Leeds United's victory over Chelsea brought their points total to 26, allowing them to overtake Manchester United and move into second place in the standings.
Not only that.
Since Arsenal, who are at the top of the table, have only managed two points in their last two matches, they are now only two points ahead of Leeds United.
This gave Li Shiguang hope of winning the mid-season championship.
If they can win against Tottenham Hotspur away next week, then their match against Arsenal after the international break will very likely determine who will be the mid-season champion!
After a day of rest.
Leeds United have returned to their Thorpe Arch training ground to begin preparations for their Champions League group stage match against Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday.
Although they won the last game 4-1 away from home, Li Shiguang still attaches great importance to this game, which would qualify them for the next round and secure them first place in the group!
However, he just stepped onto the training field at Thorpe Arch today.
Simeone scurried over, sounding utterly surprised: "Boss! Mourinho's been sacked!"
Class is finally over!?
Upon hearing the news brought by Simone, Li Shiguang's face remained expressionless, but his heart was already in turmoil.
The reason is quite simple.
In his memory, Mourinho was dismissed in September of this year, not long after the start of the new season, due to friction with Abramovich over summer transfers!
As the date in his memory approached, Li Shiguang deliberately paid attention to the news at the time. However, the calm media coverage that day made Li Shiguang realize that his appearance had changed something again.
So when Simone told him this news, Li Shiguang was somewhat surprised.
Things have indeed changed, but not by much.
It seems that Abramovich didn't want to fire Mourinho; he just happened to become the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Fortunately, he had done the Portuguese a favor earlier in order to achieve his own goals.
Otherwise, Mourinho might be hating himself right now!
····
After a brief chat with Simone, Li Shiguang put the matter out of his mind and threw himself wholeheartedly into training.
But just as the morning training ended and before Li Shiguang had even returned to his office, he received an unexpected phone call.
"Hello, Jorge."
Hello, Li!
Hearing the deep voice coming from the phone, Li Shiguang curiously held the phone up to his eyes to look at it. After confirming that it was Mendes calling, he put it back to his ear and asked suspiciously, "Who is this?"
"I am José..."
Mourinho? Why is he calling me?
Pushing open the door to his office, Li Shiguang looked puzzled and replied, "Ah! Hello, Jose! Uh... is there something you need?"
Instead of answering Li Shiguang's question, Mourinho on the other end of the phone asked directly, "I believe you already know, right?"
Do you know you've finished class?
Could it be that he's trying to make sarcastic remarks about the person who indirectly caused his dismissal?
We can't let you get away with that!
Li Shiguang plopped down in the chair, leaned back, and lied without batting an eye: "Know what?"
Mourinho sighed on the other end of the phone: "Sigh... I'm leaving Chelsea!"
"Leave Cher...!?" Li Shiguang's tone was full of disbelief. "How is this possible!? When did this happen!?"
"The club informed Jorge and me yesterday afternoon, and didn't you see the overwhelming news reports about this matter this morning?"
“Oh... I’m sorry, José.” Although Mourinho couldn’t see it, Li Shiguang still shook his head. “I was busy training as soon as I arrived at the base this morning, and I really didn’t see these news reports.”
After explaining the reason, before Mourinho could speak, Li Shiguang, with a wicked sense of humor and indignation, rubbed salt into the Portuguese man's wounds: "But you just said the club notified you and Jorge, so Chelsea fired you? Is Roman crazy?! How could he make such a stupid decision!"
What do you mean by "expelled"?! Why do you make it sound like I'm some kind of Chelsea employee?!
I fucking said I'm leaving Chelsea! Do you even know how to choose your words?! Can you even understand the point I'm making?!
Mourinho on the other end of the phone paused, speechless for a moment, unable to think of how to respond to Li Shiguang's words.
"So... is there something you need for me calling today?" Hearing the increasingly heavy breathing coming from the other end of the phone, Li Shiguang knew it was time to change the subject, so he asked the question for the second time.
"Huh? Oh!" Mourinho snapped out of his reverie upon hearing Li Shiguang's question and quickly replied, "I came to thank you?"
"Thank me?" Li Shiguang, who hadn't thought of Inter Milan for a moment, was full of questions and blurted out, "Thank me for what? Thank me for leading Leeds United to beat Chelsea the day before yesterday, which got you fired!?"
I fucking swear!
Mourinho's temper wasn't exactly good to begin with.
Li Shiguang's words undoubtedly reopened his wounds.
This made Mourinho turn his head to look at Mendes sitting next to him, his hand gripping the phone so tightly it rattled.
Because the phone wasn't on speakerphone, Mendes didn't hear what Li Shiguang said. He could only stare blankly at the phone in Mourinho's hand, his face full of heartache...
After a long silence, Mourinho thought about the phone call he had just ended with Moratti, calmed himself down, and then spoke again in an unfriendly tone: "No!!! I called you to thank you for recommending Mr. Moratti."
Holy crap!
Forgot about that!
Upon hearing Mourinho's words, Li Shiguang's face lit up with a sudden realization, as he suddenly understood how much his instinctive answer had hurt Mourinho. He then let out a few dry laughs: "Ahahahaha... Oh, that's what it was about! Sorry, sorry, I didn't think of that! But you've already reached an agreement? So fast?"
Li Shiguang's tone didn't sound like he was faking it.
Mourinho's anger subsided considerably, and the gratitude he felt for Li Shiguang before making the call once again filled his mind.
"Yes, Jorge and I just finished a call with Mr. Moratti. Although we haven't discussed many details yet, if nothing unexpected happens, my next stop should be Inter Milan."
"That's fantastic! Congratulations, José! When will you take over? Next season?"
"Probably not. Judging from Mr. Moratti's words, I should be able to take over the team by the end of December."
Li Shiguang: ? ? ?
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