Chapter 276: In This Era, I Am Destiny!
Aguero, who had just scored a crucial goal, stood before the roaring crowd, equally overwhelmed by emotion.
After pounding his chest and letting out a fierce roar, it looked like he was about to rip off his jersey in a frenzy of celebration.
But David Silva reacted quickly and stopped him just in time, preventing him from making a foolish mistake.
Every Manchester City player on the pitch felt an immense surge of strength within them at that moment.
Because they had placed unwavering faith in their tactical approach, and now, at the start of the second half, they had achieved the result they most desperately needed.
This proved that their persistence was not in vain. That the tactical system they believed in was indeed correct.
Compared to winning or losing a few matches, it's a far crueler blow for a professional player to be forced to accept that their team's tactical philosophy might be fundamentally flawed.
On the other hand, when a team's game plan starts to bear fruit and success begins to bloom, it injects a powerful surge of belief and conviction into the players. That belief alone can act as the most potent shot of adrenaline.
"Team morale"—this mysterious, intangible element—has always been impossible to consistently control on the pitch.
Motivational speeches from the coach may work for a while, but sustaining high-level performance for an extended period is rare.
To see a team like Manchester City, already trailing by two goals in the first half, come out in the second half with such momentum and immediately pull one back—this kind of situation is rare in professional football.
It brought to mind a certain memory for Leon: Juventus from the 2017-18 season.
That legendary side had come agonizingly close to toppling Real Madrid's Champions League dynasty.
They nearly orchestrated one of the most unbelievable comebacks in modern football history.
In that second-leg quarterfinal match, Juventus was the underdog by every metric—trailing heavily on aggregate and clearly inferior in raw strength.
Real Madrid had already scored three away goals in the first leg, while Juve had drawn a blank.
The odds of a comeback were practically nonexistent.
Yet, against all logic, Juventus fought like warriors, driving Real Madrid to the brink of elimination.
Their secret? A full-throttle, do-or-die attack strategy from the opening whistle of the second leg, backed by a fighting spirit that never once wavered.
While it might seem inappropriate to compare a Champions League quarterfinal to today's Premier League clash between Chelsea and Manchester City, the parallels between the second-half City and that legendary Juve side were hard to ignore.
Both teams made bold, unexpected tactical gambles.
And when those gambles began to pay off, the surging momentum of the team unlocked new levels of performance.
One could argue that these sides were merely gambling and that luck played a role in buying them time against superior opponents.
If that all-important goal hadn't come quickly, or if Real Madrid or Chelsea had scored again to seal the game, their bold tactics would've seemed laughable in hindsight.
But no one can deny this much—they fought with courage, and by doing so, earned themselves a chance to stay in the fight.
Leon admired such opponents. He respected them.
But that didn't mean he was willing to be the "stepping stone" villain in someone else's miracle comeback.
Guardiola and his players had their own strategies for seizing control of the game.
But Leon had his ways too—ways to shatter their dreams of a comeback.
He had once faced the dying embers of the peak "Dream Team" Barcelona.
He had faced the galactic Bayern Munich, and the explosive Borussia Dortmund at their height.
At his worst, Messi had dribbled past him like a training cone.
Even under full man-marking, Messi still managed to put up goals and assists in the same match.
Yet even in those darkest of moments, when facing opponents far more terrifying than today's Manchester City, Leon had never panicked or doubted himself.
He had reaped the rewards of fame while helping build the Mourinho-era Real Madrid dynasty.
But people often forgot—every one of those legendary matches had been won with his blood, sweat, and tears soaked into the pitch.
"You guys are strong, no doubt. But it's not enough… not even close."
On the live broadcast, Leon, already in position, suddenly flashed a wild grin at the Manchester City players.
It was a grin so twisted, so fierce, it looked almost menacing.
Gone was his usual calm and warm smile—replaced by a cold, toothy expression filled with excitement and unrestrained ferocity.
This was a side of Leon that the public had never seen before.
And as that wicked smile was caught on the stadium's big screen, the tens of thousands of Manchester City fans in Etihad Stadium erupted—not with cheers this time, but with furious boos.
Guardiola's own smile vanished as he caught a glimpse of the unfamiliar fire in Leon's eyes.
His heart clenched, ever so slightly.
Meanwhile, Mourinho, standing not far from him, gazed thoughtfully at Leon, a glimmer of anticipation rising in his eyes.
If Leon was prepared to take on even more tactical responsibility in this critical moment—
Then without a doubt, Mourinho could place his full, unconditional trust in the midfield general he himself had molded.
Why wouldn't he?
Leon was the fastest-rising young star in La Liga back in the day.
He had been the MVP of the Champions League final.
He had dominated Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final.
And last season, he had been chosen as the Premier League MVP by all three major evaluation boards.
Yes, the home turf atmosphere of the Etihad might lend strength to Manchester City today.
But Mourinho still believed Leon was the one carrying that mysterious "luck" that so often decided matches.
At the very least, Leon had already proven, time and again, that he was the Premier League's most dominant force—
A true superstar capable of shaping the outcome of any match.
With that thought in mind, Mourinho paused his plan for an emergency substitution.
He gave no new tactical instructions to the players on the pitch.
He didn't need to.
Every Chelsea player on the field immediately understood what that meant.
Mourinho had decided to hand Leon full control.
The tactical approach remained the same—they would continue their open, attacking battle against City.
But every detail, every in-game adjustment, would now be orchestrated by Leon himself.
It was the kind of trust that any other Chelsea player—aside from Leon—would envy or even resent.
But in truth, not a single player, including those on the bench, showed any signs of dissatisfaction.
Leon's raw talent earned their respect.
But even more than that, it was the immense pressure and responsibility that came with that trust—plainly visible on Leon's shoulders—that silenced any resentment.
With great tactical authority comes great tactical responsibility.
And as last season's midfield commander for Bayern, Kroos understood better than anyone what it meant to take on such a role.
He felt a genuine sense of relief and admiration toward Leon.
At such a crucial juncture, having a midfield partner like Leon—someone he could trust completely—brought a calm over Kroos that spread throughout the team.
The rest of the Chelsea squad felt it too.
With Leon stepping up, showing the poise of a true leader, they naturally found comfort and stability in his presence.
And with veterans like Ibrahimović and Terry taking care of things at the front and back, reinforcing the younger players' mindset, the entire team was ready.
Ready for war.
The powerful confidence radiating from Leon quickly began to affect the Manchester City players closest to him.
When he released the full aura of a football superstar, even Aguero and Fabregas couldn't help but feel the pressure spike in their hearts.
After all, they had been ruthlessly dominated by Leon multiple times just last season.
Whether it was caution or habit, the City players instinctively increased their focus on marking Leon.
This overly intense double- and triple-marking didn't frustrate Leon.
On the contrary, in this increasingly difficult environment to receive the ball, he saw even more options and possibilities for attacking play.
Leon continued to delegate most of the organizational and distribution work to Kroos.
Compared to the current Manchester City's high pressing, the Kroos in Leon's memory was a super playmaker who wasn't even afraid of peak Atletico Madrid's suffocating pressure.
And soon enough, Leon's faith in Kroos was proven correct.
Without Leon dropping deep to assist much in organizing, Kroos—using Matic's support—managed to redistribute and orchestrate Chelsea's backfield with perfect order and efficiency.
While not as agile or slippery as Iniesta, Kroos's ability to shield the ball and evade defenders was just as sharp, and his two-footed passing was as balanced as ever.
Unless faced with a monster like Leon, who could humble himself to deliver relentless full-match man-marking, Kroos's performance would be nearly impossible to disrupt.
At least for now, every pressing attempt from City's midfield and forwards on Kroos was coming up empty.
Guardiola once again felt an inexplicable tension rise within him.
City was beginning to win the ball back less and less frequently.
Part of this was due to Kroos's increasing influence and his near-perfect passing.
But Guardiola also knew something else with crystal clarity—his players were reaching the point where they had to manage their physical output. They needed to catch their breath.
Not every team was suited to be trained into a track-and-field squad.
Compared to last season, this new City team had certainly improved their running stats by a noticeable margin.
But when it came to endurance, they were still clearly at a disadvantage compared to Chelsea.
To go toe-to-toe with Chelsea for over sixty minutes—with hard tackles, intense pressing, and all-out counters—it was already an incredible feat for City's players.
They weren't collapsing from exhaustion just yet, but if they wanted to survive the final phase of the match and keep up the pace with Chelsea, they needed at least five minutes to slow the tempo.
That five-minute breathing space was their lifeline.
Guardiola sensed this immediately. He didn't hesitate and called for Nasri to begin warming up.
If nothing unexpected happened, Manchester City would soon switch to a 4-4-2, shoring up their midfield and forward lines to stabilize the rhythm and sharpen attacking penetration.
Unlike his usually conservative in-game adjustments in other matches, Guardiola believed he had been quite bold in this one.
But just as Nasri began his warm-up routine, Leon, who had been calmly dealing with City's double-team defense all match, suddenly shoved Fabregas aside while holding the ball and launched a powerful, forceful drive forward!
Guardiola's heart skipped a beat as he stared at Leon's sudden charge.
A strange thought formed in his mind:
"Could it be… he was waiting for this exact moment to reaccelerate the game on purpose?!"
A giant question mark seemed to hang before Guardiola's eyes.
Leon's furious advance was eventually forced to a halt by the combined efforts of Kolarov and Fernandinho.
But City's backline still failed to win back possession.
At the last second, Leon shielded the ball and passed it back to Azpilicueta, who had come up in support.
After a few passes, Kroos once again found himself in control of the ball in Chelsea's half.
The City players instinctively exhaled in relief, thinking:
"Now we can finally catch our breath for a moment, right?"
But Leon quickly moved back to receive the ball again, and once more faced Fabregas one-on-one—driving straight at him with that same aggressive push!
City's plan for a short rest was completely ruined.
Leon, leading Chelsea's front line, kept launching wave after wave of assault on Manchester City's half.
Fernandinho quickly became the most exhausted player on the pitch.
In the 68th minute of the second half, Leon received the ball and, in a rare move, didn't continue with a direct charge.
Instead, he turned his back and laid it off to the advancing Kroos.
And this time, Kroos didn't hesitate either—sending a sharp low through ball down Chelsea's right wing.
De Bruyne, who had been relatively quiet for nearly fifteen minutes, made a perfectly timed run and got on the end of it.
As soon as he stepped into City's defensive third, he whipped the ball across the face of goal!
Ibrahimović, who had dropped back out of the box, didn't trap the ball.
With Kompany glued to his back, he immediately returned it with a firm pass.
And City's defensive line, already pulled apart by the previous passing movement between De Bruyne and Ibrahimović, now had no answer for the surging runs of Leon and Kroos!
Hazard's diagonal run from the left forced Mangala to stay deep in the box, unable to step up.
Leon received the ball effortlessly, and in that moment, had at least two threatening passing lanes to choose from.
But he didn't pass to Kroos. Nor did he find Hazard.
He kept the ball and surged toward the top of Manchester City's penalty area.
Fabregas, who had been chasing him all the way back, simply couldn't match his speed.
Seeing this, Fernandinho abandoned Kroos entirely and lunged at Leon with full intent to challenge him head-on.
The two formed a defensive pincer from front and rear—but just as Fernandinho was about to make contact—
Leon deftly shifted the ball with his left foot, sidestepping Fernandinho's tackle completely!
It was a dribble that looked awkward on such a tall, broad frame—far from graceful.
But it created just enough space for Leon to shoot. That was all he needed.
Staring down a wall of towering City defenders in the box, Leon curled his lips into a subtle smirk.
Then he drew back his leg and unleashed a thunderous strike toward the top left corner of the goal!
Valdés, a veteran keeper with years of top-flight experience, was always calm when dealing with shots that followed predictable patterns.
But this shot?
This one was completely unexpected.
The players tussling in the box had partially obscured his vision, and by the time Valdés saw Leon's leg swing through the air—
The ball was already slicing through the sky, slamming straight into the top corner of the net behind him!
Silence.
Utter silence fell over the Etihad Stadium.
Leon spread his arms wide and sprinted toward the corner flag in Manchester City's half once again!
His figure seemed to grow into a massive, dark shadow looming over the hearts of every City supporter watching from the stands.
"Thinking of a comeback?
I won't give you that chance.
The era of Messi and Ronaldo was magnificent, no doubt.
But starting today, you all better remember—
In this new era…
I am destiny!"
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