Chapter 399: A Blue Fairy Tale, A Blue Dynasty!

Under the bright stadium lights, the excitement on Li Ang’s face was vividly captured by the broadcast cameras.

He pounded his chest, roared wildly, and celebrated passionately,

while the vast majority of the fans responded with equally wild cheers!

Wedged among the Chelsea and Milan supporters, Juventus fans were utterly miserable.

On one hand, their spirits were crushed by Li Ang’s goal;

on the other, they had to endure the neutral ground of San Siro turning into Chelsea’s de facto home field.

Among recent Champions League finals, no set of fans had ever been this suffocated.

Some Juventus supporters tried to launch a wave of booing,

but their noise was quickly drowned out by an even bigger explosion of cheers!

It turned out that Li Ang, having just broken free from his teammates’ frenzied celebrations,

was once again raising his arms, urging the Chelsea and neutral fans to roar even louder!

Fans familiar with Li Ang’s personality just chuckled knowingly.

They understood —

Li Ang was seizing the moment to build momentum for Chelsea.

The more San Siro felt like home for Chelsea,

the greater the psychological pressure on Juventus.

And no, the myth that “the atmosphere doesn’t affect professional players” is absolute nonsense.

Throughout world football,

there are very few players who can truly ignore boos and maintain perfect composure.

If that were common,

there’d be no need for home-and-away formats anymore.

Thus, creating a “home atmosphere” at San Siro was critical.

At least, Li Ang firmly believed it was another way to stabilize the path to victory.

Scoring first, taking the lead, winning the crowd —

Li Ang was extremely satisfied.

Now, Chelsea’s task was simple:

Maintain control, stabilize the rhythm, and avoid chaos.

Easier said than done.

The opponents weren’t robots —

they too had passion, they too could be shaken or inspired by moments.

Emotions could spark furious attacks, desperate counterattacks —

in such volatility, keeping control was incredibly difficult.

But for Chelsea, who were determined to win the crown,

there was no alternative.

After finishing his celebration,

Li Ang pulled his teammates together and repeatedly emphasized:

Control. Control the game.

At the same time,

Mourinho stood at the sideline, shouting the same two words:

“Calm!” “Control!”

Seeing their coach’s and captain’s insistence,

Chelsea’s players quickly cooled their heads and adjusted their tactics.

On the Juventus bench, Allegri paced anxiously.

Though worried, he outwardly remained composed.

During the brief lull before play restarted,

he kept encouraging his players:

keep pressing, keep attacking.

Yes, it was risky.

No, it wasn’t the safest tactical choice.

But a clear, united mindset was more important than anything else.

And if Juventus wanted to equalize,

they had to push forward boldly —

otherwise, time would only drift further in Chelsea’s favor.

Allegri’s rallying cry seemed to take effect:

Juventus’ players began slapping each other on the back, reigniting their spirit.

But Li Ang saw it clearly —

and it only hardened his resolve:

Suppress them ruthlessly, never give them hope.

Having scored once and secured the advantage,

Li Ang now threw himself fully into defensive pressing.

No longer just locking down Pogba —

he now targeted the entire Juventus midfield trio.

After adjusting their tactics to focus on offense,

Juventus had switched to a 4-3-3.

Cuadrado and Dybala pushed higher up, forming a true front three.

Pogba and Marchisio sat in midfield, with Khedira holding deeper.

It was a bold shift —

not typically Allegri’s conservative style —

but it reflected his stubborn courage at crucial moments.

However, unfortunately for him,

he ran into a Li Ang at the peak of his defensive powers —

and one who had deliberately set his sights on dismantling Juventus’ midfield!

Previously, with only Pogba contained,

Juventus could still rely on Marchisio’s deep control and Dybala’s dropping deep.

But now, with both Pogba and Marchisio under siege,

Juventus’ midfield engine sputtered badly.

Khedira could hardly be trusted to run the attack.

Even Juventus fans didn’t believe he could shoulder that role.

Without reliable midfield distribution,

Juventus’ forwards were left isolated —

forced to drop deeper and waste energy just retrieving the ball.

Had Pirlo still been around,

his precision passing could have solved this.

Pirlo could have effortlessly shifted the play,

forcing Li Ang into difficult choices between closing him or closing Pogba.

But alas, there was no Pirlo anymore.

Khedira attempted a few long passes,

but all of them either missed or were intercepted by Chelsea’s alert defense.

Frustrated, Allegri was forced to adjust again:

dropping Marchisio deeper and pushing Khedira higher up.

Now, Juventus had a long-passing source —

but at the cost of completely disrupting their attacking midfield structure.

Seeing Marchisio pulled deep,

Li Ang grinned subtly.

Pogba, noticing, wanted to cry.

Because now,

once again,

he became Juventus’ main midfield target.

Sure enough, after Juventus’ reshuffle,

Li Ang immediately resumed pressing Pogba intensely.

It wasn’t that he looked down on Khedira —

he simply knew Khedira too well.

He understood every strength and flaw.

Khedira could help relieve some ball pressure, yes —

but in the fast pace of the Champions League,

his slow recovery after forward runs could be ruthlessly exposed.

Thus, with Pogba repeatedly stifled,

Juventus’ attack collapsed again.

And with that collapse,

Chelsea surged ever closer toward ultimate victory.

It wasn’t that Khedira was bad and reckless —

it was simply that his strengths and weaknesses were so glaring that Li Ang couldn’t help but exploit them.

By focusing excessively on Pogba while deliberately ignoring Khedira,

Li Ang forced Juventus’ other players to treat Khedira as their temporary organizer.

Receiving a flood of passes, Khedira felt a mixture of anxiety and excitement.

Very soon, confidence swelled within him —

the belief that he could rescue the team.

Staying deep and recycling possession? Impossible.

Within minutes, he was back to his old habits, charging forward eagerly with the ball.

From the sideline, Allegri’s eyelids twitched violently.

He instinctively sensed danger.

Yet, seeing Juventus’ attackers finally getting more touches,

he hesitated — and suppressed his unease.

Finally, Juventus’ offense was finding some rhythm.

But Chelsea’s defenders were already eyeing Khedira hungrily.

His reckless surges, average ball control, and lack of speed —

he was basically delivering himself as prey.

Matić was itching to pounce, but a signal from Li Ang told him:

“Not yet — be patient!”

Li Ang remained calm.

Khedira’s adventurous runs had only just begun.

If they struck too early, Allegri would surely rein him back.

Better to wait —

wait until Khedira dragged the whole Juventus midfield higher up —

then strike!

Matić trusted Li Ang’s judgment without question.

He and Kroos stayed disciplined, sitting deep and holding the line.

Li Ang, meanwhile, continued pressing Pogba,

keeping Juventus’ true engine room suffocated.

Meanwhile, Khedira, emboldened by his unchecked freedom,

pressed higher and higher.

And in his wake, Evra and Lichtsteiner — Juventus’ aging fullbacks —

also pushed aggressively forward.

In modern football, fullbacks must join the attack —

but this overcommitment planted ticking time bombs in Juventus’ defense.

Li Ang’s eyes glinted.

Still he waited.

Waited until Bonucci himself ventured toward the halfway line…

Now!

Li Ang signaled.

The great Chelsea machine roared to life,

gears clicking into place, sharp fangs bared.

Still lost in his ball-carrying bliss,

Khedira hesitated slightly on a pass —

and Matić’s long leg stole the ball cleanly!

Kroos picked it up instantly and launched a long ball forward —

targeting Li Ang.

Chelsea’s counterattack was rapid, direct, and ruthless.

Allegri, seeing it unfold, screamed frantically for his players to retreat.

But they were too slow.

Li Ang, now functioning as a pivot striker,

shielded the ball against Marchisio,

then spun and sent it wide.

De Bruyne, having escaped the too-forward Evra,

sprinted down the flank.

Compared to Chelsea’s sprinters,

Juventus’ fullbacks looked old and sluggish.

De Bruyne surged to the byline and whipped a massive, curling cross —

over the near post,

over Suárez’s leaping attempt,

curling toward the far side.

Hazard, arriving perfectly, killed the ball dead,

then chopped sharply inside,

ghosting past the recovering Lichtsteiner.

Hazard loved moments like this —

sometimes even more than scoring or assisting.

But Li Ang’s urgent shout jolted him back to reality.

Instead of trying to beat another man,

Hazard smartly squared the ball to the top of the box.

Li Ang arrived first.

Without even glancing back,

he shaped for a shot —

then calmly pulled the ball back, sending Marchisio flying.

Bonucci, abandoning his zone in desperation, lunged.

Li Ang, already anticipating this, slipped the ball behind him.

Flawless, fluid —

he made a mockery of Juventus’ defense.

Hazard received the ball in acres of space —

and fired immediately!

Buffon reacted brilliantly,

but Bonucci’s recklessness had opened too much space,

and Hazard was simply too close.

The ball whizzed past Buffon’s fingertips,

nestling into the bottom corner!

San Siro erupted!

The roars shook the night sky!

Mourinho, no longer able to contain himself,

leapt into the air, pumping his fists, sprinting along the touchline!

Allegri sat on the bench, hands covering his face.

Tactically, he hadn’t done much wrong tonight —

but he couldn’t control the mistakes of his players.

At the corner flag, Chelsea’s players mobbed Hazard.

Li Ang hugged him tightly, slapping his head and shouting praise.

The entire team was overcome with joy —

pure, simple happiness.

Perhaps at that moment,

they didn’t even realize just how precious that goal would be.

But Li Ang knew.

In his heart, a weight lifted.

He had given everything for Chelsea.

Three years ago, he arrived chasing a broken dream —

among a team of old warriors still desperate for glory.

Now, he had left behind a legend at this club.

A blue fairy tale,

a blue dynasty.