Manchester City vs. Chelsea

On October 27th, Manchester City visited Stamford Bridge to challenge Chelsea, who were ranked third in the Premier League. Chelsea had five wins, two draws, and one loss from their previous eight matches, accumulating 17 points. This put them seven points behind league leaders Manchester City and two points behind second-place Arsenal.

If Chelsea could defeat Manchester City in this direct confrontation, the point gap would narrow to four points. This would keep their hopes of winning the title alive. However, if they lost and the gap widened to ten points, their chances of winning the title this season would be slim.

Therefore, this match was worth more than three points; it was a six-point game.

In the midweek Champions League match, Chelsea had secured a 3-0 away victory against Werder Bremen. Not only did this win please the Chelsea fans, but Torres' two-goal performance brought tears of joy to their eyes.

Finally!

Finally!

Finally, they saw Torres dominate in a Chelsea jersey. This was the moment they had been waiting for since spending £50 million on him two years ago.

With Torres returning to form and Manchester City dealing with significant player absences due to the Champions League, Chelsea fans were filled with confidence for this match.

At the pre-match press conference, Mourinho confidently declared that Chelsea would defeat Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. Pellegrini, not to be outdone, stated that while Manchester City faced some challenges, they would not surrender easily.

Considering that if Manchester City won this match, they would tie Chelsea's record for the best start to a season, they were determined to secure victory. Winning this match, and one more after it, would break the record and etch their name in Premier League history.

However, Mourinho's ironclad Chelsea team was not going to give them an easy opportunity.

On October 27th, at 5 PM, the highly anticipated Premier League ninth-round match kicked off at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea took this match very seriously, with Abramovich personally attending. In Abramovich's private box, besides him and his wife Zhukova, there were two special guests—Emma Watson and Lily Collins.

Emma Watson was a loyal Chelsea fan and often attended matches at Stamford Bridge. Rumors even spread about a romance between her and Abramovich, but Zhukova's sisterly attitude towards her suggested these rumors were false. Otherwise, Zhukova wouldn't be so friendly with her.

As for Lily Collins, this was her first time watching a match at Stamford Bridge.

"With two beautiful ladies here, the whole box seems to have brightened up!" Abramovich said with a smile, welcoming the two guests.

Emma Watson's presence not only provided great publicity for Chelsea but also boosted the team's morale. Many Chelsea players were fans of hers, with some even secretly admiring her. Seeing her in the stands gave them all the motivation they needed to perform their best without any pep talk from Mourinho.

Although Abramovich was not familiar with Lily Collins, he treated her kindly, considering her rumored relationship with Lin.

It was well known that Abramovich loved big-name players, especially those on the level of Ronaldo and Messi. Unfortunately, such players were rare and often unavailable. Since Ronaldo and Messi were out of reach, Abramovich set his sights on Lin, who had recently emerged as a top player. If he could bring Lin to Stamford Bridge, it would fulfill his superstar dreams.

Winning Lin over required not just money but also emotional connections. If he could leverage Emma and Lily's friendship, it might help Chelsea get closer to Lin, making it easier to sign him when his contract with Manchester City ended.

"Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Abramovich. Lily, this is the Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, and his wife, Zhukova," Emma introduced them.

Lily Collins greeted them politely.

"Let's go over there and watch. Let's not disturb them," Emma suggested, seeing that Lily seemed a bit reserved. Emma, familiar with the place, led Lily to another side of the box.

Lily Collins and Emma Watson had met while filming in Hollywood. Both had started their careers as child stars and were from England, so they quickly became good friends. Emma had often tried to get Lily interested in football, but Lily preferred basketball. This time, however, Lily herself had asked to come and watch a football match.

"Can you tell which team your boyfriend is on?" Emma teased, looking at the two teams' kits on the field.

Lily Collins quickly answered, "The light blue team is his team!"

Emma was a bit surprised. "Wow, not bad! You actually know Manchester City's kit. Did you do some homework before the game?"

Emma had thought of Lily as a football novice. How could she now distinguish between Manchester City and Chelsea's kits? Was it the power of love that made her learn about something she previously wasn't interested in?

Feeling a bit jealous of the person on the field, Emma realized that someone had stolen her best friend's heart.

...

Ah-choo!

Standing at the center circle, Lin sneezed. 

"Lin, are you catching a cold?" Negredo asked instinctively. 

With so many players on the team already down with colds, it was the only explanation that came to mind. 

"No, don't worry!" Lin responded quickly. He felt a tickle in his nose, but he wasn't actually sick. If he didn't stop Negredo, his big mouth would spread panic and deflate the team's morale before the match even started.

Sure enough, on the sidelines, Pellegrini was visibly anxious seeing Lin sneeze. He quickly turned to the team doctor, who also seemed puzzled.

"He didn't have a cold before. Is it a delayed symptom?"

"Keep an eye on him. If Lin's performance dips or he looks off, we'll pull him out. We can't risk his health," Pellegrini said firmly.

The rest of the coaching staff nodded in agreement. Lin was their key player, and his health was paramount.

...

At 5 PM sharp, the referee blew the whistle to start the match.

Manchester City's coaching staff anxiously watched Lin's performance for the first few minutes. Seeing him play normally, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Lin was in good form, Chelsea quickly took control of the game. Backed by the cheers of 40,000 fans at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea launched a fierce attack from the start.

Luckily, Manchester City had prepared for this. They tightened their defense, keeping their lines close together and making it difficult for Chelsea to break through.

Chelsea's attacks were relentless and strong, but Manchester City's defense was equally resolute. The game turned into a physical battle, with players frequently hitting the ground during tackles.

Seeing the game getting rougher, the referee began handing out yellow cards to maintain control.

In the 22nd minute, Lampard received a yellow card for a tackle from behind on Lin. Lampard didn't argue, but he shot Lin a menacing look as if to say, "Watch out." Chelsea's other players quickly fell back, preventing Manchester City from taking a quick free kick.

Lin had initially planned to take the free kick quickly but abandoned the idea seeing Chelsea's vigilance. Mourinho's Chelsea had a tough, resilient defense that was hard to crack.

Watching Lin get tackled, Emma glanced at her friend, seeing worry on Lily Collins' face, which confirmed her suspicions.

It seemed the rumors weren't baseless. There was something between them.

"Don't worry, he's fine. Look, he's getting up," Emma reassured.

Lily saw that Lin was indeed getting up and felt relieved. She then said, "I wasn't worried. I just think there are too many fouls in football. In basketball, there aren't as many fouls, and they're less severe."

Seeing Lin get tackled reminded her of how many times he must have been kicked down in past matches, making her worry about his long-term health. She silently made a decision.

"That's the charm of football! If it were all gentle and polite with no fouls or physical contact, it would lose its excitement," Emma explained, having seen many matches and gotten used to the physicality.

Early Premier League matches were even rougher, with some players targeting opponents with dangerous tackles. For example, Manchester United's Roy Keane once intentionally injured Manchester City's Haaland.

From the ground, Lin rubbed his leg. Although his talent protected him from injuries, the pain was real. Lampard's tackle was brutal; an average player might have been injured. With Manchester City already plagued by injuries, Lin's departure would mean defeat.

This was likely why Lampard tackled him so fiercely—to weaken Manchester City by removing their key player.

But they would be disappointed. With his immunity talent, Lin was hard to bring down.

Seeing Lin tackled so harshly, Manchester City's players didn't hold back.

In the 27th minute, Demichelis took his chance to retaliate, tackling Lampard hard. Even the tough Lampard struggled to stand.

"Bastard, trying to kill someone?" Chelsea's players, seeing the retaliation, rushed to confront Demichelis. 

Manchester City players quickly surrounded Demichelis, protecting him.

"You have the nerve to complain? What about Lampard's earlier tackle?" The Chelsea players, feeling guilty, backed off as the referee handed Demichelis a yellow card.

The game's pace favored Chelsea, and if it continued, they seemed likely to win. So, there was no need to escalate the situation and lose focus.

Lin didn't know Demichelis well, but his willingness to stand up for Lin was surprising.

"The coach said our hopes of winning rest on you. So our job is to protect you besides stopping their attacks," Demichelis explained.

He was Pellegrini's trusted player, brought from Málaga. Their cooperation at Málaga had been smooth, and Pellegrini needed his own people in the Premier League.

Demichelis' actions reflected Pelle

grini's instructions. 

Hearing this, Lin glanced at the coaching bench, puzzled. 

Pellegrini had never emphasized protecting him before. Why now?

Despite their efforts, Manchester City couldn't hold on for long. In the 33rd minute, Hazard weaved through defenders and passed to Schürrle, who scored, putting Chelsea up 1-0.

Schürrle's goal ignited Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea fans celebrated wildly.

Seeing the time, it was 2:28...