Starting as a Defensive Midfielder at Real Madrid

Chapter 52: Unremarkable, But Good Enough

After scoring another goal, Zlatan Ibrahimović was in an excellent mood.

During the first half of the season, he'd carried Milan's attacking burden almost single-handedly. While he dominated possession and created space for others, his own goal tally wasn't particularly eye-catching.

Opponents always double-marked him, forcing him to rely on strength and technique to draw defenders away and create scoring opportunities for his teammates. It worked—but as the sole focal point, the pressure was huge and his stats suffered.

Ibra had been frustrated.

But since Li Ang arrived, his goalscoring tally had soared.

There were a lot of reasons—some direct, some indirect—but at this moment, Zlatan didn't care to analyze it.

He just wanted to grab that adorable little Lion and "praise" him properly.

So, after Li Ang was mobbed by teammates in celebration, he barely had time to recover before he saw an excited Zlatan charging straight at him!

"Don't—!"

Eyes wide, Li Ang didn't even finish his sentence before he was scooped up in a bear hug.

"Hahaha! Little Lion! You're my brother!"

Zlatan lifted him off the ground, then pulled him into a shoulder lock and roared toward the Curva Sud, Milan's most diehard supporters.

"Zlatan is in top form!

He's now scored his 14th league goal of the season—his 5th in the last six rounds!

While he still trails Di Natale and Cavani, he's now tied for third with Eto'o!"

The Sky Italia commentator was full of praise.

In his last six league appearances, Zlatan had scored five goals and assisted once, maintaining a goal involvement per match.

His total stats now read: 14 goals, 8 assists—an elite-level return for a lone striker.

Only Messi and Ronaldo in La Liga, Fabregas, and Wayne Rooney in England had produced similar all-around output in recent years.

This was Zlatan's best season since 2008–09, back when he'd averaged a goal involvement per match.

Critics who'd once said he wasn't scoring enough were now eating their words.

As Zlatan jogged back to midfield to more applause, Li Ang received a system notification—exactly what he'd been hoping for.

Because Zlatan's goal had come from a rebound off Li Ang's header, it was logged as an assist.

+5 system points.

A goal would've been +10.

Back at Real Madrid, Li Ang had never expected to earn points from goals or assists. He was a destroyer, not a stat-sheet stuffer.

But in Milan? Six matches in, he'd already collected 20 points from direct contributions.

It really did feel like a change in luck.

"Maybe that time I pulled the Makelele talent card, the system also sucked away my bad luck…

My fortune's turned around! Even my attacking play is finally catching fire!"

Li Ang's grin widened.

He was daydreaming about racking up 400–500 points from a full season's worth of goals and assists when a familiar roar shattered his bliss.

"Focus on defense! Li Ang—watch their right winger and that number 77 forward!"

"..."

"Yes, coach!"

Allegri's voice tore him back to reality.

No more fantasies.

Time to lock in and defend.

"One point at a time. One win at a time. Build the future brick by brick."

Li Ang's thoughts settled. He went back to doing the dirty work.

Soon, he and Boateng were once again grinding away in midfield, sweeping up danger at both ends.

Pirlo, as usual, patrolled deeper areas. Whenever Lazio got past him, Li Ang was there to clean up.

It felt… smooth. Like everyone understood their roles.

Pirlo, protected by three midfield enforcers, had all the time in the world to dictate play.

And Lazio? Their midfielders were simply outclassed.

Whenever they did win possession, they struggled to play through Milan's layered defense.

Allegri's three-warrior midfield shield worked exactly as intended.

But Lazio wasn't a mid-table pushover. Sitting near the top of the standings, they still had quality.

They managed one or two dangerous forays into the box.

And even with Nesta and Thiago Silva in strong form, Milan couldn't block every threat.

Allegri saw the signs.

And made his decision.

Another layer of defense.

At halftime, he subbed off Pirlo and brought on Mark van Bommel.

Lazio fans groaned.

"That's it. We're screwed."

With van Bommel on, Li Ang dropped into the holding role.

In theory, van Bommel should've been the deepest player, but he was still new—barely trained with the team.

So Allegri simply pointed at Li Ang:

"You take over."

And he did.

No hesitation.

This was the role he played at Madrid—the same one he'd used to shield Alonso.

There, he didn't worry about orchestrating attacks. Alonso handled that.

Here, though, with Pirlo off, Li Ang had to do a little bit of everything.

But it was manageable.

Just slow the tempo.

Keep things simple.

Be the anchor.

"I've got this."

He wasn't orchestrating from deep like Pirlo.

But with six months of guidance from Alonso, and now almost a month working with Pirlo, Li Ang had grown.

He wasn't brilliant. But he was solid.

And for Milan, that was enough.

The fans loved it.

They watched Li Ang calmly take the ball, make the right pass, drop into space, win it back again.

Was it flashy?

No.

But…

He was 19.

He defended like a veteran.

He won headers.

He never looked rattled.

"He's unremarkable in possession—but reliable. And that's all we need."

That was the sentiment echoing through San Siro.

And as Milan absorbed wave after wave of pressure, clinging to their 1–0 lead, it was Li Ang and the three-man midfield wall that kept Lazio at bay.

Then, late in the game, Milan launched two devastating counter-attacks.

Pato scored the second.

Game over.

Milan had shut down another top-four rival.

Their streak continued.

And as he jogged off the pitch, Li Ang's system updated again.

He smiled.

It wasn't glamorous.

But it was efficient.

And in Allegri's Milan, that was more than enough.

Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.

Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/johanssen10