Chapter 290: The Winning Streak Ends, But an Undefeated Title Run Is Still Possible
After the match between Liverpool and Chelsea, the moment Leon and Suárez embraced and exchanged words on the pitch quickly became the center of media attention.
And who could blame them? The nearly identical, mysterious smiles on their faces left endless room for speculation.
What drove the media crazy was that no one could figure out what Leon had whispered to Suárez.
He had kept his right hand over his mouth the entire time.
Even seasoned lip-reading experts couldn't crack it.
Frustrated, outlets sent reporters directly to both players for interviews.
And both responses were remarkably… consistent.
"I told Luis he played really well. The loss wasn't on him. And the next time Liverpool comes to Stamford Bridge, I'd like to invite him to dinner. I've always admired his style of play."
"Leon was just comforting me. He's a great guy. Said if he has time, he'll treat me to a meal in London. I think we're going to be very good friends…"
Alright then. At this point, the journalists knew they weren't getting anything more.
But that didn't stop them from connecting dots—and stirring the pot.
Suárez, after all, wasn't exactly living his best life at Liverpool right now.
Ibrahimović was Chelsea's undisputed starting striker—true.
But he would be 34 by the start of next season.
And Chelsea, a club with no shortage of transfer funds and sky-high ambitions, had every reason to start thinking about a successor.
Now let's talk about Suárez.
He had years of Premier League experience, had fully adapted to its pace and physicality, had no major injury history, and was technically elite.
He was one of the best strikers in the world.
Last season, his 32 goals set a new post-restructuring Premier League record, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo's single-season tally.
He was 27—still with at least four peak years ahead.
And if he aged like Ibrahimović, still dominating at 33, signing him would be an absolute steal.
With logic and narrative both on their side, the British media didn't wait for any official word.
They took the fans' favorite rumor and gave it a nice coat of polish, pushing it out with full force.
Liverpool, understandably, was the first to respond—swiftly issuing a denial.
Chelsea followed with a milder, more diplomatic statement.
But notably, Chelsea did not categorically deny interest in Suárez.
Their wording seemed more like a gesture of courtesy:
"Rest assured, we have not made any unauthorized approaches to a player under contract with Liverpool.
Should there ever be developments in this regard, we would proceed with full transparency and communication."
In short: "Relax, we haven't made a move—yet."
Not long after, Suárez's agent also issued a statement, now that the international break had officially begun.
It was the usual PR fluff: "Luis is fully committed to Liverpool and has not engaged in any transfer talks."
To be fair, it was true.
Chelsea's front office hadn't reached out.
Leon had simply put in a friendly word.
He didn't say whether it was his own idea or if he'd been nudged by Chelsea's higher-ups.
Everyone played their roles.
After the official statements, the rumor slowly died down.
But up at Liverpool HQ, the boardroom was still buzzing.
Something didn't feel right… they just couldn't figure out what.
Fortunately, the international break arrived in time.
Before the rumor could spread any further and disrupt Liverpool's preparations, it was buried and forgotten.
It also gave the Premier League a much-needed cooldown during this tense period of the season.
For national team players, it was a mix of joy and fatigue.
For club managers, it was time to reflect, review, and tweak tactics.
Take Van Gaal at United, for example.
He was now fully invested in building his "big circle" system and had used the loss to Chelsea as a valuable lesson.
Arsène Wenger was also refining his attacking system, trying to give Cavani better service and more consistent support.
Even though the winter window was still weeks away, he had already squeezed a transfer budget from the board and begun scouting targets.
As for Guardiola and Mourinho, neither had major concerns about their current squads.
Their focus was on tactical execution and identifying players who were failing to meet system requirements.
Guardiola, in particular, wasn't planning anything big this winter.
What his squad lacked was elite firepower—and those players rarely moved midseason.
Even if he wanted to spend big, and even if City were willing to back him financially,
he'd have to wait until summer to chase top-tier talent.
Because of that, Mourinho wasn't losing sleep over City strengthening in the winter.
He focused instead on the upcoming Euro qualifiers and international friendlies.
After all, Chelsea's call-ups now included more than just their household names.
This time, Van Ginkel, Kalas, and Maguire all made their national teams.
Kalas was a nailed-on starter for the Czech Republic.
Maguire, despite being a first-timer with England, had a real shot at starting as center-back.
And who could blame Roy Hodgson?
Compared to Cahill and Jagielka, Maguire had far more long-term potential.
In terms of deep defending and aerial dominance,
Maguire already outperformed England's current starting center-backs.
Getting him integrated early was crucial—especially with the Euros just over a year away.
At major tournaments, if your attack isn't clicking, you can still grind out results with set pieces or penalties.
But if your defense is shaky? You're not going far.
Maguire's weaknesses didn't pose a real risk to England's current setup.
Which made it all the more important to get him comfortable at the international level—now.
The Henderson–Milner double pivot was more than enough—at least enough to build a reliable screen in front of Maguire.
While Mourinho didn't want to see Maguire overused by Hodgson during his first call-up, he had no doubts about the youngster's ability to adapt to the national team.
Compared to Mourinho, who still had to work through the break at Cobham, Leon was much freer.
After four days of extra training, he arrived at Wembley on the evening of November 15th to watch his "little brother" make his national team debut.
Cameras frequently cut to him before kickoff.
It wasn't the first time Leon had watched an England match from the stands,
so the local fans weren't surprised at all to see his familiar, handsome face appear on the big screen.
Each time it happened, they gave him a loud cheer.
Even England's commentators couldn't help but half-jokingly, half-sincerely, call on the FA to approach Leon about playing for the Three Lions.
Back at the end of the 2012–2013 season, Spanish media had widely reported that the Spanish federation tried to naturalize Leon.
At the time, Spain had just completed their historic triple crown in international football, dominating world headlines.
But Leon had firmly declined.
Any commentator watching a player of Leon's caliber miss out on the World Cup and other international tournaments couldn't help but feel regret.
And with England in the midst of a generational gap, lacking both midfield engines and true on-field leaders,
they were desperate enough to daydream about how much better the team would be if Leon were theirs.
Still, fans watching at home knew better.
Leon had ignored Spain's calls; he wasn't going to say yes to England now just because they were in a rebuilding phase.
What would they entice him with—being nicknamed "The Chinese Lions of Europe"?
Please. Enough daydreaming. Time to wake up.
Leon, of course, had no idea that his simple appearance at Wembley had sparked so many flights of fancy.
He was there for two reasons: his girlfriend had flown back to China for university,
and he'd just wrapped up his training regimen with nothing else to do.
Also, England now had three of his Chelsea teammates: Cahill, Bertrand, and Lampard—plus Maguire, the rookie.
It was only natural to come support his guys.
At 6:00 p.m. local time, England kicked off their Euro qualifier against Slovenia.
Aside from Cahill, who was on the bench, Chelsea's other three internationals all started.
Maguire and Bertrand paired up on the left side of the defense, while Lampard slotted in as the holding midfielder.
You could say that half of England's backline was Chelsea's.
England, using a 4-2-3-1 formation, controlled the tempo from start to finish.
Slovenia never really found an opening through midfield or the final third.
With goals from Rooney, Welbeck, and Lallana, England rolled to a 3–0 home victory.
Protected by two defensive midfielders, Maguire had an excellent debut.
In the second half, as Slovenia turned to an aerial bombardment strategy,
he won seven headers and singlehandedly shut down their forwards.
He even struck the post from a corner. Had he scored, it would've been a dream debut.
Naturally, he earned praise from every England fan and pundit alike.
Hodgson himself declared that Maguire would grow into England's new John Terry in the next two seasons.
Not a small compliment.
On his way out of Wembley, Leon was stopped by reporters.
He happily gave a big thumbs-up and sang his teammate's praises.
"Well done, Maguire! Outstanding!"
When Maguire returned to Cobham after the break, he was immediately swarmed with playful teasing.
Even Terry personally dubbed him "Little Terry," leaving the poor kid blushing from ear to ear.
But on November 22nd, when Chelsea hosted West Brom in Matchweek 12,
Mourinho ignored the press's pleas and gave his internationals a rest—including Maguire.
Instead, a well-rested Terry and Cahill started at center-back, locking down West Brom's counterattacks.
Leon scored a long-range goal in the 23rd minute, giving Chelsea an early lead.
The rotated squad then calmly saw out a 2–0 win at Stamford Bridge.
Ibrahimović added another in the second half.
Chelsea's defense was rock solid, and West Brom couldn't break through.
Just two days later, Mourinho flew to Germany with a squad of reserves and academy prospects.
In the fifth round of the Champions League group stage,
Chelsea's "training lineup" somehow ground out a 0–0 draw at Schalke's Veltins-Arena.
Maguire and Kalas were brilliant.
Together, they frustrated Schalke's entire attacking unit.
Over in Portugal, Sporting—who had beaten Schalke in the previous round—were thrilled.
Having just defeated Maribor 3–1, Sporting jumped to seven points, overtaking Schalke for second place in the group.
Now, with one round to go, the final fixtures were as follows:
Schalke would visit Maribor, while Sporting would head to Stamford Bridge.
Sporting's path was clearly easier.
And with Chelsea already qualified and focused on the Premier League and EFL Cup,
they had little incentive to go full throttle in the final group match.
With the draw against Schalke, Chelsea's epic winning streak had finally ended.
But no one was upset.
Everyone had mentally prepared for the day the streak would break.
After all, winning every match across four competitions? Unrealistic.
Still, the unbeaten record was intact.
And now, a new goal emerged:
Could Chelsea go undefeated and win trophies on all four fronts?
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