Chapter 367: In Adversity, It's Still the Little Lion Who Saves Real Madrid!
Manchester City fans were fuming because of Li Ang — not only did he torment them throughout the match, but he also delivered some "sarcastic" jabs in his post-game interview.
To say he didn't do it on purpose would be a joke.
It was obvious he was hitting back at the City fans who had booed him the entire match.
But so what if everyone knew it?
Li Ang and Chelsea had won a crucial victory at the Etihad.
That was what mattered most!
If he had lost, anything he said would sound like petty excuses.
But he won — and winning gave him the right to speak, and no one could find a flaw in that.
City's fans were hurt, their players were frustrated, but they could only swallow it.
If they wanted revenge, they'd have to wait until the second half of the season...
As soon as this high-profile battle ended, Chelsea were once again celebrated by the English media as the Premier League's unbeatable juggernaut.
Meanwhile, Manchester City, suffering their first league defeat of the season, surrendered top spot.
But City didn't have time to dwell on disappointment —
the Champions League group stage was about to resume.
In Group D, City had a record of three wins and one loss, well positioned to qualify.
However, their earlier loss to Juventus meant Juve, sitting just one point behind, were breathing down their necks.
Thus, this next group match was critical —
at least a draw against Juventus was needed to ensure first place was within reach.
In contrast, Chelsea's European campaign was much easier.
After beating Real Madrid and Wolfsburg and drawing CSKA, they had already secured first place in their group.
Thus, Mourinho heavily rotated his squad for the away trip to Wolfsburg.
Sending almost a full backup lineup to Germany, Mourinho prioritized resting his starters after their intense league battles.
It was truly shocking how Chelsea had turned the "Group of Death" into a cakewalk.
Real Madrid, after four matches, had only five points —
and that was enough for second place!
At first glance, the group seemed deadly.
But with Chelsea sitting comfortably on 12 points from four wins, it became clear:
it wasn't that the group was too hard —
it was that Madrid and the others were too weak!
Real Madrid's group-stage journey hadn't been disastrous.
Losing narrowly to Chelsea was understandable.
Drawing in Moscow could be blamed on the brutal weather.
Even drawing Wolfsburg — well, that was just bad luck.
Madrid had led Wolfsburg 2–0 for eighty minutes —
only to concede two fluky, deflected goals in the final ten minutes!
Meanwhile, Ronaldo had hit the post in a key moment.
So, in truth, Madrid's poor points tally could be excused.
But fans — especially neutral fans — didn't care for excuses.
All they saw was Chelsea crushing everyone while Madrid struggled.
The narrative quickly turned into:
"If Chelsea can smash Wolfsburg and CSKA, why can't Real Madrid?"
No matter the reasons, the reality was clear:
Real Madrid were in a tough spot.
Five points.
Wolfsburg had four.
This round, Chelsea — already qualified — were expected to rotate heavily.
They would face Wolfsburg with a second-string lineup.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid had to battle CSKA Moscow with everything they had.
No prizes for guessing which fixture was easier.
Madrid fans couldn't even complain.
Chelsea had already done their part.
They couldn't be expected to fight tooth and nail against Wolfsburg just to help Real Madrid!
Many pessimistic Madrid fans had already accepted that Wolfsburg would beat Chelsea's reserves and leapfrog them in the table.
Madrid's only hope was to take care of their own business —
beat CSKA — and keep qualification in their hands.
As for the final group game, facing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge?
That would be left to fate.
On November 24th, Chelsea's almost entirely second-string side took the field at the Volkswagen Arena against Wolfsburg.
Mourinho had included only two first-team players in the squad —
Li Ang and Matić — both for emergencies.
Even then, neither started.
They sat on the bench, casually chatting, while Mourinho watched his backups in action.
Mourinho had no strict demands —
it was an away game,
and he simply wanted the players to show spirit and their technical abilities.
A win wasn't expected.
A draw would be ideal.
Even a loss was acceptable —
as long as it wasn't embarrassing.
But while the coaching staff remained relaxed,
Chelsea's young and backup players were feeling the pressure.
After all, this was the Champions League —
not the domestic League Cup.
Their performances would be seen and judged by far more people.
Thus, despite their best efforts, the anxiety was clear.
As Wolfsburg pressed forward aggressively,
Chelsea's backups struggled.
Tight nerves led to sloppy challenges, rushed passes, and a total inability to launch quick counters.
Mourinho's frown deepened on the bench.
He had grown more patient with young players over the years —
but even he had limits.
By the 17th minute, Chelsea conceded the opening goal.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek lunged recklessly for an interception in midfield, missed, and completely vacated his position.
Van Ginkel tried to cover, but Draxler's through ball had already been released.
Kruse cleverly beat Zouma's offside trap,
burst through,
and calmly slotted past Begović.
It wasn't just Mourinho shaking his head.
On the bench, even Li Ang and Matić were looking exasperated.
"Ruben's head still isn't in the right place. How could he lose the ball in that position?!"
"He's not clueless; it's just a mindset problem. If you ask him to simply defend, he can't do it. He always dreams of pushing forward to attack after a steal."
"This kid's wasting his physical gifts... Such a good prospect for a defensive midfielder — why is he so obsessed with surging forward?"
After a few complaints, Li Ang and Matić couldn't help but think back to Khedira from their Real Madrid days.
Same tall, strong frame, same natural talent for being a midfield enforcer —
but also the same constant desire to charge forward and leave the back exposed.
If Loftus-Cheek could focus on honing his defensive skills, he might not establish himself at Chelsea, but he could certainly start at a second-tier big club.
But if he couldn't shake his habit of abandoning his position,
he would end up ruining his own potential.
Back in the day, Mourinho hadn't managed to "fix" Khedira —
but he had discovered Li Ang instead, creating a rock-solid midfield trio.
At least on the pitch, that minimized Khedira's weaknesses and maximized his strengths.
Now, Loftus-Cheek hadn't even figured out how to survive the Premier League yet.
He couldn't expect the coaching staff to build a custom system around him.
He had to, just like Li Ang back then, first adapt to the tactical demands placed on him —
only then could he earn greater responsibilities.
Judging by Loftus-Cheek's recent performances,
Chelsea fans had long given up hoping he could become "Chelsea's Little Lion."
The football IQ gap was obvious.
Chelsea's coaches had given him chances,
but he just couldn't capitalize.
At the Volkswagen Arena, Wolfsburg fans celebrated wildly.
Amid the noise, Mourinho gestured at his players to stay calm.
He wasn't ready to yank Loftus-Cheek off yet —
he still hoped the kid would snap out of it.
Terry, captaining the team today, also tried to calm his young teammates.
But after the restart, it became painfully clear:
Chelsea's youngsters couldn't handle Wolfsburg's sustained pressure.
Between Loftus-Cheek, constantly losing his defensive position,
and Baba, the young left-back getting wrecked one-on-one by Draxler,
Chelsea weren't just suffering defensively —
they could barely launch any attacks at all.
Without enough possession,
the pacey Gnabry and Salah up front had no chance to shine.
Chelsea were rarely seen so completely dominated —
barely able to resist.
Some Real Madrid fans, who had tuned in hoping to see Chelsea demolish Wolfsburg,
simply gave up and switched back to watch Madrid's match against CSKA Moscow.
By the 34th minute,
Draxler had smashed a second goal past Baba's side, putting Wolfsburg 2–0 up.
Even more Madrid fans stopped caring about this game.
Meanwhile, Madrid's own match against CSKA was locked at 1–1 —
and Madridistas were growing frantic.
But when the second half began, and news came that Li Ang was coming on for Loftus-Cheek,
Madrid fans suddenly regained hope!
Li Ang's substitution wasn't part of Mourinho's original plan.
He hadn't intended for Li Ang or Matić to play tonight.
But Wolfsburg had been too disrespectful!
Leading by two at halftime, they should've sat back and managed the game.
Instead, they kept pressing forward,
as if trying to humiliate Chelsea.
Mourinho couldn't tolerate that.
"I gave you face.
You didn't want it?
Fine — don't get mad when I flip the table."
Thus, when the second half began,
Li Ang was sent on immediately, and Matić began warming up too.
Suddenly, the cheers from the home fans quieted.
Li Ang went straight to the left side —
helping cover Baba, who had been torn apart by Draxler.
Seeing Li Ang's position,
Draxler immediately switched flanks to avoid him —
a very honest and understandable reaction.
With the defense shored up,
Li Ang took over the midfield organization from the overwhelmed Piazon.
He didn't charge forward recklessly,
instead calmly orchestrating possession,
allowing Van Ginkel to gradually rejoin the build-up play.
And when Wolfsburg, still greedy for a third goal, pushed forward again —
Li Ang launched a deadly counterattack.
In the 59th minute,
he delivered a fast, flat long pass that found Llorente perfectly.
The Spanish target man shielded the ball and laid it off smoothly to the right.
Salah, who had been frustrated all night,
seized the moment!
He didn't bother with fancy dribbling —
he just sprinted past Wolfsburg's left-back, Rodríguez!
Rodríguez, no slouch himself, managed to recover and block the angle —
forcing Salah to cut back and pass.
Li Ang, surging forward, brushed aside midfielder Träsch's challenge
and powered his way into shooting range!
Wolfsburg's defenders panicked, shifting toward him —
only for Li Ang to suddenly switch the ball left with a sweeping pass!
Patiently waiting, Gnabry controlled it perfectly,
then surged forward and whipped a spinning cross into the box!
Li Ang raced into the near post,
dragging Dante with him —
but the ball soared past them both.
At the back post,
Llorente rose like a titan and hammered a header toward goal!
Wolfsburg's goalkeeper, Casteels, threw himself across —
but Llorente's header was too powerful and too close!
The ball slammed into the net!
Li Ang had barely been on the pitch for 15 minutes —
and he had already stabilized the defense and launched a counterattack to pull a goal back!
Li Ang didn't celebrate.
He charged straight into the Wolfsburg net, grabbed the ball,
and sprinted back toward the center circle.
He wasn't content with salvaging pride.
He wanted more.
He wanted points.
He wanted to win!
Chelsea's morale surged.
Llorente roared and raced after Li Ang,
ready for battle!
Wolfsburg's fans were rattled —
and in living rooms across Spain,
countless Real Madrid fans wiped tears from their eyes.
It had been over two years.
But Li Ang could still "save" Real Madrid in their hour of need.
Who could possibly understand how that felt?
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