After attending the FIFA awards ceremony and returning to Spain, Real Madrid played the second leg of the Spanish King's Cup quarter-final against Malaga away on the evening of January 10.
In the first leg at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid reversed the situation after conceding two goals and defeated Malaga 4-2.
However, this score is not safe.
Because if Malaga beats Real Madrid 2-0 or 3-1 at home in the second round, they can advance with the advantage of goal difference if the total score is the same.
If they can score 2 goals against Real Madrid in away games, it is not impossible to do so at home.
In addition, several main players such as Lu Wenbin, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ramos, etc. flew to Sweden to attend the FIFA awards ceremony the day before, and flew back the next day to play away games immediately. Their condition is worrying.
In fact, Mourinho did not send Lu Wenbin, Ronaldo and others to start this game. Several people who attended the FIFA awards ceremony sat on the bench.
The starting lineup was missing several core players, and Real Madrid was playing away from home, at the Malaga Rose Garden Stadium, which can accommodate 30,000 fans, so it was indeed difficult for them to play.
Malaga, with the cheers of their home fans, dominated Real Madrid.
Fortunately, Real Madrid's defense performed very well under the protection of Khedira, Diarra and Pepe. The substitute goalkeeper Adam, who replaced Casillas in the starting lineup, also played well and kept the score of 0-0 until the end of the first half.
During the half-time break, Mourinho made the first adjustment, replacing Lu Wenbin as the organizing midfielder.
After Lu Wenbin came on the court, Real Madrid's attack became more organized and threatening.
Although Lu Wenbin did not score a goal, he assisted his teammates to score with two wonderful passes in the 63rd and 87th minutes respectively.
Although Malaga scored a goal in the 76th minute, Real Madrid finally defeated Malaga 2-1 away from home and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Spanish King's Cup with a total score of 6-3.
Subsequently, another King's Cup match was also decided, and Barcelona defeated its opponent without any suspense and advanced to the quarterfinals.
The matchup in the King's Cup quarter-finals is Real Madrid vs. Barcelona.
Following the two rounds of the Super Cup and the first round of the league, Real Madrid and Barcelona will meet for the fourth and fifth time in the King's Cup quarter-finals.
This season, Real Madrid and Barcelona will meet at least six times in the Super Cup, League and Copa del Rey, and it is not yet known whether they will meet in the Champions League.
Neutral fans all seem to be a little visually fatigued.
However, fans of Real Madrid and Barcelona will not get tired, and both sides are eager to completely defeat their opponents in the new game.
Real Madrid fans hope to defeat their opponents by a large margin again after their 6-0 victory over Barcelona in the 16th round of La Liga. Barcelona fans naturally hope that their team will learn from their mistakes and take revenge.
However, the match between the two sides will be on January 18, and there is also a league match 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 including Lu Wenbin started.
Although it was an away game, with the Spanish national derby approaching, Real Madrid's main players played their best and went all out. Mallorca, which was ranked lower, was simply unable to compete with Real Madrid.
After 90 minutes, the score on the big screen was 1-5. Real Madrid won 4-0 away against Mallorca. Lu Wenbin scored a goal and assisted twice to lead the victory.
It was pretty good that Mallorca scored a goal and didn't have his head shaved.
There are 20 teams in La Liga and a total of 38 league games in the whole season. Half of the points are won after the 19th round. Real Madrid's current result is not just as simple as the half-time championship. They won the half-time championship with an unbeaten record of 18 wins, 1 draw and 55 points. Barcelona, which came in second, has been left behind by Real Madrid by as many as 11 points.
Unless Real Madrid collapses on a large scale in the second half of the season, such as Lu Wenbin or Ronaldo being seriously injured and out for the season.
Otherwise, it would have been difficult for Barcelona to catch up.
With 55 points in half a season, Real Madrid will create the highest points record in La Liga history if they can get another 45 points in the second half of the season.
The previous record was Barcelona's 99-point championship record in the 2009/2010 season. If Real Madrid gets 100 points this season, it will create the first three-digit points record in La Liga to win the championship.
Moreover, Real Madrid's unbeaten record of 19 games in the first half of the season, plus the victories in the last four rounds of last season, means that Real Madrid has achieved 23 unbeaten games across seasons. I wonder if they will have a chance to surpass Real Madrid's team record of 31 unbeaten games, or even challenge Real Sociedad's record of 38 unbeaten games in La Liga across seasons set in the 1979/1980 season.
Real Madrid is now the team with the highest cumulative value in the world and has a strong team.
From goalkeeper to defender, midfielder, and forward, with all-star players, there is a good chance that the team will challenge the unbeaten record in team history, or even the unbeaten record in La Liga.
Even AC Milan's world-famous 58-game unbeaten record in the top five leagues is something you can only dream of.
However, to achieve that you have to fight for it one game at a time, and it also requires some luck.
Real Madrid’s main task now is to win the next Spanish national derby.
On January 18, 2012, Real Madrid once again played at home at the Bernabeu against Barcelona in the first leg of the 2011/2012 Spanish King's Cup quarter-finals.
This is the fourth Spanish national derby between the two sides this season.
In this game, perhaps Guardiola did a lot of analysis on the last 0-6 defeat to Real Madrid, which made the Barcelona players more patient. They gave full play to their ball possession and defensive advantages, and quickly counterattacked after losing the ball, forcing Real Madrid to make mistakes and lose the ball.
Barcelona's ball control is indeed one of its characteristics, and most people really can't stand it.
First, use the team's skilled passing and controlling skills to control the ball under your feet. The opponent naturally cannot score without the ball.
Then he would slowly pass the ball to paralyze the opponent, and when the opponent left an opening, he would suddenly speed up and deliver a fatal blow.
This is the reason why many teams lose when facing Barcelona and the Spanish national team.
If Real Madrid had not been coached by Mourinho and had improved its overall defensive strength, it would have been unstoppable.
Last season's 0-5 defeat to Barcelona was proof of that.
This season, with Mourinho's coaching in the defense and Lu Wenbin joining the frontcourt, Real Madrid was able to beat Barcelona in several consecutive derby games.
However, even though Lu Wenbin was very strong, he could not get the ball many times when the team's overall ball possession rate was far lower than that of the opponents. Even if he got the ball, he had to face several opponents' siege.
Therefore, Lu Wenbin didn't score a single goal in the entire first half.
However, although he was unable to score under the opponent's close defense, Lu Wenbin still had the ability to pass the ball and assist.
Full vision, judgment, and passing ability are not just for show.
In the 32nd minute of the first half, Lu Wenbin assisted Higuain with a wonderful heel pass to score Real Madrid's first goal.
Real Madrid finally took a 1-0 lead. Although the lead was small, it was better than a draw or even falling behind.
Therefore, after Higuain scored the goal, everyone in Real Madrid, including Lu Wenbin, celebrated enthusiastically. The Real Madrid fans in the stands were also very excited and applauded and cheered.