It was the 71st minute. Chelsea led 2 to 0. But something had changed in the air.

Michael Sterling stood on the touchline. He had abandoned the plan. The Five Defender strategy was gone. The Purple Wall had advanced.

"Chaos!" Michael shouted into the storm. "I want total chaos!"

Jamie Vardy heard him. The veteran striker turned his cap backwards in his mind.

He ran at Thiago Silva. The Chelsea defender was calm. He was experienced. But he was holding the ball too long.

"Boo!" Vardy shouted running at him.

Thiago Silva flinched. Just for a microsecond.

That was all Vardy needed. The Rat of the Premier League stole the ball.

He was thirty yards out. He did not look for a pass. He saw the goalkeeper off his line.

Vardy hit it.

It was not a clean strike. It bobbled. It looked ugly.

But it bounced right in front of the keeper. It skipped off the wet grass like a stone on a lake.

The keeper dived over it.

The ball rolled slowly... painfully slowly... into the net.

GOAL.

Chelsea 2. Barnsley 1.

Vardy ran into the net and grabbed the ball. He did not celebrate. He sprinted back to the center circle screaming.

"WAKE UP! THEY ARE SCARED! I CAN SMELL IT!"

Michael punched the air.

"One more!" Michael yelled. "Just one more!"

THE FINAL SIEGE

Now the game turned upside down.

Chelsea had spent one billion pounds on players. But you cannot buy composure in a storm.

The young Chelsea stars started to panic.

Mudryk tried to run but Diego Nunez was waiting.

The Ukrainian speedster knocked the ball past Diego. He tried to sprint around the giant.

But Diego did not turn. He just stepped sideways.

BLOCK.

Mudryk ran into Diego shoulder. It was like running into a brick wall. Mudryk bounced off and landed in the mud.

"No passing!" Diego roared standing over him. "The toll booth is closed!"

The referee waved play on. It was a fair shoulder charge. Just a very heavy one.

Minute 85.

Barnsley were pouring forward.

Sergio Ramos was playing as a striker. The legendary defender had abandoned his position.

"I go up!" Ramos shouted to Enzo Silva. "You stay back! Guard the house!"

"I guard!" Enzo barked.

Ramos ran into the box. He caused panic. The Chelsea defenders did not know who to mark. Should they mark Erik Olsen? Or the Real Madrid legend?

Minute 89.

The fourth official held up the board.

5 MINUTES ADDED TIME.

"Five minutes," Arthur Milton whispered from the bench. He was chewing his tie. "Five minutes to steal a point."

Chelsea tried to keep the ball in the corner. Neymar Jr Junior was shielding it.

But Enzo Silva was there. The Pitbull.

Enzo did not care about tricks. He slid in. He won the ball. He stood up.

"Go!" Enzo screamed.

He passed to Kai Sora.

The Architect adjusted his wet sunglasses. He saw the pass.

He launched a long ball into the box. It was a Hail Mary. A prayer.

The ball floated in the air.

Diego Nunez was there. He had run up from defense too.

"HEAD OF THE BULL!" Diego shouted jumping.

He headed the ball down.

It fell into a crowd of legs. It was a scramble. Mud. Boots. Shins.

Erik Olsen was there. The Viking.

He did not have space to shoot. So he did something instinctive.

He poked the ball with his toe.

It rolled through the legs of Caicedo. It rolled past the hand of the goalkeeper.

It hit the post.

CLANG.

The stadium went silent.

The ball bounced off the post.

It rolled across the line.

And then... Jamie Vardy was there.

He slid in. He made sure. He smashed it into the roof of the net just to be certain.

GOAL.

2 to 2.

The away end exploded. It was absolute bedlam.

Jamie Vardy ran to the Chelsea fans. He cupped his ears. He stuck out his tongue.

Diego Nunez ran over and tackled the entire team. They formed a pile of purple bodies in the mud.

"WE ARE IMMORTAL!" Diego screamed from the bottom of the pile.

THE WHISTLE

Chelsea tried to respond. They threw everyone forward.

But the Purple Wall was back.

Ramos was back in defense screaming orders. Diego was heading everything away. Jan Visser caught two crosses.

The referee looked at his watch.

He blew the whistle.

FULL TIME

CHELSEA 2 - 2 BARNSLEY

It was a draw. One point.

But it felt like a victory. They had come to the home of the billionaires. They had gone 2 to 0 down. And they had survived.

Michael Sterling walked onto the pitch. He was soaked to the bone. His expensive silk jacket was ruined.

But he was smiling.

He hugged Jamie Vardy.

"You old fox," Michael said. "You saved us."

"I just annoy them Boss," Jamie grinned. "They get angry. They make mistakes. I feast."

Diego Nunez walked over. He was covered in mud. He looked like a swamp monster.

"We did not win Papa Michael," Diego said looking sad. "Only one point."

"One point here is gold Diego," Michael said slapping his arm. "We robbed them. We stole the point."

"I like robbing," Diego smiled. "Like a bandit."

THE HANDSHAKE

Michael walked to the tunnel.

Mauricio Pochettino the Chelsea manager was waiting. He looked frustrated. He looked like a man who had just watched his expensive Ferrari get scratched by a tractor.

"Good game Mauricio," Michael said extending his hand.

Pochettino took it weakly.

"Michael," Pochettino said. "What was that? For seventy minutes you played with five defenders. You parked the bus inside your own goal."

"It is a valid tactic," Michael said.

"It is ugly!" Pochettino exclaimed throwing his hands up. "We have the best attackers in the world. We have the samba. We have the speed. And you... you just put a wall there!"

"You spent one billion pounds Mauricio," Michael said his voice calm.

"So?"

"So I had to level the playing field," Michael smiled. "You bought Ferraris. I bought a tank. If I tried to race you I would lose. So I decided to just block the road."

Pochettino stared at him. Then he shook his head and let out a laugh. A painful laugh.

"Fuck," Pochettino muttered. "You are annoying. Your team is annoying."

"Thank you," Michael said. "That is the best compliment you can give a Misfit."

Pochettino walked away muttering in Spanish about anti football and Yorkshire mud.

THE TUNNEL TALK

Inside the tunnel the players were buzzing.

Sergio Ramos had his arm around Enzo Silva.

"You see?" Ramos said. "We waited. We suffered. Then we bit."

"I bit hard!" Enzo said happily. "I took the point!"

Arthur Milton was waiting by the dressing room door. He had a box of pizza.

"Recovery food!" Arthur shouted. "One slice for every point! Wait... that is only one slice each. That is sad."

"We will buy more Arthur," Michael laughed.

He gathered the players in the locker room.

"Listen," Michael said.

The noise died down.

"We did not win," Michael said. "So no day off tomorrow."

The players groaned.

"But," Michael continued. "We showed the league something today. We showed them that money does not buy heart. We went 2 to 0 down against the Galacticos. Most teams would crumble. You fought back."

He looked at Leo Stone. The kid was sitting quietly still wearing his muddy kit.

"Leo," Michael said. "You learned a lesson today. What was it?"

Leo looked up.

"That Premier League defenders are fast Boss," Leo said. "And that Jamie Vardy is crazy."

"Correct," Michael smiled. "Two very important lessons."

THE INTERVIEW

Michael went to the media zone. The cameras were flashing.

A reporter from Sky Sports shoved a microphone in his face.

"Michael! A dramatic draw! Pochettino says you parked the bus. What is your response?"

Michael looked directly into the camera lens.

"We did not park the bus," Michael said. "We built a castle. And then at the end we lowered the drawbridge and sent out the cavalry."

"But playing with five defenders?" the reporter pressed. "Is that the Barnsley way?"

"The Barnsley way is doing whatever it takes to survive," Michael said. "We respect Chelsea. They have amazing players. But my players? My players have fire in their bellies. And you cannot buy fire in the transfer market."

He winked.

"Plus we have Diego Nunez. He counts as two defenders anyway."

THE RIDE HOME

The bus ride back to Yorkshire was long but happy.

They had a point. They were still unbeaten in the last three games.

Michael sat with Arthur. He opened his laptop.

[MATCH RESULT: DRAW]

[POINTS GAINED: 1]

[REPUTATION: THE GIANT KILLERS (ALMOST)]

[TACTICAL FLEXIBILITY: PROVEN]

"One point," Arthur said looking at the league table. "It keeps us in the top seven. We are chasing Europe again Boss."

"We are," Michael said.

He looked out the window at the passing lights of the motorway.

The draw against Chelsea was not just a point. It was a statement. It said that the Dynasty could not be bullied by bank accounts.

"Arthur," Michael said.

"Yes Boss?"

"Did you really only bring one pizza?"

"No," Arthur grinned opening his bag. "I have five. I was hiding them from Diego."

Michael laughed.

"Good man."

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