Chapter 384: Welcome to Hell
The mentality of the Manchester City players had completely collapsed at this point.
After fighting hard for an entire season, leading their direct rivals for most of the campaign, they had still fallen at the final hurdle.
Even though many City players had mentally prepared themselves before the match, when the moment truly arrived, they couldn't accept the brutal reality.
Their hearts scattered, and no matter how well the tactics were laid out, they were no longer executable.
But Guardiola no longer wanted to blame his players.
He sat silently on the bench, staring blankly at his players on the pitch with a bitter smile curling at the corner of his lips.
They had given it their all.
Whether it was him, his coaching staff, or the players of Manchester City's first team — they had thrown everything they had into this season's title race against Chelsea.
Falling at the last step was painful, but as City's leader, Guardiola couldn't afford to wallow in sadness like his players.
He had to force himself to accept reality, to keep the faith needed to challenge Chelsea again.
After all, the league wasn't officially over yet.
Even though City had lost control of the title race, theoretically, they still had a chance to turn things around...
After a brief moment of self-consolation, Guardiola walked to the sidelines and signaled to his players to relax and keep their heads clear.
He wasn't expecting a miraculous comeback.
He simply wanted his players to let go of their mental burden and finish the match properly.
There were still a few league games left.
Unless Chelsea went on a winning streak to clinch the title early, City could not afford to give up.
Maintaining mental stability was crucial for them now.
Seeing Guardiola's repeated hand gestures, many City players managed to calm down somewhat.
But after witnessing Chelsea quickly regroup and form a tight defensive block, City's attackers found it hard to muster up the will to press forward.
Time was almost up.
Under the expectant gaze of the home fans at Stamford Bridge, regular time soon came to an end.
After the two minutes of added time, the referee blew the final whistle!
The most highly anticipated clash of Premier League Round 34 had officially ended.
Chelsea had completed the season double over Manchester City!
Even though they had trailed their direct rival mid-season, Chelsea had delivered near-flawless performances in the two biggest matches of the campaign, living up to the expectations of their supporters.
Winning these two critical "six-point" matches effectively sealed Chelsea's position at the top of the league.
With five games left, including a rescheduled match, Chelsea were now three points ahead of City.
And the entire Chelsea squad was bursting with confidence about securing the title.
After the match, Li Ang led his teammates in multiple rounds of applause toward the home fans to show their appreciation.
Just like last season, Chelsea maintained an unbeaten home record this year.
While the efforts of the players and coaching staff were crucial, the passionate support from Chelsea's die-hard fans played an equally important role.
They created a terrifying atmosphere at Stamford Bridge that placed enormous psychological pressure on every visiting team.
And of course, they gave Chelsea's players all the encouragement and belief they needed.
In the next Premier League match, these loyal fans would again fill the stands to fight alongside Chelsea.
During his post-match interview, Li Ang heavily praised the home fans for their outstanding support.
He even openly called for them to "properly welcome" Tottenham Hotspur in the next match.
Naturally, once his comments were picked up by various English media outlets, it triggered a lively debate among Premier League fans.
But regardless of how other teams' fans viewed it, fans of Arsenal and the other London clubs absolutely loved Li Ang's remarks.
After all, Spurs were basically the "public enemy" of London teams.
Especially with Spurs' resurgence under Pochettino this season — they were fifth in the table, just two points behind Arsenal.
Even Arsenal fans, facing their traditional rivals, couldn't guarantee a victory anymore.
Other London clubs were even less confident.
But when it came to Chelsea —
those fans firmly believed Chelsea could shut Spurs down and were more than happy to see it.
Tottenham's own fans, predictably, were not pleased with the public sentiment and began fighting back online.
However, Spurs' coaches and players remained low-key in the build-up.
They had no choice.
They were fighting desperately for a Champions League spot,
and going up against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, victory seemed unlikely.
Even securing a point would be considered a success.
None of them wanted to provoke Chelsea into unleashing their full fury.
If Spurs somehow forced Chelsea to ignore their upcoming Champions League semifinals just to teach them a lesson,
that would be disastrous.
Whether Spurs' humility would work or not remained to be seen.
After a five-day break following the City match, Mourinho's matchday squad announcement for the Spurs game was packed with reserve players.
It was a big boost for Tottenham.
Pochettino even wished Chelsea good luck in their Champions League semifinal at his pre-match press conference —
a clear hint that he hoped Chelsea would be distracted and go easy on them.
Sports journalists in England generally understood Mourinho's decision.
Facing Atlético Madrid promised two brutal, exhausting battles.
Chelsea had to prioritize their resources.
Rotation was necessary.
Had Mourinho refused to rotate, the media would have criticized him even more harshly.
On April 23rd, carrying some measure of hope, Tottenham arrived at Stamford Bridge.
Warming up on the pitch, Spurs players were greeted by a wall of jeers.
Li Ang didn't really feel any hostility toward the current Spurs squad —
in fact, he still had a few old friends among them.
But as a player who had been at Chelsea for three seasons now,
he certainly didn't feel any affection for Tottenham either.
Before the match, it was only natural for Li Ang to chat and greet a few old friends.
But once the whistle blew for kickoff, he threw all personal feelings aside and immediately delivered a heavy tackle on Tottenham's playmaker, Christian Eriksen!
His decisive sliding tackle broke up Spurs' attacking move, simultaneously sending Eriksen sprawling onto the turf.
Watching the slow-motion replay, it was clear Li Ang hadn't committed a foul —
but the tackle was so aggressive, and Eriksen's fall so dramatic, that the referee still blew for a foul without hesitation.
Li Ang shrugged and spread his hands innocently before dropping back into his defensive position.
Whether the referee whistled him or not didn't matter.
What mattered was delivering a psychological blow to Spurs' attack early, making their attackers hesitate.
Normally, this dirty work fell to Matić, but with the Serbian resting today,
Li Ang — starting as a defensive midfielder — had to personally get his hands dirty again.
Judging from the early impact, his intimidation was very effective.
After seeing Eriksen hit hard, both Son Heung-min and Lamela became wary of Li Ang.
Tottenham's wingers started choosing safer passing options instead of their usual direct dribbling.
Watching this, Pochettino could only shake his head helplessly.
By the fifth minute, he was already standing at the touchline, urging his players to be more aggressive.
Fortunately for Spurs, they still had Mousa Dembélé.
The Belgian midfielder was versatile and excellent at ball progression and distribution.
Thus, even with Eriksen suppressed, Dembélé could shoulder the burden of organizing attacks.
Tottenham's fullbacks, Danny Rose and Kyle Walker, also had strong technical ability.
Their constant overlapping on the wings allowed Spurs to maintain attacking pressure.
This tactic — bombing forward with the fullbacks — had been one of Spurs' main weapons all season.
Against weaker Premier League teams, they often tore open both flanks quickly and created threats.
But today, facing the best defensive team in the league,
Spurs' wing play wasn't nearly as effective.
The main reason?
Chelsea's fullbacks today — Azpilicueta and Kalas — both had outstanding one-on-one defending ability.
Even if Li Ang and Van Ginkel occasionally didn't rotate back in time,
Azpilicueta and Kalas could still win their individual duels.
Rose and Walker charged forward enthusiastically,
but rarely succeeded in reaching the byline to cross.
Whenever Chelsea's fullbacks pressed close, Spurs' fullbacks had no choice but to turn back and recycle possession.
In the first 15 minutes, Chelsea — having rotated many starters — focused primarily on defending,
testing the strength of Spurs' attacks.
But once they realized Tottenham's attacking players were somewhat off-form today,
Chelsea gradually launched increasingly dangerous counterattacks.
Li Ang and Van Ginkel sitting deep gave Chelsea a strong foundation to win the ball back.
And today's starting No. 10, De Bruyne, had that magical ability to deliver killer passes during transitions.
While Salah and Gnabry didn't possess the finishing quality of Hazard or De Bruyne,
they had one big advantage today — sheer volume of opportunities.
Thanks to frequent turnovers, Salah and Gnabry received plenty of balls to attack with.
Supported by Llorente, who acted as a pivot up front,
the wingers were able to get into dangerous positions again and again.
Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge roared their support,
their cheers driving Salah and Gnabry to attack with more confidence.
All that was missing was the final touch.
And in the 25th minute, the breakthrough finally came.
Li Ang, having diligently defended for much of the half,
suddenly surged forward with the ball!
Using a quick feint near the center circle, he skipped past Eriksen with ease.
Facing the advancing Dembélé, Li Ang didn't force it.
He laid the ball off to the onrushing Loftus-Cheek.
Having recently been "warned" by Mourinho, Loftus-Cheek was no longer indulging in dribbling.
He drove the ball forward confidently.
Because Li Ang had already pulled multiple Spurs defenders out of position,
Loftus-Cheek wasn't immediately pressured.
He smoothly carried the ball to the final third and slipped it wide to Salah.
The Egyptian winger didn't waste time with tricks.
He knocked the ball past Danny Rose with one powerful touch!
Even before reaching the byline, Salah swung in a curling cross with his weaker foot.
At the near post, Llorente dragged Vertonghen away with his movement.
At the top of the box, Li Ang chested the ball down!
Seeing Alderweireld rushing at him, Li Ang coolly passed left.
Gnabry burst from the flank,
controlled the ball, and darted into the box.
Walker couldn't keep up!
The young German took a quick glance, adjusted, and unleashed a fierce shot toward the far corner!
Hugo Lloris' shorter reach was exposed again —
he couldn't get a hand to it!
The ball kissed the inside of the far post and rolled into the net!
Gnabry, seizing a rare start and scoring, was ecstatic.
He looked ready to tear off his shirt in celebration.
But sharp-eyed Li Ang rushed over, grabbed the excited youngster,
and steered him toward the corner flag to celebrate properly without risking a yellow card.
Stamford Bridge erupted into a thunderous roar!
For Chelsea's players, it was music to their ears.
But for Spurs' players, it was terrifying —
a wave of sound and pressure that felt overwhelming.
Watching the madness, the Sky Sports commentator blurted out instinctively:
"Welcome to the Hell of West London!"
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