Chapter 370: Times Have Changed—Manchester United Must Get Used to Playing in the Europa League
With Li Ang being crowned FIFA's 2015 Ballon d'Or winner, the English media that had backed him enjoyed a massive boost in sales!
Across England, across Europe, and even across the world, everyone was talking about Li Ang!
Looking back now, the transfer that had rocked world football two and a half seasons ago — his move from Real Madrid to Chelsea — was an incredibly wise decision.
Of course, with Li Ang's success, several people within the Chinese Football Association who had once pushed him out of the national setup were quietly removed from their positions or sidelined completely.
Countless Chinese fans demanded public apologies from those responsible for forcing Li Ang out.
They fervently hoped that after such a massive humiliation for the FA, Li Ang could be persuaded to return to the national team.
One player couldn't save the overall decline of Chinese football —
but during Li Ang's prime years, at least the fans could have had something to dream about.
Unfortunately, the FA responded to the massive public pressure by doing what they always did —
nothing.
Those within the FA who truly cared had no real power,
while those with power were busy pocketing money and covering up their past mistakes.
They couldn't care less about the complaints of fans outside the system.
Li Ang was well aware of the domestic uproar calling for his return —
after all, he was a heavy internet user himself.
But honestly, he harbored no expectations for the FA.
In his memory, the FA would soon face a series of corruption investigations,
resulting in top officials and national team coaches getting arrested —
dragging down countless others along with them.
Only Gao Hongbo, often criticized for being mediocre, managed to stay clean.
In such an environment, Li Ang would have to be out of his mind to voluntarily return.
Why would he come back just to see more talented players benched due to nepotism?
No — he wouldn't do it.
Thus, Li Ang chose to watch coldly from a distance.
When he saw that the FA still hadn't issued any statement or apology,
he simply moved on.
Good timing, too —
the 21st round of the Premier League was right around the corner.
The day after winning the Ballon d'Or,
Chelsea hosted Everton at Stamford Bridge.
Before the match,
Li Ang lifted his first Ballon d'Or trophy before a roaring crowd of 30,000 Chelsea fans.
He wore a warm smile —
but once the ceremony was over, the fire in his eyes ignited!
A good mood?
That was only on the surface.
Inside, he was burning with competitive rage —
and he needed somewhere to vent it.
Everton had the misfortune of running into a Li Ang eager for battle.
From the very start, Everton tried to cautiously test Chelsea's tempo.
But Li Ang answered with a brutal slide tackle!
Barkley, driving forward with the ball, was cut down hard —
but the referee saw nothing wrong and let play continue.
Li Ang picked up the ball and immediately launched a counterattack,
forcing Barry and Besic into a hasty retreat.
Spotting a narrow gap,
Li Ang unleashed a rocket shot from his shooting range!
Everton goalkeeper Howard was fully alert.
Facing Li Ang's thunderbolt,
he punched the ball out for a corner.
Howard screamed at his defenders —
never, ever give Li Ang shooting space!
Meanwhile, Li Ang, unfazed by the missed chance,
rallied his teammates and charged into the box for the corner.
Commentators around the world praised Li Ang's energy.
But for Everton, Li Ang's hyper-aggression spelled disaster.
Another corner chance —
Li Ang met it with a powerful header, but this time it sailed over the bar.
No matter —
he was constantly rallying the crowd, pumping energy into Chelsea.
Everton coach Martínez frowned on the sidelines.
But considering Li Ang had just won the Ballon d'Or,
he could hardly be surprised by the intensity.
Martínez quickly adjusted tactics —
ordering his team to compact their formation and focus on controlling possession.
In theory, a good plan.
In practice, a disaster.
Martínez was never known for his defensive organization.
Since last season, Everton's leaky defense had dragged them down the table.
After 20 matches, their center-back duo of Jagielka and Stones had already conceded 29 goals!
Everton's defense ranked sixth-worst in the Premier League.
Their offense was decent — fifth-best —
but their matches were always chaotic affairs.
Victory or defeat depended entirely on whether they scored more or conceded more.
Thus, when Martínez shifted from attack to defense,
he effectively exposed Everton's greatest weakness.
Li Ang calmly watched them adjust,
then targeted Barkley's side of midfield.
No matter how many players Everton dropped back,
Barkley couldn't resist surging forward.
Li Ang knew it.
He had schooled Barkley for two seasons already.
Sure enough,
not even five minutes after Martínez's adjustment,
Barkley pushed forward again.
Li Ang pounced —
another precise slide tackle!
Barkley collapsed,
but the referee waved play on.
Kroos seized the ball and immediately launched a diagonal long pass.
Hazard, charging down the flank, controlled the ball beautifully.
Facing Oviedo, Everton's right-back,
he shifted gears in an instant —
leaving Oviedo in the dust with a simple body feint!
After quickly surveying the positioning of players inside Everton's penalty area, Hazard decisively delivered a curled cross!
It was a pass-shot hybrid, making it incredibly difficult for Everton's defenders to deal with.
At the crucial moment, Suárez darted forward and managed to get a slight touch on the ball, changing its trajectory!
Yet Howard, as if possessed by Buffon himself, miraculously extended his fingertips to push the ball out of the goal at the last second!
The ball, punched away by Howard, drifted toward Salah's path, but Jagielka managed to get ahead and block Salah's shooting angle.
In that split second, Salah caught a glimpse of a blue shirt charging into the box!
Without even checking who it was, he decisively cut the ball back!
On the sidelines, Martinez, watching nervously, turned pale!
"Block his shot!"
He roared desperately.
John Stones, Everton's young defensive prodigy, sprinted toward the incoming Li Ang!
But Li Ang gave him no chance.
Without adjusting, he smashed the ball with pure power!
From such close range, choosing to go for a power shot was either out of desperation or supreme confidence in one's technique.
Li Ang clearly belonged to the latter.
Howard had already been performing heroics today, but against such a rocket from point-blank range, he was helpless.
The ball thundered past him and slammed into the back of the net!
Li Ang ran toward the corner flag, cupping his ears to the roaring Stamford Bridge crowd!
The fire in his heart subsided slightly after this goal — but only slightly.
One goal wasn't enough!
After celebrating with his teammates, he continued encouraging them to keep pushing hard on his way back to midfield.
Seeing Li Ang's intense energy, Mourinho didn't want to dampen his spirit.
He adjusted tactics to allow Chelsea to continue their full-throttle pressure!
Thus, Everton, who had conceded early, were soon completely overwhelmed by Chelsea.
Martinez eventually realized they had no chance unless they attacked —
but by then, it was too late.
His team couldn't organize a decent counterattack.
And on defense, Stones' immaturity was ruthlessly exploited by Chelsea's forwards.
Calling Stones a genius wasn't wrong —
he was Maguire's childhood friend and had immense potential.
But even the most talented players needed time to grow.
Pairing him with Jagielka against Chelsea was asking for trouble.
Against mid-table teams, they could cope.
But against Chelsea and Manchester City?
Stones' lack of experience was brutally exposed.
At the 24th minute, Suárez cleverly outmuscled Stones to poke home a second goal.
At the 36th minute, Salah cut inside from the right, ghosting past Baines and Stones before curling in a beautiful shot!
By halftime, Chelsea were cruising 3–0.
But even then, they showed no signs of mercy.
In the 61st minute of the second half, Li Ang smashed in a long-range shot to make it four.
Eight minutes later, he assisted Suárez for his second goal of the match.
It was only after the 5–0 demolition that Li Ang finally calmed down, no longer encouraging his teammates to continue the assault.
Meanwhile, Stones looked completely shell-shocked.
Even Mourinho felt a bit sorry for the youngster.
Thus, at the 73rd minute, Mourinho made a triple substitution:
Li Ang, Suárez, and Hazard all came off.
Finally, Everton fans could breathe again.
Their players, demoralized and drained, couldn't muster a late fightback.
The match ended 5–0.
Li Ang's first match after winning the Ballon d'Or was nothing short of spectacular,
earning him praise from sports media across Europe.
But for Manchester United, who were facing Chelsea next,
Li Ang's form was a terrifying omen.
United had been terrible recently.
In their last three league matches, they had two losses and one draw —
losing to Stoke City and Swansea, and drawing 3–3 with Newcastle.
That draw with Newcastle was thrilling, but still not a win.
United's disastrous form had seen them drop from sixth to seventh in the table.
Their massive summer spending and Van Gaal's bold promises now looked laughable.
United's fans were furious —
angry at the board, furious at Van Gaal, outraged at everything.
They had spent money.
They had bought Martial for £36 million at age 19.
Yet the results hadn't improved at all!
Van Gaal could argue internally, but the fans didn't care —
they mocked him for being stubborn and ugly in his tactics.
In desperation, facing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge,
Van Gaal rolled the dice —
lining up in an aggressive 4-2-3-1 formation!
Lukaku, Martial, Rooney, and Lingard all started.
Carrick held the midfield together,
while Fellaini was tasked with most of the defensive work.
But the setup was ridiculously top-heavy.
Trying to play attacking football at Stamford Bridge?
Mourinho didn't know what Van Gaal was thinking —
but he welcomed it!
Chelsea gleefully engaged United in a shootout —
and utterly humiliated them, 4–1!
After the match, though,
Li Ang spared a few words of sympathy for Van Gaal:
"Manchester United's main issues aren't with the coaching staff or the players.
Until they find and fix the real problem,
I suggest United fans lower their expectations and adjust their mentality."
"Times have changed.
Manchester United might need to get used to playing Europa League football for a while..."
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