After receiving the Golden Ball and returning to Spain, Real Madrid faced Celta in the second round of the Spanish King's Cup quarter-finals on January 9.
In the first leg last year, Real Madrid beat Celta 4-2 away, basically ending the suspense of the second leg.
Although the total score was only two goals apart, the strength of the two sides was too far apart.
Therefore, in the second round of the home game, Real Madrid used most of the substitutes to give the main players a rest.
Although there was a winter break, it was compressed due to last year's European Cup and Olympics, and the vacation was too short. Many star players also had their own advertising shoots and commercial activities and did not get enough rest.
Therefore, many main players including Ronaldo, Benzema and Ramos sat on the bench in this game.
Casillas was also placed on the bench by Mourinho on the grounds that he needed rest, and Adán started the game.
In fact, how can a goalkeeper be that tired
This was the dressing room struggle between Mourinho and Casillas.
Lu Wenbin played for half of the game and was substituted off during the halftime break.
Although there was no goal, there were two assists. In the end, Real Madrid defeated Celta 3-1 at home and advanced to the quarterfinals of the King's Cup with a total score of 7-3.
On January 12, in the 19th round of La Liga, Real Madrid challenged Osasuna away.
After a rest, Real Madrid's main lineup defeated their opponents 4-0 away from home, brought back three points, and extended their unbeaten streak in La Liga to 61 games.
Lu Wenbin scored a hat trick in this game and continued to serve as the backbone of Real Madrid.
The next three games are all Real Madrid against Valencia.
One league match and two Copa del Rey quarter-finals.
On January 15, in the first round of the King's Cup quarter-finals, Real Madrid played against Valencia at home.
Valencia is currently ranked seventh in the La Liga standings this season and may not even qualify for the Europa League.
Therefore, the Copa del Rey has the potential to be the stage for Valencia to qualify for the Europa League.
But when facing the galacticos of Real Madrid, Valencia felt that hope was slim.
To put it another way, even if Valencia defeats Real Madrid and advances to the semi-finals, it may not necessarily win the final championship.
After careful consideration, Valencia gave up the idea of fighting to the death with Real Madrid in the King's Cup and focused its main energy on the league.
After all, Valencia, currently ranked seventh, only needs to move up one place to qualify for the Europa League. If they reach the top four, they will qualify for the Champions League.
So in this Copa del Rey quarter-final, Valencia used a lot of substitutes, and Real Madrid won 5-1 at home, basically declaring that the second round of the game had lost suspense.
Lu Wenbin also only played for 45 minutes in the first half and was substituted off during the halftime break.
In the first half, Lu Wenbin scored a goal and a free kick, and also had an assist. With two shots and one assist, he was once again selected as the best player of the game.
After this King's Cup game, there is another league match against Valencia.
On January 20, in the 20th round of La Liga, Real Madrid will challenge Valencia away.
In this league, Valencia played very hard.
Valencia gave up the King's Cup and rotated the main lineup for a rest, but fought with Real Madrid to the end with the cheers of the home fans.
The score between the two sides remained 2-2 until the last moment of the game, but unexpectedly, Lu Wenbin's long shot from outside the penalty area killed the opponent.
Real Madrid brought back a 3-2 victory away from home, extending their unbeaten La Liga streak to 62 games.
Lu Wenbin scored twice in this game, and his La Liga scoring streak extended to 17 games, tying his record for the longest consecutive scoring streak in the top five leagues in the Bundesliga.
With one more game, Lu Wenbin will set a new record for the longest consecutive goals in the top five leagues, not just the La Liga record.
Not only that, Lu Wenbin's total number of goals in his personal career also broke the 600-goal mark, reaching 601 goals.
Lu Wenbin took 282 games to score these 601 goals, with an average of 2.13 goals per game, which is truly inhuman.
From the current perspective, as long as Lu Wenbin does not suffer a serious injury that could ruin his career, it will be no problem for him to join the Thousand Goal Club.
Of course, this is the outside world's view. In fact, Lu Wenbin himself knows that with his physique that is prone to injury, as long as he doesn't commit suicide, he will definitely not suffer such a serious injury in a normal game.
Even if the opponent intends to destroy him, his physique with zero injury tendency can give him advance warning and dodge, and he can also protect himself and reduce most of the damage while falling to the ground.
Therefore, the Thousand Goals Club is definitely achievable. Lu Wenbin's goal is to score 2,000 goals, becoming the first person in football history.
After the 20th round of the league against Valencia, Real Madrid did not return to Madrid at all, but stayed in the local area for daily training.
Because just three days later, it will be the second round of the King's Cup quarter-final against Valencia.
There is absolutely no need for Real Madrid to run back and forth.
Just when the outside world was praising Lu Wenbin for reaching the 600th goal mark in his career and his 17-game La Liga scoring streak, good news came unexpectedly.
Barcelona has been performing quite well this season. Except for losing one game to Real Madrid and drawing one game, they have won all other games.
In the first 19 rounds of games, Barcelona had 17 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, with 52 points. Although Real Madrid remained unbeaten, due to fewer wins, it only had 15 wins, 4 draws and 49 points, 3 points behind Barcelona.
Defending champion Real Madrid has been suppressed by its arch-rival Barcelona, which has always occupied the top spot in the standings.
After winning the match against Valencia in the 20th round, Real Madrid won and their points reached 52, the same as Barcelona.
Barcelona played against the mid-table team Real Sociedad away in this round. Everyone thought that Barcelona should have no problem winning Real Sociedad given their current form.
Unexpectedly, 90 minutes later, Barcelona lost 2-3 to Real Sociedad away from home, and the points remained at 52.
La Liga is different from other leagues. When the points are the same, the priority is not to compare the goal difference, but to compare the head-to-head results.
Not to mention the goal difference, Real Madrid and Barcelona have only played one league game in the first half of the season, and Real Madrid won.
Therefore, if the points are the same, the winning Real Madrid will rank higher.
So, since the beginning of this season, Real Madrid finally topped the standings for the first time, finally looking like a defending champion, a six-time champion, and a team of kings that has been unbeaten in 62 games.
For a moment, Real Madrid was overjoyed, while Barcelona was in despair.
Real Madrid, with Lu Wenbin, has ascended to the top spot, and it would be very difficult to dethrone them.
If Barcelona wants to compete with Real Madrid for the La Liga title, they will probably have to work harder to score points.