The problem was that Ronaldo got injured right after providing the assist.
He was brought down in a routine foul after releasing the ball.
Sure, it was a foul.
But the collision wasn't even that heavy.
Still, Ronaldo just couldn't withstand it.
His fragility had worsened this season, and this was by far his worst campaign since joining Real Madrid.
At this stage in previous seasons, he would already have a dozen or more league goals.
But this year, he had only eight goals and two assists.
His efficiency was nowhere near Su Hang's sixteen goals and six assists.
He even fell behind Figo's eight goals and six assists, and Zidane's four goals and eleven assists.
Figo: ???
Zidane: What do you mean by "falling behind even me"?
In the past, Ronaldo might not have been the absolute top performer at Real Madrid, but he was always among the top three.
By the end of this season, though, his contribution might not even put him in the top five.
After all, he had already missed plenty of games in both the Copa del Rey and Europe.
And Ronaldo's absence was especially painful for fans because the next match was Real Madrid's first Champions League knockout game of the season—
the first leg of the Round of 16,
at home against the defending champions, Liverpool.
The pressure was already immense, and now their superstar was out injured.
The English media immediately became optimistic.
Liverpool Echo: "With The Phenomenon missing the first leg of the Round of 16, Liverpool's chances of victory exceed fifty percent!"
The Times: "Morientes returns to his old hunting ground, carrying the mystique of eliminating his former club in the Champions League!"
Sky Sports: "Despite Real Madrid's strong form, their lack of attacking players will see them lost against Liverpool's English-style defense!"
That wasn't entirely wrong.
Real Madrid's recent eleven-match winning streak had stirred heated debates across European football forums.
Their numbers had blown past all expectations.
The 4-3-1-2 formation wasn't ultra-defensive, but it was certainly defense-heavy.
With Su Hang's tendency to drop deep, it could even be seen as a 4-3-2-1 "Christmas tree" setup.
Winning eleven in a row with that shape wasn't impossible.
But the fact that most of those games saw over two goals scored—sometimes even three—was downright bizarre.
It defied football logic.
The more players you commit forward, the more goals you score.
The more players you hold back, the fewer you concede.
But Real Madrid, with fewer attacking players, were somehow scoring more.
There was only one explanation:
their attackers were of exceptional quality.
And the data backed it up.
Zidane and Figo ranked among La Liga's best in almost every metric.
This season, only Ronaldinho could be compared to them among midfielders in Spain.
Across Europe, all three stood in a tier of their own.
And up front, it was Su Hang who shocked everyone.
Looking just at the last eleven matches, his numbers placed him among the very best.
In La Liga, only Eto'o and Villa could rival him.
Globally, only Henry stood at their level.
Most impressive was his "chance creation" statistic—Su Hang had more than doubled his previous average!
He was now breaking through defenders with confidence, using dribbles and runs to create chances for teammates.
This had been his biggest weakness before.
...
As Liverpool's flight touched down in Madrid,
the atmosphere for the upcoming Champions League clash reached its peak.
At the airport, Gerrard faced a swarm of reporters. He told them:
"We're not worried about adapting to playing in Spain.
We have plenty of Spanish players in our squad.
Luis García, Xabi Alonso, Morientes, and Reina, for example."
All were starters for Liverpool, leading to the team being nicknamed "the Spanish squad of the Premier League."
Morientes in particular needed no introduction—Su Hang once had a friendly "battle for the starting spot" with him.
Back then, Su Hang didn't yet have the ability to play extended minutes due to his weak fundamentals.
Though Su Hang often yielded opportunities, Morientes never capitalized and eventually had to leave.
But the cruelest twist for Morientes was that after moving from Real Madrid to Liverpool in the winter transfer window last season, he was ineligible for the Champions League—since he had already played for Madrid.
Liverpool went on to win the trophy, and Morientes was left without a medal.
That feeling of watching your world pass you by—it was heartbreaking.
Now his situation wasn't much better, facing challenges at both club and international level.
Especially with the national team.
Raúl, Su Hang, Villa, Torres, Joaquín, plus his own teammate Luis García and Arsenal's Reyes—all were competing.
Many of them were wingers, but the frustrating part was that these speedsters could also play as strikers.
How infuriating was that!
Xabi Alonso had been the midfield anchor at Real Sociedad before joining Liverpool in 2004, though injuries plagued his early time there.
Once fit again in 2005, he became an untouchable starter.
His long-range passing and distribution were world-class.
As long as he stayed healthy, he was a guaranteed starter for Spain in the World Cup.
Luis García, Liverpool's number ten, was a true technician—unlike Real Madrid's defensive midfielder García, who only shared the name.
His standing in the national team was even above the talented winger Joaquín, making him a strong favorite to start for Spain this summer.
Pepe Reina, a Barcelona academy product, had once been rated more highly than their current goalkeeper Valdés.
But with no starting chance in sight, he left for Villarreal before eventually moving to Liverpool.
He, too, was likely to be called up for Spain.
So while Liverpool were a Premier League side, nearly half their squad consisted of Spanish internationals.
That made them arguably the strongest Spanish core outside Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Gerrard's comments were relatively measured.
But Liverpool's number seven, Harry Kewell, was far bolder, declaring that Liverpool would take all three points at the Bernabéu.
He also argued that Su Hang didn't belong in the same bracket as Henry, Gerrard, or Ronaldinho.
It wasn't entirely unfair.
But it was hard not to suspect Kewell of some bias.
After last year's Ballon d'Or ceremony, Su Hang and Cristiano Ronaldo had exchanged contacts.
Since then, they frequently liked and commented on each other's posts on social media, giving the impression of a close friendship.