Chapter 550: Half-way Champion
After attending the FIFA awards ceremony, Real Madrid returned to Spain on the evening of January 10 to play the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-final against Malaga.
In the first leg at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid came back from two goals to win 4-2 against Malaga.
However, this score is not safe.
Because if Malaga play Real Madrid 2-0 or 3-1 at home in the second leg, they will be able to advance with the same aggregate score.
Real Madrid can score 2 goals away from home, and it is not impossible to score at home.
In addition, Lu Wenbin, Ronaldo, Ramos and several other main players also flew to Sweden to participate in the FIFA awards ceremony on the first day, and they flew back the next day to play away games, and their state was worrying.
In fact, Mourinho did not send Lu Wenbin, Ronaldo and others to start this game, and several people who participated in the FIFA awards ceremony sat on the bench.
The starting lineup lacked several core players, and it was an away game, and Real Madrid did have a difficult time playing at the Rose Garden Stadium in Malaga, which can accommodate 30,000 fans.
Malaga pressed Real Madrid with the cheers of the home fans.
Fortunately, Real Madrid's backline performed well under the protection of Khedira, Diarra and Pepe, and the substitute goalkeeper Adan who started in place of Casillas also played well, keeping the score 0-0 until the end of the first half.
At half-time, Mourinho took the lead in making adjustments, replacing Lu Wenbin and playing as a playmaker.
After Lu Wenbin came on the field, Real Madrid's attack was really organized and threatening.
Although Lu Wenbin did not score, he assisted his teammates to score in the 63rd and 87th minutes respectively.
Although Malaga scored a goal in the 76th minute, Real Madrid won 2-1 away at Malaga to advance to the last eight of the Copa del Rey 6-3 on aggregate.
Subsequently, another Copa del Rey match was also decided, and Barcelona also defeated their opponents without suspense and advanced to the last 8.
And the matchup situation of the 1/4 finals of the Copa del Rey is Real Madrid VS Barcelona.
After the two legs of the Super Cup and the first leg of the league, Real Madrid and Barcelona will meet for the fourth and fifth time in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey.
Real Madrid and Barcelona will meet at least six times in the Super Cup, league and Copa del Rey this season, and it is not yet known whether the Champions League will meet in a narrow way.
Neutral fans look a little visually tired.
However, the fans of Real Madrid and Barcelona will not get tired, and both sides will be eager to completely bloodied their opponents in the new competition.
Real Madrid fans hope to play a big score again after beating Barcelona 6-0 in the 16th round of La Liga, and Barcelona fans naturally hope that their team will be ashamed and revenge.
However, the match between the two sides is on January 18, and there is still a league game to be played in between.
On the evening of January 13, in the 19th round of La Liga, Real Madrid challenged Mallorca away, and most of the main players such as Lu Wenbin started the game.
Although it is an away game, when the Spanish national derby is approaching, Real Madrid's main force is full and go all out, and Mallorca, who are at the bottom of the table, cannot compete with Real Madrid at all.
After 90 minutes, the score on the big screen was 1-5, Real Madrid beat Mallorca by four goals, and Lu Wenbin scored a goal and an assist to dominate the victory.
Mallorca can score a goal without being shaved down, which is already very good.
La Liga 20 teams, the whole season is 38 league games, half of the 19th round, Real Madrid's current results are not only as simple as the half-way championship, they are 18 wins, 1 draw and 55 points unbeaten record to get the half-way championship, the second-place Barcelona has been thrown by Real Madrid as many as 11 points.
Unless Real Madrid collapses on a large scale in the second half of the season, such as Lu Wenbin and Ronaldo's serious injury season reimbursement or something.
Otherwise, Barcelona will already have a hard time catching up.
With a score of 55 points in half a season, as long as another 45 points are scored in the second half of the season, Real Madrid will set a record for the highest points in La Liga history.
The previous record was Barcelona's record of 99 points in 2009/2010, and if Real Madrid pick up 100 points this season, they will set a record of three figures for La Liga's first triple-digit points to win the title.
Moreover, Real Madrid's 19-game unbeaten record in the first half of the season, coupled with the last four rounds of last season, Real Madrid has achieved a 23-game unbeaten record across the season, and I don't know if there is a chance to surpass Real Madrid's 31-game unbeaten record, and even challenge Real Sociedad's 38-game unbeaten record in La Liga across the season set in the 1979/1980 season.
Real Madrid is now the most valuable team in the world.
From goalkeepers to defenders, midfielders, forwards, all-star battles, there is a good chance to challenge the unbeaten record in team history, and even the unbeaten record in La Liga.
Even AC Milan's 58-game unbeaten record in the world's top five leagues can be delusional.
However, it takes some luck to fight and achieve it one by one.
Real Madrid's main task now is to win the next Spanish derby.
On January 18, 2012, Real Madrid once again played at the Santiago Bernabeu for the first leg of the 2011/2012 Copa del Rey quarter-final against Barcelona.
This is the fourth Spanish national derby between the two sides this season.
In this game, Pep Guardiola may have done a lot of analysis on the last 0-6 defeat to Real Madrid, which made the Barcelona players a lot more patient, making full use of their possession defensive advantages, and quickly counter-attacking after conceding the goal, forcing Real Madrid to make mistakes and concede the goal.
Barcelona's possession of the ball is indeed a major feature, and ordinary people really can't stand it.
First, use the team's skillful passing skills to control the ball at your feet, and the opponent will naturally not be able to score without the ball.
Then he slowly paralyzed the opponent with passing, and suddenly increased his speed at the moment when the opponent revealed the gap, and the blow was fatal.
This is the reason why many teams have lost against Barcelona and the Spanish national team.
If Real Madrid hadn't been trained by Mourinho and improved in terms of overall defensive strength, it would have been unstoppable.
The 5-0 defeat to Barcelona last season was proof of that.
This season, with Mourinho's training at the back and Lu Wenbin in the front, Real Madrid can beat Barcelona in several derbies in a row.
However, even if Lu Wenbin's strength is very strong, when the team's overall possession rate is far inferior to that of the opponent, Lu Wenbin can't get the ball a few times, and he has to face the siege of several opponents when he gets the ball.
Therefore, in the entire first half, Lu Wenbin did not even score a goal.
However, he couldn't score a goal under the opponent's key marking, but Lu Wenbin still had the ability to pass and assist.
Full value of vision, judgment, and passing ability are not decorations.
In the 32nd minute of the first half, Lu Wenbin assisted Higuain to score Real Madrid's first goal with a superb back-heel pass.
Real Madrid finally managed to take a 1-0 lead, and although the lead was small, it was still better than a draw or even a trail.
Therefore, after Higuain scored the goal, everyone in Real Madrid, including Lu Wenbin, celebrated warmly, and the fans of Real Madrid in the stands were also very excited and applauded and cheered.