center forward position too?

Why not?

After years of skepticism being proven wrong, fans now had an almost blind faith in Li Ang.

If Li Ang could see what fans were saying now,

he might feel both flattered and exasperated:

“Guys, you’re exaggerating too much!”

Sure, Li Ang had always dreamed of playing center forward when he was younger,

but to abandon midfield entirely — his comfort zone — would still be a huge leap.

He was happy about scoring, sure,

but he understood perfectly:

that goal was heavily thanks to the space and support created by his teammates.

Fundamentally, he still scored in a typical midfielder’s fashion —

arriving late into the box to finish.

If he were asked to bang bodies inside the box for 90 minutes against top defenders,

he admitted he wouldn’t perform as well as someone like Llorente sitting on the bench.

Self-awareness was important.

After his passionate celebration near the corner flag,

Li Ang turned and hugged Hazard — the one who assisted him.

Showing gratitude to teammates was a principle Li Ang never forgot.

The collective celebration strengthened the bond among Chelsea’s players

and filled Stamford Bridge with renewed belief.

Mourinho, meanwhile, didn’t allow himself to get too carried away.

Yes, the tactical success was delightful —

but Mourinho knew very well that Li Ang’s goal had a large slice of fortune.

After all, Li Ang’s role today was to act as a pivot and decoy —

scoring wasn’t even the main objective.

The real scoring responsibility was supposed to fall on Suárez.

Still, Mourinho had always welcomed pleasant surprises on the pitch.

And in the Champions League semifinals, results mattered more than anything.

Rubbing his hands over his cheeks to stay focused,

Mourinho pulled aside Holland and immediately discussed Atlético’s likely countermeasures.

It wasn’t hard to guess:

Trailing now, Atlético would inevitably launch a counteroffensive.

Even if they lost tonight, stealing an away goal would still be crucial.

A 1-2 defeat would still give them a decent chance at home.

Thus, while things looked bright for Chelsea,

Mourinho knew they had to brace carefully for Atlético’s retaliation.

He didn’t hesitate —

as soon as his players returned to their half after the celebration,

he signaled urgently to Li Ang to focus more on defense.

Li Ang nodded immediately,

quickly passing the instructions down the line.

For Chelsea players, dropping back into defense wasn’t hard.

It was in their DNA.

Once play resumed, regardless of how Atlético adjusted,

Chelsea pulled back swiftly, locking into their defensive structure.

Seeing Chelsea’s half-field blockade,

Atlético’s players looked visibly frustrated.

Simeone’s adjustment wasn’t complicated —

without making substitutions, he shifted the formation to boost attacking power.

Carrasco pushed forward to the front line,

Koke dropped deeper alongside Saúl,

and Gabi became the lone defensive midfielder.

Atlético’s formation switched from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3.

Carrasco, Diego Costa, and Griezmann —

a potent frontline trio.

Li Ang wasn’t worried about Costa or Griezmann exploding —

he knew their technical tendencies too well.

His real concern was Carrasco,

who had the unpredictability to suddenly change a match.

Thus, when defending deep,

Li Ang specifically kept an extra eye on Carrasco.

And his caution paid off.

Simeone’s system relied on Griezmann orchestrating,

Diego Costa wreaking havoc up front,

and Carrasco providing the explosive element.

Each had their role —

but the weakness of such a system was clear:

if one key point was neutralized, the whole attacking structure faltered.

Today, by instinctively locking down Carrasco,

Li Ang effectively disabled Atlético’s only true X-factor.

ith Carrasco’s threat neutralized, Atlético’s restructured attack immediately took a huge hit.

Griezmann’s organizational ability up front was strong, but no matter how well he created, Diego Costa simply couldn’t do anything against Maguire alone!

The synergy between Carrasco and Griezmann was crucial.

Without Carrasco stretching the defense, Griezmann’s passes couldn’t reach behind Chelsea’s backline, and Carrasco himself had no way to burst through.

Simeone could only watch this unfold in frustration.

With no better option, he signaled Filipe Luís to push higher up,

either to support Carrasco on the wing or to attack down the flank himself.

This adjustment restored some of Atlético’s offensive momentum.

But every action has a reaction.

With Filipe Luís pushing up, Chelsea’s defenders waiting to counter suddenly found a new weak point to exploit.

In the 29th minute, Hazard and De Bruyne silently switched flanks,

and Hazard popped up on the right side.

Before Saúl could warn Filipe Luís,

Matić intercepted the ball in Chelsea’s half and immediately launched a long counterattack pass!

With Filipe Luís missing from position, Hazard had acres of space to burst down the right wing!

Saúl tried to cover back,

but his defensive ability was no match for Hazard’s dribbling.

The Belgian surged all the way to the byline.

Atlético’s two center-backs stayed calm,

but when Hazard kept advancing into the box, even Godín couldn’t sit still anymore.

Godín lunged to intercept.

Hazard picked that moment to whip in a vicious cross!

Under the anxious gaze of millions watching worldwide,

Suárez arrived at the near post and hammered a shot!

But instead of Courtois facing him, it was Giménez who threw his body across to block!

Suárez’s shot smashed off Giménez’s shin and deflected wide for a corner!

Suárez roared in frustration at missing another golden chance.

Neutral fans, meanwhile, applauded Atlético’s stubborn defense.

Yet even in admiration, they kept glancing back toward Li Ang.

It felt like only Li Ang’s brute-force shooting could truly break Atlético’s iron wall.

Li Ang, having stayed back during that counterattack,

called Maguire up to join him in the box for the ensuing corner.

Chelsea were deadly on set-pieces,

and Maguire was a monster in the air.

But Atlético’s tight marking kept Chelsea’s aerial threats in check.

Matić, under pressure from Filipe Luís and Saúl, headed the ball wide.

Even so, Chelsea’s wave of counterattacks forced Atlético to slow their tempo.

Filipe Luís fell back into defense.

Hazard and De Bruyne eased off their aggressive pressing.

Li Ang continued to track Carrasco relentlessly,

completely cutting off Atlético’s most explosive option.

Simeone, having exhausted most adjustments,

could only hold on until halftime without further changes.

During the 15-minute break, neither team made major tactical switches.

Chelsea continued defending.

Atlético pressed on with their 4-3-3 formation, trying desperately to equalize.

Their strategic goal hadn’t changed:

They could live with a 1-1 draw or a narrow 1-2 loss.

But a 0-1 defeat was unacceptable —

they needed that precious away goal!

Mourinho, on the other hand, was fully satisfied with 1-0.

Why risk opening up the game and giving Atlético a counterattack?

If Chelsea could keep a clean sheet,

then scoring a single away goal in the second leg would force Atlético to score at least three to turn it around!

What could be better?

And Mourinho trusted his defense.

He didn’t believe Atlético’s limited offensive tools could breach Chelsea’s iron wall.

Thus, in the second half,

Chelsea stayed compact, barely committing men forward even when Atlético grew increasingly desperate.

Despite the growing gaps behind Atlético’s backline,

Chelsea never sent more than one or two players on counterattacks.

Seeing Chelsea clearly aiming to grind out a 1-0,

Simeone grew more and more anxious.

He threw everything into a final gamble,

switching to a 4-2-4 formation!

Carrasco, Diego Costa, Griezmann, and substitute Correa all flooded forward.

But Chelsea stood firm.

Simeone, in the one moment he most needed to prove his attacking coaching credentials,

could only watch as his team floundered.

Carrasco, invisible for most of the match, was subbed off for Correa.

Another substitute, Vietto, was thrown on for the final 20 minutes.

But none of Atlético’s attackers could make a difference.

Their technical level simply wasn’t enough to crack a defense like Chelsea’s.

Diego Costa and Griezmann were eventually swallowed up by Chelsea’s muscle-bound defenders.

By the 80th minute, Mourinho added Terry and Kalas,

closing the game down for good.

Atlético’s final assaults were ferocious but futile.

Chelsea dragged the 1-0 to full time,

even at the cost of yellow cards to Kroos, Li Ang, Suárez, and Kalas.

No one minded — not when they had taken a massive step toward the Champions League final.

Atlético’s players, heartbroken, could only force themselves to accept defeat.

As Stamford Bridge rocked with celebration,

Li Ang, beaming with pride, started rallying the team privately for their next challenge:

“City will stumble again. We have to be ready — to seize our third Premier League title in three years!”