After the Confederations Cup draw ceremony, Real Madrid faced Ajax at home in the final round of the Champions League group stage on December 3.
Although Real Madrid won the last game, the intensity of the Madrid derby still made the team tired, and the next game is an away King's Cup match.
Therefore, with the team already secured first place in the group and qualifying, Mourinho only sent out a half-main and half-substitute lineup to face Ajax in this Champions League match.
Even so, Ajax failed to defeat Real Madrid.
After 90 minutes, the score on the big screen was 2-1, and Real Madrid won by one goal at home.
After Lu Wenbin scored twice in the first half, he was substituted at halftime. Ajax managed to score a goal in the second half but was unable to equalize the score, let alone overtake.
In another match, Dortmund beat Manchester City 1-0 at home.
After the Champions League group stage, Real Madrid ranked first in Group D with 16 points, Dortmund ranked second with 10 points, Ajax ranked third with 5 points, and Manchester City ranked last with 3 points.
Real Madrid and Dortmund advanced from the group stage and entered the knockout stage of the 2012/2013 Champions League, Ajax finished third in the group stage and advanced to the knockout stage of the Europa League, and the Premier League champions finished last in the group stage and went home.
This may be one of the most embarrassing Premier League championships, as the upstart Manchester City was ridiculed by the media and fans of other teams.
Manchester City’s top management is even more eager for Lu Wenbin.
On December 6, Real Madrid faced Celta in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, away from home.
In recent times, Real Madrid's schedule has been very busy. The main reason is that Real Madrid will participate in two additional Club World Cup matches at the end of the year. The Spanish Football Association has to adjust and compress Real Madrid's game schedule, so recently it has been almost a rhythm of two games a week.
But Real Madrid cannot be careless in this game because it is an away game and Celta is also a La Liga team, not the Spanish Second or Spanish Third Division.
In this game, Mourinho did not dare to rotate, he only replaced two or three players and sent out most of the main lineup.
Sure enough, Celta, playing at home, burst out with great fighting power. Just in the third minute of the game, they scored a goal from a corner kick to take the lead.
The Celta fans at home were so happy that they burst into loud cheers.
Fortunately, Mourinho was not careless, and most of the players on the field in this game were main players.
In the 17th minute, Real Madrid launched a beautiful counterattack with Alonso, Lu Wenbin, Ronaldo, Higuain and Di Maria passing the ball continuously, and finally Di Maria scored a powerful shot in the penalty area to equalize the score.
However, Celta was in great form in this match. Before Real Madrid could overtake the score, Celta got a penalty in the 29th minute.
This time, Celta striker Lopez dribbled into the penalty area and the young central defender Varane, who was rotated in, was inexperienced and knocked Varane to the ground.
Although Lopez's fall was a bit exaggerated, Varane did hit him.
If it weren't for Varane's foul, Casillas would have saved the ball.
Real Madrid was awarded a penalty kick, and Lopez took the shot himself and scored, and Celta once again took the lead.
Real Madrid's superstars were embarrassed by Celta's two lead attempts.
In the 44th minute, Di Maria made a cross from the bottom of the wing, and Higuain attracted a lot of opponent defenders at the front point but headed the ball past the goal.
C Ronaldo jumped high at the back post and made a powerful header. Celta fans closed their eyes and Real Madrid fans were ready to cheer, but the ball hit the crossbar and bounced out.
Celta fans sighed, and Ronaldo held his head in frustration, but Lu Wenbin had already appeared where the ball was landing, and volleyed the ball before it hit the ground.
The ball passed through the crowd and flew straight into the goal.
The distance was too close, the speed was too fast, and the crowd blocked his view, so goalkeeper Alvarez had no reaction. By the time he saw the ball, it was too late.
Real Madrid finally equalized the score with a follow-up shot by Lu Wenbin, and the two sides entered the halftime break with a score of 2-2.
After a 15-minute break, the two sides changed sides and continued the game.
Celta, which took the lead twice and was equalized twice, finally lost confidence. The players probably thought that no matter how hard they tried, they could not beat Real Madrid.
Coupled with bad luck, Celta's three shots on the goal frame in the second half did not result in a goal.
In the end, Real Madrid won 4-2 away from home with Lu Wenbin and Marcelo scoring a goal each in the second half.
With this score and away goal, although it cannot be said that the second round has lost suspense, Celta's chances of a comeback are also very low.
After all, the second round was held at Real Madrid's home stadium, the Bernabeu, and Real Madrid had the advantage in total score and away goals. It would be unimaginable if Celta could still turn the tables.
After this King's Cup match, on December 10, in the 15th round of La Liga, Real Madrid will challenge Valladolid away.
Although there are only two games left to tie AC Milan's 58-game unbeaten record in Serie A, Mourinho does not dare to send all the main players in this league.
On the one hand, it has only been three days since the last game, and on the other hand, it is only three days away from the next Club World Cup game.
All of them are away games, and the World Club Cup requires flying to Japan in Asia to play, and there is also time difference. In addition to the temptation of six championships, Mourinho obviously wants to ensure the team's combat effectiveness in the World Club Cup.
Therefore, Mourinho sent out almost all substitutes in this league, with only Casillas and Lu Wenbin, the regular main players, starting.
Playing with a substitute lineup and playing away from home, Real Madrid had a difficult game.
After the first 14 rounds, Valladolid is a mid-to-upper-level team ranked seventh and its strength is not weak.
In the 21st minute, Real Madrid, who were playing away, launched a quick counterattack. Lu Wenbin passed the midfielder in the midfield through a wall pass with Kaka and dribbled into the opponent's half. He then used his personal skills to pass a central defender and scored a long shot from the penalty area line.
Lu Wenbin scored the first goal for Real Madrid, giving them a 1-0 lead away from home.
However, Real Madrid did not wait for the second goal, but instead waited for the opponent's goal.
In the 40th minute, Real Madrid's goal was breached by the opponent. Valladolid passed the ball into the penalty area through a wonderful combination, and their striker Gra scored with a low shot to equalize the score.
Both sides entered the locker room with a score of 1-1.
After a 15-minute break, the two sides changed sides and continued the game.
In the 63rd minute of the second half, Valladolid took advantage of Real Madrid's legendary mistake in the backcourt, and their attacking midfielder Oscar intercepted the ball and launched a counterattack.
Valladolid took the lead.
This time, Real Madrid became anxious.
Although he wants to win six titles, Mourinho does not want to give up the unbeaten record in the top five leagues that is within reach.
In the 68th minute, Mourinho replaced Ronaldo and Alonso in succession to strengthen the attack.
Finally, in the 82nd minute, Real Madrid scored a goal to equalize the score with a long pass from Alonso to Higuain.
This was the last goal of the game.
The two sides tied 2-2 in 90 minutes, and Real Madrid finally maintained its unbeaten record. The unbeaten record in La Liga extended to 57 games, just one game away from AC Milan's 58 games. Lu Wenbin's La Liga consecutive scoring record also extended to 12 games.