Chapter 398 He Who Controls the Midfield Controls the Game

Pogba didn’t understand why Li Ang, who had always been warm and friendly toward him, could turn so cold in an instant, acting as if he didn’t even recognize him.

Being treated so indifferently by his “idol,” Pogba instinctively felt wronged and frustrated.

He wanted to seek an explanation, but Li Ang had already turned away and rejoined the game.

If Pogba had been born in the ’80s, he probably wouldn’t have felt so confused or hurt.

That generation of footballers still adhered to the principle that “the pitch is a battlefield.”

No matter how close you were off the field, once the match began, you were 100% opponents.

Joking and laughing with the enemy before or during an important match?

Expect a hairdryer treatment from your coach and senior teammates during halftime.

Li Ang, although born in the 1990s and only two years older than Pogba, had a completely different view of football and the match mentality.

If he were to self-describe,

he would say he was similar to Keane or Vieira.

Smart and tough on the pitch, willing to sacrifice for the team,

and loved battling hard against the strongest opponents.

Maybe off the pitch he could be friends with those rivals,

but during the match, he would do everything to crush them.

In this sense, Li Ang was truly a “leftover soldier” from a bygone era.

Even Hazard, who was a few months older than Li Ang, sometimes teased him for his “old-school” mentality on the pitch.

Thus, it was perfectly logical that Pogba and Li Ang didn’t share the same “wavelength” during the match.

After recovering possession,

Li Ang quickly returned to organizing Chelsea’s next attack,

paying no mind to Pogba’s emotional turmoil.

Juventus’ other midfielders, seeing their attack break down, quickly pulled back into formation,

denying Chelsea easy counterattack opportunities.

Clearly, Allegri had learned from last year’s defeat:

he was highly cautious about Chelsea’s devastating counterattacks,

and Juventus’ tactical preparations were thorough.

But Chelsea’s offensive arsenal wasn’t limited to quick counters.

When it came to organized, methodical attacks,

Chelsea were superior to Juventus.

One glance at the technical attributes of both sides’ attackers and midfielders made it obvious.

Chelsea’s front six could play almost any style of football,

and Mourinho’s ability to coach attacking football was unquestionable.

Yes, he demanded a lot from his players,

but those who met his standards often delivered peak performances.

Every member of Chelsea’s front three met Mourinho’s expectations —

each one technically brilliant and tactically intelligent.

By contrast, Juventus’ front line, while dominant in Serie A,

was riddled with technical gaps from Mourinho’s perspective.

Morata and Cuadrado had flaws;

Dybala was skillful but physically fragile.

In terms of midfield organization,

Chelsea were simply better.

Li Ang and Kroos — two midfield maestros — anchored Chelsea’s system.

As long as either performed normally, Chelsea’s attack would flow smoothly.

Juventus, however, needed both Marchisio and Pogba playing at their best just to match last year’s Pirlo-driven stability.

Marchisio handled deep distribution,

Pogba pushed forward for attacking transitions.

If either faltered, Juventus’ midfield would collapse.

Pogba’s occasional over-dribbling risked costly turnovers,

and Marchisio’s lack of dribbling penetration limited attacking thrust.

As for Khedira —

once Mourinho’s beloved and frustrating soldier —

he was solid at defending and surging runs,

but he wasn’t an orchestrator.

Comparatively, Chelsea’s midfield setup was far superior.

Superior strength didn’t guarantee victory,

but it ensured a higher, more stable ceiling.

Mourinho understood this perfectly,

and so did Li Ang.

Li Ang trusted Kroos’ consistency.

Even if he focused heavily on suppressing Pogba and leading counterattacks,

he believed Kroos alone could keep Chelsea’s midfield humming.

Meanwhile, without a fully functioning Pogba,

how much supply could Juventus’ forwards expect?

Even Messi and Cristiano needed service;

no midfield support, no goals — simple.

Unfortunately, the emotional Pogba didn’t see it that way.

Still reeling from losing the ball,

he grew stubborn, demanding possession and challenging Li Ang head-on.

The results were disastrous.

Pogba couldn’t get past Li Ang —

in fact, he failed every single one-on-one dribble attempt.

Each time Juventus painstakingly regained possession,

Pogba handed it back cheaply.

Juventus’ strikers — starved of service —

were reduced to helpless spectators.

Meanwhile, Chelsea, buoyed by Li Ang and Matić’s relentless pressing and Kroos’ calm distribution,

piled on wave after wave of attacks.

As Juventus’ midfield crumbled,

the early balance of the match disappeared.

Chelsea seized full control,

launching relentless assaults on Juventus’ backline.

An increasingly frustrated Allegri stormed to the touchline,

screaming furiously at Pogba.

Pogba’s emotional high finally crashed.

Seeing the match spiraling out of control,

he quickly swallowed his pride and tried to stabilize Juventus’ midfield connections.

But it was too late.

Li Ang, sensing blood,

pressed even harder —

smothering Pogba’s movements and cutting off his passing options.

Neutral fans watching were instantly reminded of all the times

Li Ang had shut down the world’s biggest stars in past Champions League battles.

Even peak-era Messi had struggled against Li Ang’s suffocating defense.

What chance did a still-maturing Pogba have?

Panicking, Pogba could only play safe passes.

Marchisio tried shifting distribution to Khedira,

but under Kroos’ pressure,

Khedira’s attacks sputtered into endless back-passes.

Juventus’ midfield stagnated.

Dybala, forced to drop deep to collect the ball,

was dragged completely out of his usual position.

Allegri’s carefully crafted attacking plan was falling apart piece by piece.

Dybala’s stamina was precious, and Allegri hoped his star could conserve it for moments near Chelsea’s penalty area to create real threats,

rather than wasting energy constantly dropping deep just to pick up the ball and dribble forward!

But seeing Pogba utterly locked down one-on-one by Li Ang,

Allegri knew he couldn’t count on him anymore.

After thinking for a moment,

Allegri signaled for Cuadrado to drop back and help ease Dybala’s ball-carrying burden.

This made Pogba panic even more.

When the ball didn’t flow through him,

he simply wasn’t as effective —

his off-ball movement was far less dazzling than when he was involved in possession.

Li Ang could easily swallow his ego, sacrifice himself to defend for the team.

Pogba, however, could not.

Even during regular matches, Allegri’s requests for Pogba to focus more on defensive duties often went ignored.

How could he possibly accept becoming invisible now, losing the spotlight, after being humiliated by Li Ang?

Pogba, now in his own half, began running with unusual intensity —

but not to defend.

No, he was desperately trying to get the ball back into his own hands.

Li Ang, eyes locked on his “prey,” didn’t rush forward unless the ball was about to reach Pogba.

Whenever Marchisio even looked like he might pass to Pogba,

Li Ang immediately closed him down, squeezing out Pogba’s space.

And when Pogba finally did receive the ball,

Li Ang intercepted him coldly, side-footing the ball away and sending Pogba tumbling onto the turf.

Flat on the ground, Pogba looked pleadingly at the referee,

but the official simply signaled for him to get up — no foul.

Pogba’s expression twisted into frustration,

and he slammed the grass with his palms in anger.

At that moment,

he looked just like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum.

His smooth career had left him with a fragile mentality under pressure.

At Juventus, coaches and teammates usually coddled him.

But not the referee,

who sternly warned him to get up without any sympathy.

Still wanting to argue, Pogba was quickly pulled away by Marchisio, who saw disaster coming.

Li Ang simply smiled at the scene,

while Chelsea fans at home erupted into cheers!

Pogba’s growing frustration spelled disaster for Juventus’ midfield.

Meanwhile, Mourinho relaxed even more on the bench.

Li Ang didn’t rush.

Even with Pogba mentally rattled,

he continued to mark him relentlessly, not giving him any space.

Chelsea’s attackers, steadily probing,

finally created the first real chance of the game in the 21st minute.

Kroos, receiving a lateral pass from Trippier,

launched a precise long ball to Hazard speeding down the flank.

No fancy tricks —

Hazard simply shifted his shoulder and feinted past the unbalanced Lichtsteiner,

then sprinted down the line.

Even at full sprint, Lichtsteiner couldn’t catch up.

Hedging his hopes, Lichtsteiner prayed that Khedira could block Hazard.

But Hazard easily skipped past Khedira with a dazzling body feint,

sending the Juventus fans at San Siro cursing under their breath.

Li Ang, watching from midfield, couldn’t help but glance at Khedira with amusement.

Ah, Sami — always full of surprises.

When everyone expected nothing, he could amaze you;

but the moment you trusted him, he could instantly blow it.

Hazard burst into the Juventus penalty area, shredding their defense.

Chiellini quickly slid over to block his inside cut,

but Hazard whipped in a spinning cross!

Bonucci, however, wasn’t properly positioned —

pushed around by Suárez.

As Hazard’s cross came in,

Suárez leapt first,

forcing Bonucci into a reactive jump.

Neither man connected cleanly,

and the ball floated awkwardly toward the back post.

De Bruyne raced in ahead of Evra but saw his angle shut down by Buffon,

so instead of shooting,

he quickly chipped a pass to the edge of the box.

Li Ang, sprinting into the area,

planted his foot just on the penalty arc.

Without time to adjust,

he swung his right leg at the incoming ball with perfect timing!

Buffon, watching carefully,

predicted Li Ang would aim for the top corner and leapt early.

But — Li Ang had baited him!

Instead of curling to the far post,

Li Ang’s shot drilled straight toward the center.

Buffon, flying the wrong way, realized his mistake too late.

The ball slammed into the net!

The deafening roar from the Chelsea fans nearly tore the night sky apart!

Li Ang sprinted toward the corner flag,

arms wide,

before sliding across the turf in a euphoric celebration!

On the grand stage of the Champions League final, Li Ang had scored again!

what could you say about a man who always delivered in the biggest moments?

Since his debut,

Li Ang had now recorded personal stats in four consecutive Champions League finals.

Even at Real Madrid —

even when not the midfield boss —

he had always shone on the biggest stage.

Such a big-game player was unimaginably rare.

On Chelsea’s bench, Mourinho could no longer contain his excitement.

Li Ang had delivered — again!

Once again, his proudest disciple had opened the door to victory.

Tactics evolved with every passing season,

and every great coach had his own philosophy.

But one truth remained eternal:

He who controls the midfield, controls the world.