Chapter 235: Defensive Crisis – Trouble Ahead for Chelsea?
After being completely dismantled by Liverpool, Arsenal fans were still in a daze even after the conclusion of Premier League matchday 25.
The loss had simply gone far beyond what any Gunners supporter had imagined.
Even many Liverpool fans couldn't quite believe what they had witnessed—that their team had slapped Arsenal with five goals in a single match.
When Martin Škrtel opened the scoring just two minutes in from a set piece, the Anfield crowd erupted in joy. But even then, no one dared to expect more.
And yet, just eight minutes later, the Slovakian center-back did it again from a corner, scoring his second of the game.
Two goals conceded within ten minutes, both from set pieces, both by the same defender—Arsenal fans were left in stunned silence.
As chaos reigned in their minds, they found themselves desperately missing Mertesacker, who was out injured, and Toulalan, the defensive midfielder who had been rotated for rest.
Had either of them been available, Arsenal's defensive coverage and interception in their own half would have been far stronger. There's no way they would've allowed Liverpool to capitalize so easily on dead-ball situations.
Wenger, rattled by the early deficit, could only shout at his players to attack and chase the game.
That decision quickly turned into a nightmare.
Liverpool's counterattacks went berserk.
If not for both Sturridge and Suárez being a bit too "joyful" with their finishing, the Reds might have buried Arsenal with five goals in the first half alone.
As it stood, Liverpool went into the break 4–0 up.
In the 56th minute of the second half, Sterling added another dagger to make it 5–0, and only then did Liverpool finally ease up.
This match had been the opening kickoff for matchday 25, aired in the early slot. That meant everyone saw it.
Most Premier League fans watched the entire demolition live. Even the players and coaches of other clubs had seen the halftime score in their locker rooms before their own matches began.
Chelsea's squad found out as they returned from their pre-match warm-up, gathering for the final motivational talk in the dressing room. Assistant coach Holland delivered the good news with a grin.
Arsenal, who had hoped to close the gap on Chelsea to just four points in this round, had spectacularly blown it.
Naturally, Chelsea's players were in high spirits.
So when they took the pitch at Stamford Bridge and proceeded to smash Newcastle 5–0, no one was surprised.
Yes, the scoreline might've been a little excessive, but it was revenge well served. Newcastle had beaten them in the first half of the season. This was payback.
And it came with a bonus: Chelsea now led Arsenal by seven points.
Had City not also annihilated Norwich 6–0 to stay hot on their heels, the players might have gone out that night to celebrate.
But with City winning again, and with a tough match against sixth-place Everton looming just three days away, the squad shelved their celebration plans.
The following morning, while most of Chelsea's regulars were still resting, Leon had already returned to Cobham for extra training with Tomas Kalas and Marco van Ginkel—neither of whom had played in matchday 25.
And that's when they heard the bad news earlier than anyone else.
John Terry had reported discomfort in his ankle the night before, even after physiotherapy. This morning, accompanied by team doctors, he underwent a full scan.
The result? A light ankle sprain. Terry was ruled out for at least the next 10 days.
He wouldn't even be able to participate in basic training until further evaluation.
The good news: no ligament damage.
Had that been the case, things would've been far worse.
By the afternoon, the rest of the first team had returned to training and were soon informed of their captain's injury.
Mourinho's expression was grim, though he kept his composure. He didn't want his players burdened by pressure or anxiety.
Terry didn't train, of course. Gary Cahill took his place in the starting eleven during tactical drills.
With Terry out, Cahill—the next most reliable center-back—had to step up.
He had always been Mourinho's go-to backup, either starting alongside Terry or playing with Kalas in domestic cup matches.
But pairing Cahill with David Luiz? That had been a rarity this season.
And there was a reason for that.
To be frank, when Mourinho first returned to Chelsea, he wasn't particularly thrilled with David Luiz.
One need only look at the defenders Mourinho had favored in his past teams to understand why.
Every center-back he trusted shared the same traits: flexible but strong, brave but smart, tactically sharp and physically reliable.
Whether it was Ricardo Carvalho during his first Chelsea stint, Lucio at Inter, or Sergio Ramos at Madrid, the pattern was clear.
Even Ramos—prone to reckless moments—was incredibly intelligent, explosive in recovery, and usually able to fix his own mistakes.
Compared to those defenders, David Luiz looked... wild.
At the beginning of the season, Mourinho had a private chat with Luiz.
He made it crystal clear: stop bombing forward so much, control the urge to charge into every duel, and stay disciplined.
Being a center-back in the Premier League was not like playing in Portugal or Serie A. Mistakes at this level cost goals.
In Portugal or Italy, if Luiz made ten risky challenges, he might recover from six or seven of them.
In the Premier League? Ten mistakes would yield seven or eight disasters.
Mourinho had watched the footage from Luiz's previous season and winced at the number of failed defensive actions.
That's why he had mostly paired Luiz with Terry. The captain's leadership and positional discipline kept Luiz in check.
Terry had the authority and ability to temper Luiz's impulsiveness. As club captain and Chelsea legend, when he spoke, Luiz listened.
That made Mourinho somewhat comfortable with the Brazilian.
But with Terry injured now?
All bets were off.
Gary Cahill was steady, dependable—Mourinho liked him. But using Cahill to replace Terry meant Luiz had to be the senior figure in the back line.
And that was the real worry.
Luiz was a wild card—capable of brilliance, but just as capable of chaos.
Mourinho wasn't sure if Luiz could keep himself in check without Terry next to him.
Cahill might be reliable, but he wasn't vocal or commanding. He wouldn't rein in Luiz's recklessness.
In theory, the Cahill-Luiz pairing was solid enough.
In practice?
Mourinho feared the worst.
Especially with a critical match against Everton coming up, followed by tough fixtures in the Champions League and Premier League's top-four race.
The next ten days would be a real test of Chelsea's defensive mettle.
And Mourinho could only hope that Luiz wouldn't self-destruct in the absence of the man who kept him grounded.
To pair Luiz against a strong side, Mourinho could only hammer home tactical reminders during training, repeatedly urging the Brazilian defender to follow Gary Cahill's instructions to the letter.
Leon, of course, knew both the strengths and the old habits of David Luiz.
But at this point, he still had reasonable confidence in the Cahill–Luiz pairing. After all, their next opponent wasn't one of the top-four teams in the league. Facing Everton shouldn't pose too great a challenge.
As long as Matić played his usual steady role, Luiz wouldn't find himself facing direct striker challenges too often. Compared to Mourinho's cautious concern, Leon was far more relaxed.
After two days of training, seeing that David Luiz was at least behaving and sticking to instructions, Mourinho finally allowed himself to relax a bit too.
The news of Terry's suspected injury had long since reached the media. So, at the pre-match press conference on February 10th, Mourinho was relentlessly asked about it.
Facing the curious gaze of the journalists, Mourinho didn't beat around the bush. He directly released Chelsea's 18-man squad for the next match.
Terry's name was missing—confirming the rumors.
No tactical smoke screen this time. Mourinho admitted outright that Terry would need roughly two weeks of rest.
If all went well, he might be back in time for the Premier League's 27th round on February 22nd.
But for the Champions League round of 16 first leg against Paris Saint-Germain on February 18th? That was out of the question.
This was a huge blow to Chelsea, and the news spread rapidly across Europe following the press conference.
How PSG's players and coaches took the news, the English media couldn't say.
But one thing was clear: Everton fans were delighted.
Chelsea remained a strong side overall, but without Terry, they'd lost their defensive anchor.
That was a significant impact. For Everton, this was a rare opportunity.
Many Everton fans took to social media to give tactical suggestions to manager Roberto Martínez.
And under the buzz of this unexpected good fortune, the Toffees arrived at Stamford Bridge the evening of February 11th for their final pre-match preparations.
During warm-ups, their striker Samuel Eto'o came over to embrace Mourinho.
Everton had lured the "Panther" back to the Premier League in the winter window with a £7 million annual salary. In six matches, he'd scored three times—rescuing Everton from their striker crisis.
Seeing his old warrior from their Inter Milan treble-winning days back in a major league, Mourinho couldn't help but smile.
Still, he joked, telling Eto'o not to play too well today.
Photos of their warm sideline reunion quickly sparked nostalgia for many Inter fans.
But once the whistle blew, there would be no mercy.
Today, Everton lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, clearly planning to bet big on Eto'o.
They consistently used their wingers to drag Matić wide, then threaded passes behind Chelsea's defensive line for the veteran striker to chase.
It wasn't complex—just direct, targeted football.
And it worked. With a dependable, experienced striker leading the line, Everton's attack had purpose.
Everything revolved around Eto'o. All paths pointed toward testing Chelsea's now-fragile back line.
At first, Mourinho remained calm.
David Luiz had done well marking Eto'o. The early defensive exchanges went smoothly, and the old lion from Africa hadn't found much room to accelerate.
Meanwhile, Chelsea's attack was running smoothly.
Leon and Oscar pressed Barry and McCarthy effectively, allowing Chelsea's 4-3-3 to generate multiple dangerous chances.
Everything was going to plan.
Mourinho believed it was just a matter of time before Chelsea broke the deadlock.
But football has a cruel sense of irony. Just when things feel most stable—that's when chaos likes to strike.
In the 23rd minute, after repelling a dangerous Hazard solo run, Everton launched a quick counter. Veteran Gareth Barry sent a sharp diagonal long ball forward.
Everton's tactic was clear: hit the afterburners on the break.
Barry's pass fell perfectly for Kevin Mirallas, who surged down the right flank.
The Belgian winger, also Hazard's national teammate, was already steaming toward Chelsea's penalty area.
Leon was sprinting back, so Matić confidently stepped up to challenge Mirallas, pressing him and shrinking his space.
Mirallas calmly slipped the ball sideways to Ross Barkley.
Barkley had a decent long shot in his locker.
But with Leon rapidly closing from behind and Chelsea's defense in decent shape, all Luiz had to do was hold position with Cahill and seal the box.
Even if Barkley got a shot off, Čech could handle it from that distance.
But David Luiz? For reasons only known to himself, he charged out—lunging directly at Barkley's feet.
Leon's heart dropped.
Barkley wasn't a world-class playmaker, but any player would know what to do in this situation.
Two easy passing options presented themselves: left to Pienaar or right to Mirallas.
As expected, Barkley nudged it left—straight to Pienaar.
Luiz whiffed. Realizing his blunder, he spun and scrambled to recover.
But Pienaar wasn't about to wait around. He drilled a low, driven cross into the box.
At that moment, only Cahill and a recovering Ivanović were back.
Bertrand, who had just bombed forward to support Hazard, was barely making it back to the top of the penalty area.
Eto'o, meanwhile, had made a brilliant diagonal run behind the defense—his timing impeccable.
He beat Čech to the ball with a perfectly timed slide, just as it skipped across the goalmouth.
The ball kissed the inside of the far post and rolled into the net.
Goal.
Eto'o sprinted to the corner flag in celebration.
David Luiz just stood there, stunned.
Running his hands through his trademark curls, he looked completely lost.
Mourinho—who had barely raised his voice all season—erupted.
He marched to the touchline, red-faced, shouting furiously in Portuguese.
Leon, still catching his breath, was hit with a sudden sense of dread.
No matter how confident he was before, at that moment he couldn't say for sure he trusted David Luiz anymore.
Was Chelsea's back line really about to fall apart?
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/johanssen10