Chapter 227: Starting the Year with Two Young Bulls — Mourinho's Foundation-Laying Frenzy
After Chelsea wrapped up their match against Swansea, another Premier League clash was still raging on—Manchester City versus Liverpool, the final fixture of Matchday 18.
In the previous round, City had watched with folded arms as Chelsea and Arsenal battled it out. Now, it was Chelsea and Arsenal's turn to enjoy the show as City took on Liverpool.
Liverpool might not have the flashiest record this season, but they were still comfortably sitting above Everton and holding firm in fourth place. Had it not been for their frequent stumbles against lower-ranked sides, Liverpool might have even climbed above both City and Arsenal by now.
They'd preserved their classic "Robin Hood" tradition—stealing points from the rich, handing out charity to the poor. Against top teams, they were fierce and energetic; against weak teams, they left their fans trembling.
So, even though this round had Liverpool playing away at the Etihad against second-placed City, neither their players nor their supporters were the least bit afraid.
And sure enough, the game went just like that. City, despite the home-field advantage, spent the first 30 minutes of the match on the back foot, repeatedly threatened by Liverpool's lightning-fast counterattacks.
Luis Suárez, at the peak of his powers, was simply unstoppable.
With the ball, he could take on City's entire back line. Without it, his off-the-ball movement was sharp and sneaky.
Flanked by two young guns—Coutinho and Sterling—Suárez lit up the attack like a one-man army.
If only Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard hadn't been injured, Suárez wouldn't have had to carry the kids. He probably would've found the back of the net in the first half.
But just before halftime, David Silva danced through the defense in tight quarters and threaded a killer ball through to Nasri, who broke the deadlock for City.
Up until then, the entire first half had felt like the Suárez Show.
Liverpool's failure to score had nothing to do with Suárez. He had delivered a perfect through ball to Sterling—practically a one-on-one—and even set up Coutinho right at the top of the box for one of his signature curling shots.
Unfortunately, both youngsters blew their golden chances.
On the sideline, cameras captured Rodgers leaping in frustration, then bowing his head and cursing under his breath—a sight that brought chuckles from neutral fans.
Meanwhile, Leon, having caught a ride with Ibrahimović after the match and on his way to a team dinner, tuned in to the livestream just in time to see Coutinho sky his shot into the stands.
And barely three minutes after that missed opportunity, David Silva cut through Liverpool's backline and helped City draw first blood.
Leon scrolled back to check some earlier highlights and couldn't help but wince—Sterling was a disaster tonight, and Suárez looked like he was fighting alone.
As soon as the first half ended, Leon turned off the stream. He didn't believe this injury-hit Liverpool side could come from behind and beat Manchester City.
At best, he thought, they might manage a draw at the Etihad—but even that seemed like a stretch.
From Chelsea's point of view, the ideal scenario would be City leading most of the match, only for Liverpool to snatch an equalizer in the dying minutes.
That way, City would only get one point, allowing Chelsea to widen the gap at the top of the table, and Liverpool would expend a lot of energy in the process.
A win-win for Chelsea, basically.
What Leon didn't expect was that the final score wouldn't be a nail-biting 1–0 or a cautious 1–1, but a wild 3–3!
In the second half alone, City and Liverpool combined for five goals.
Agüero scored twice, while Suárez delivered two goals and an assist, helping Liverpool pull off a dramatic last-minute equalizer.
From 0–2 to 3–3, Liverpool staged a breathtaking comeback.
Thanks to this performance, Suárez once again became the talk of the entire Premier League—an icon at the peak of his powers.
And almost as hot a topic was the bewilderment of countless Premier League fans: why, after going two goals up, did Pep Guardiola keep pushing forward instead of playing it safe, controlling possession or countering strategically?
It was as if he threw away the three points with his own hands.
At the dinner, Leon only found out what had happened when his teammates suddenly erupted in cheers.
His first reaction? Total shock.
A two-goal lead thrown away just like that? For a club like Manchester City, one of the league's top dogs, this was a huge tactical blunder.
Then again… it was Guardiola.
When it came to wild tactical maneuvers, this was exactly the kind of thing Pep was known for.
From a fan's point of view, it looked like over-complication. But Guardiola had always pursued tactical innovation and refinement.
That's what made him Pep.
A couple of dropped matches? No big deal for someone like him.
He's the kind of guy who'd do tactical experiments in a Champions League final, after all.
"City gave him a chance, sure, but damn—Suárez really knew how to take it. What happened to this guy? He suddenly turned into a monster this season."
"He's always had that goal-scoring rep—remember his days in the Eredivisie? He was clinical even back then. He did great at the World Cup, too. I think it's just a natural progression. Once he adapted to the Premier League, he started showing his full potential."
"Liverpool pushed themselves hard in this one. Next round, they'll probably have to rotate again. Looks like we're getting a freebie."
"Not so fast. With Suárez in this form, I wouldn't count on anything coming easy…"
Leon listened to his teammates discussing the upcoming match against Liverpool and couldn't help but agree—it really was hard to predict the result.
On paper, Chelsea clearly had more raw power than Liverpool.
But it was hard to compete with a top-tier striker going Super Saiyan.
If Suárez went on another scoring spree, bagged a brace or even a hat trick, the guy losing his mind on the sideline would be none other than Mourinho.
Leon imagined the image of Mourinho pacing, shouting, arms flailing in frustration—and found it amusing.
The next day, Chelsea's full squad reported to the training ground for recovery sessions.
Leon was once again summoned to Mourinho's office by Holland.
"You want me to mark Suárez?"
Leon was genuinely surprised after hearing Mourinho's tactical plan for the next game.
"That guy's been on fire ever since returning from suspension. He's slippery, clever with his runs, and very flexible on the ball. I don't think Nemanja (Matić) or John (Terry) can lock him down effectively. After weighing all the options, you're the best man for the job."
Mourinho laid out his reasoning, and Leon, after thinking it over, had to agree.
Suárez could dribble, shoot, and shield the ball, all while remaining agile and explosive. His off-the-ball movement was deadly. Asking Matić or Terry to track him might not be the best use of their strengths.
Leon finally nodded, and Mourinho exhaled in relief.
After all, things were different now. Leon wasn't just a talented youngster anymore—he was a Premier League poster boy. Asking him to do the team's dirty tactical work? Not ideal.
Mourinho was pretty sure Leon wouldn't refuse, but even so, he still felt a bit guilty.
"Ah, you get me, Little Lion. Don't worry! I'll find a chance to let you enjoy the bliss of unlimited firepower soon enough…"
Leon: "…"
Whether it was glamorous or not, whether he got to shoot as much as he wanted—that didn't matter to Leon.
All that mattered was winning the game.
He didn't mind doing the tactical dirty work, not even now that he was a star.
No matter how shiny your status or stats were, if you couldn't win at critical moments, in the eyes of the fans, you were just another paper tiger.
So Leon agreed without hesitation.
In the two days leading up to the match, Romelu Lukaku—who had to play the role of Suárez in training—was thoroughly tormented by Leon's intense man-marking drills.
The entire Chelsea squad, already aware that Leon would serve as a tactical pawn to go head-to-head against Suárez in the upcoming game, could only look at him with pure admiration.
Even Oscar, who had always blamed Leon's arrival for losing his starting spot, had no choice now but to admit his respect.
Put him in the same situation? Asking him to humble himself in a crucial match and engage in a physical battle with the opposition's sharpest forward—he couldn't do it.
It wasn't just that he didn't want to; his agent would never accept seeing him reduced to a utility man on the pitch.
So, before kickoff on December 29th, Leon stepped onto the field under the gaze of his teammates' genuine admiration.
At first, neither the Liverpool players nor their manager Brendan Rodgers realized what was about to unfold.
Even Suárez simply found it odd that Leon hadn't advanced into the final third to orchestrate the attack, as he usually did. Instead, he lingered in the backline.
It wasn't until Leon walked over with a warm smile and casually greeted him that Suárez widened his eyes in sudden realization.
"You're not… surely not today...?"
Leon, still smiling, playfully covered his mouth and joked, "Luis, I'm your biggest fan. Go easy on me today, yeah? Don't embarrass me too badly~"
The moment Suárez heard that line, he nearly panicked.
He didn't want Leon to be his fan!
Everyone knew by now—whenever Leon said those words, someone on the pitch, whether player or manager, was bound to suffer.
Suárez immediately turned and ran, not wanting to spend another second near Leon.
But Leon wasn't going to let him off that easy. Suárez ran, and Leon chased—showing absolutely none of the aloof demeanor expected of a Premier League superstar.
Neutral fans watching were absolutely floored.
It was as shocking as watching prime-era Wayne Rooney drop into defensive midfield in a match against Arsenal, personally tracking Cesc Fàbregas man-to-man.
Something that had only existed in fan-fiction or wild hypotheticals was now being brought to life by Mourinho's Chelsea.
Brendan Rodgers stood on the sidelines dumbfounded. This tactic didn't just throw his entire match plan out the window—it left him without a single idea on how to counter it.
Liverpool's current strategy hinged on Suárez driving the counterattack. But now Mourinho had sacrificed his ace to go full kamikaze against Suárez.
If it stayed one-on-one, sure—if Suárez could beat Leon, he'd still be able to contribute up front.
But that was the problem—Suárez was no Messi, capable of obliterating defenses single-handedly.
Leon had already shown last season that he could effectively contain Messi.
And this season, since arriving in the Premier League, he hadn't failed once defensively—whether it was shutting down Rooney, David Silva, or Christian Eriksen, he had handled them all.
So even Rodgers himself didn't have much faith that Suárez would be able to shake off Leon.
Without Leon, Chelsea still had Lampard and Hazard to drive the attack, and Ibrahimović to finish the job.
But without Suárez, what did Liverpool have?
Coutinho and Sterling—still raw and inconsistent—certainly weren't going to carry the team on their own.
Suárez tried using his movement to stretch Chelsea's backline, but he underestimated how much trust Chelsea's defenders had in Leon's ability to contain him.
For the first time, Suárez felt completely shackled—strong but unable to unleash, all his effort stifled.
And to make matters worse, when he tried to let off steam by swearing in his native language, Leon seamlessly responded in fluent Spanish.
Suárez had assumed that would be his edge—trash-talking in Spanish.
What he didn't know was that after Leon's first heated encounter with Diego Costa, he'd gone online and done some intensive research into "football Spanish."
So, while not yet elite in fluency, Leon was more than capable when it came to the art of multilingual trash talk.
Trapped, out-cursed, and exhausted, Suárez grew more and more frustrated, to the point where he literally started grinding his teeth on the pitch.
But Leon wasn't worried.
He knew that after Suárez's infamous bite on Ivanović and subsequent suspension, he'd managed to keep himself in check for a whole year.
It wasn't until the 2014 World Cup that he cracked again, tempted by the meaty forearm of Chiellini.
And after receiving a stern warning from the FA, Suárez understood one thing: if he ever pulled something like that again in the Premier League, he'd be gone for good.
So Leon marked him aggressively and confidently, grinding Suárez's stamina down and turning him into a ghost on the pitch.
Liverpool, meanwhile, despite Chelsea missing one of their most potent attacking threats, still couldn't protect their own goal.
In the 32nd minute of the first half, Ibrahimović broke the deadlock with a thumping header.
Then in the 71st minute of the second half, Lampard followed up with a thunderous long-range strike to seal the win.
At that point, Rodgers knew the game was lost.
With a rematch against newly promoted Hull City coming up in just three days, he pragmatically subbed off Suárez and midfield mainstay Lucas to preserve energy.
Seeing this, Mourinho didn't go in for the kill. He made some substitutions of his own and sounded the retreat.
Chelsea, having exploited the situation perfectly, picked up a clean 2–0 win over Liverpool—without breaking much of a sweat.
That win also marked the end of the first half of Chelsea's 2013–14 Premier League season.
Nineteen matches played: sixteen wins, two draws, and just one loss. Fifty points in total—comfortably sitting at the top of the table.
Manchester City, in second place, had 44 points, meaning Chelsea held a two-game cushion. Their grip on the summit looked rock-solid.
But three days later, on the very first matchday of 2014, both Chelsea and City suffered shock defeats.
Neither team got their New Year off to a winning start.
Chelsea lost 2–3 away at St. Mary's against Southampton, while City—also on the road—fell 2–3 to Swansea.
Even the scorelines were identical, making the two title contenders look like misery twins.
Arsenal, meanwhile, bounced back from their defeat to Chelsea with three straight wins, leapfrogging City to reclaim second place in the table.
With the New Year opener out of the way, Premier League clubs finally entered a ten-day break.
And on the very first day of the winter transfer window, Chelsea quietly announced two new signings.
One was Mohamed Salah, the young striker who'd performed admirably in the Champions League group stage. The other was Harry Maguire, who'd made a name for himself in the Championship this season.
Salah was 21, Maguire 20—both full of potential.
They were expected to be loaned out for the second half of the season to continue gaining experience.
But for now, both had already arrived at Cobham Training Centre and met with manager José Mourinho.
According to Sky Sports, Leon—who had been staying at Cobham for extra training—was reportedly getting along very well with the two newcomers.
And just like that, Mourinho hammered down two more nails in his long-term blueprint for Chelsea's foundation.
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