On the evening of October 28, in the ninth round of La Liga, Real Madrid played away against Mallorca.
From the very first minute, Real Madrid's forwards kept testing Mallorca's Israeli goalkeeper Aouate.
Even though it was an away match and there were many rotations in the lineup, Real Madrid still launched fierce attacks.
In the 6th minute, Di Maria made a through pass, the ball deflected high after hitting the opposing center-back, but Higuaín reacted quickly and scored with a beautiful volley.
1-0!
After that, Real Madrid continued their attacks, constantly threatening Aouate's goal.
In the 22nd minute, after a combination between Kaka, Di Maria and Higuaín, Ronaldo shot from the right side of the penalty spot inside the box and scored again for Real Madrid.
2-0!
In the 34th minute, after another series of passes in midfield, Kaka played a through ball. Ronaldo broke into the box and scored again, further extending Real Madrid's lead.
3-0!
After halftime, Real Madrid continued to control the match with ease.
Gao Shen made substitutions early, but starting from the 70th minute, Real Madrid once again launched another wave of fierce attacks.
First, Higuaín scored again, then young substitute Jesé scored.
Later, Morata, who replaced Higuaín, provided an assist for Vázquez to score in the 91st minute.
In the end, Real Madrid defeated Mallorca 6-0 away from home.
…
Although Barcelona also won 5-0 away against Rayo Vallecano, Real Madrid's victory seemed more convincing.
More importantly, young players like Jesé, Morata, and Vázquez all performed well after coming on as substitutes.
Both AS and Marca believe that under Gao Shen, Real Madrid's young players have been given more playing opportunities and a stage to showcase their talent.
Their current level is still far from being able to handle the Champions League, especially in a group of death, but no one can deny that their development will bring huge long-term benefits to Real Madrid.
"As Gao Shen said before, Real Madrid will be a team with great potential this season!"
"Obviously, we can see it now."
The 6-0 win against Mallorca was a morale boost after the 3-3 draw with Manchester City at home.
It made it clear to everyone that Real Madrid is still Real Madrid.
...
October 31, the first leg of the fourth round of the Copa del Rey.
Real Madrid traveled to eastern Spain to face Alcoyano, a team from Group 3 of the Spanish Third Division.
This team is currently ranked third in Group 3 of Segunda B, roughly the same level as Real Madrid's C team.
Because of this, Gao Shen fielded a fully rotated squad for this match.
Captain Casillas started in goal, with a rotated backline.
Marcos Alonso, Albiol, Varane, and Nacho.
Carvajal had played the full match against Mallorca and was not in the starting lineup here.
In midfield, Casemiro partnered with Granero and Isco.
The front three were Jesé, Morata, and Vázquez.
Gao Shen's intention was very clear. He wanted to give these players more minutes and experience, while letting the main players rest. Players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Ramos were not even in the squad, staying in Madrid to recover.
Because up next, Real Madrid will play Zaragoza in the league, followed by an away match against Manchester City in the Champions League.
Both matches are crucial, especially the one against Manchester City.
…
With heavy rotation, Real Madrid's start was a bit messy.
Especially since many of these players hadn't played many competitive matches together, and there was little chemistry.
But their overall strength showed, and they quickly stabilized.
From the 21st minute onward, Real Madrid completely took control of the match, launching wave after wave of attacks on Alcoyano.
Jesé scored first, followed by Isco, giving the team a two-goal lead at halftime.
In the second half, Vázquez scored, then Kaka and Morata added goals.
In the end, Real Madrid beat Alcoyano 5-0 away.
After such a result, there is no reason for Real Madrid to be worried about qualifying when they return home for the second leg.
After the match, Gao Shen praised the young players, saying they had performed at a very high level and encouraged them to continue working hard.
...
This weekend, in the tenth round of La Liga, Real Madrid hosted Zaragoza at the Bernabéu.
Gao Shen continued with rotation in the starting lineup.
Goalkeeper: Courtois.
Defense: Nacho, Albiol, Varane, and Carvajal.
Midfield: Casemiro dropped deeper, with Toni Kroos and Verratti ahead of him.
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Higuaín, and Di Maria.
Benzema remained on the bench due to an old injury.
Since returning from national team duty, he has not been able to train properly, so Gao Shen decided not to risk starting him.
…
Gao Shen's instructions to the players were simple: just win.
Next Wednesday, Real Madrid will face Manchester City away in a key match. Therefore, Real Madrid's approach was to use their strength, control possession and the tempo, and take it easy against Zaragoza.
Even Cristiano Ronaldo was repeatedly reminded by Gao Shen to conserve energy and not overexert himself.
"Save everything for the Champions League next Wednesday!"
As a result, after kickoff, Real Madrid played very steadily, without rushing.
Zaragoza, playing away, started cautiously. But after seeing Real Madrid's slow approach, they gradually became more adventurous.
In the 23rd minute, Real Madrid took advantage of a corner. Toni Kroos delivered a cross, and Albiol headed in to open the scoring.
Just two minutes later, Di Maria received the ball, broke into the right side of the penalty area, and scored with his left foot.
2-0!
After taking a two-goal lead, Real Madrid slowed the pace and played calmly.
The fans at the Bernabéu knew that the real test lies at the Etihad Stadium, not here. So even if the match lacked excitement, they continued to cheer and encourage the team.
After the 60th minute, Gao Shen began making substitutions.
In the 65th minute, Zaragoza almost scored, but Courtois made another excellent save, keeping the clean sheet.
The Belgian goalkeeper once again used a series of brilliant saves to demonstrate his quality and defend his place at Real Madrid, leaving Casillas helpless.
The Real Madrid captain has performed well for the national team and in cup matches, but he still cannot shake Courtois' hold on the starting spot.
Of course, there is also a deep balance behind this.
When Courtois performs this well, Gao Shen gains more leverage to keep Casillas in check.
After a round of substitutions, Real Madrid increased their intensity from the 75th minute.
First, in a scramble inside the box, Higuaín almost scored. Then, in the 89th minute, Casemiro surged forward into the box and calmly finished, sealing the victory for Real Madrid.
In the end, Real Madrid beat Zaragoza 3-0 at home.
…
Another complete victory, though the performance itself was not pretty.
Zaragoza simply could not compete with Real Madrid in terms of strength, which led to them not daring to attack at the Bernabéu. Real Madrid, meanwhile, held back throughout the match, and many players clearly did not go all out.
For example, Ronaldo. This was the first time he failed to score this season.
In the previous nine league rounds, he had scored 16 goals. But this time, he not only failed to score, he was substituted as early as the 60th minute.
At the post-match press conference, Gao Shen explained this decision, saying he hoped Ronaldo could recover well.
"He is very important to us!"
Benzema and Ramos did not play. According to information from Real Madrid, both players are still injured.
Gao Shen confirmed this.
"Since returning from international duty, they have not been able to train normally. Ramos' problem is with his legs, and Benzema also has an old injury. Our coaching and medical teams are working on them, but the progress in training has not been optimistic."
Gao Shen revealed that both players are likely to miss the key match against Manchester City.
"There's nothing we can do. We have too many injuries."
Gao Shen felt helpless. He even joked that this is the worst season for injuries since he took over, except for his first year at Napoli.
"It's like all the injuries from past seasons have come together in this one."
Real Madrid has analyzed the situation internally, and the main problem is that many players have long-standing injuries.
For example, Ramos now has leg and knee issues. These are old injuries that have never fully healed.
That is a big problem.
The same goes for Benzema, and even Ronaldo has some injuries.
In this respect, Real Madrid's previous handling of injuries has been irregular and unscientific.
Not long ago, a Marca reporter told Gao Shen they planned to publish a report on Monday focusing on Ramos' injury, emphasizing how he plays and trains despite the pain.
After reading it, Gao Shen rejected it immediately.
He does not think this is something to glorify or promote.
"If you are injured, you should recover, not play through it. And then you want to turn this into a so-called tough guy spirit, calling it the symbol of Real Madrid, the Juanito spirit… Forget it!"
"What era are we in? Why are we still doing this?"
The Juanito spirit should be reflected in matches, not in unprofessional behavior like this!
Gao Shen even called Butragueño, telling him that any such stories should be stopped from being published in the newspapers.
But it is undeniable that Real Madrid is short of players right now.
So much so that after the game against Zaragoza, reporters asked Gao Shen what his biggest wish was before the upcoming match against Manchester City.
Gao Shen smiled bitterly and replied, "That when I wake up tomorrow, all the injured players are miraculously healed!"
You know what, there really was good news.
The next day, the team doctor and Buenaventura reported to Gao Shen that Arbeloa had returned to training.
But the Real Madrid full-back would still not be able to make it in time for the match against Manchester City.
(To be continued.)