Riazor Stadium

Deportivo La Coruña fans dressed in blue and white stripes cheer for their team from the stands as the players on the field gradually begin to launch their counterattack.

In the 32nd minute of the match, Real Madrid, having slightly relaxed their aggression, was hit by Deportivo La Coruña's counterattack.

Lafita brought the ball down the right flank, coordinated with Filipe Luís behind him, effortlessly bypassed Guti, and charged down to the baseline, ending the attack with a decent cross.

"Lafita and Filipe Luís's coordination was very skillful."

"Especially Filipe Luís, who supported his teammate at just the right time."

"Filipe Luís is serving on loan at Deportivo La Coruña from Castilla."

"Rumor has it that Deportivo La Coruña is interested in buying out this dual-nationality (Brazil and Italy) defender."

Filipe Luís felt a bit regretful seeing the attack come to nothing. This player, born in 1985, joined Real Madrid in 2005, and when Chen Zhong was promoted to Castilla, he had already joined Deportivo La Coruña on loan in 2006 due to his excellent performance.

Initially, Filipe Luís didn't get many playing opportunities at Deportivo La Coruña, but by the second season, he had become an absolute starter.

He even caught the attention of Atletico Madrid, though back then, Atletico Madrid wasn't as attractive as Super Laco.

Starting player Soldado glanced at Filipe Luís. Their careers had briefly intersected; Soldado joined Castilla in 2002 and by 2005 had become the most outstanding star of Castilla with his exceptional scoring efficiency, even making it onto the first-team roster in the 05-06 season.

Back then, Soldado was at the top of Castilla's hierarchy, while Filipe Luís was a newcomer at the bottom.

But now?

It's uncertain whose situation is better or worse.

At least from the current scenario, Filipe Luís seems more experienced than Soldado.

Deportivo La Coruña seems eager to break through Real Madrid's defense in this period, and Filipe Luís is looking very lively.

In the 36th minute of the match, Filipe Luís executed a one-two play with a teammate, then directly crossed from the baseline to the far post.

Heinze completed a header to clear the ball ahead of the Deportivo La Coruña player, albeit at a slightly awkward angle.

If it weren't for Casillas's quick reaction, the ball might have rocketed into their own goal.

Casillas stared at Heinze for a while, not yelling at him, but his expression seemed to say...

What's going on?

I'm defending against them, and now I have to defend against you too?

Just as Real Madrid lacked a method to break through Deportivo La Coruña, Deportivo La Coruña also lacked a technique to break through Real Madrid; in the 45th minute of the match.

Holding a 70% ball possession rate, Real Madrid launched one final attack in the first half.

Upon receiving the ball, Chen Zhong passed it to Guti, who sent a straight pass to Soldado, and upon receiving the ball, Soldado directly flicked it to the nearby Raul.

Raul took the ball and quickly accelerated, charging straight into the penalty area!

"Real Madrid's chance!"

"Continuous passing!"

"Attack initiated from the backfield."

"Pass again, pass again."

"Feed it inside!"

"Soldado, flick."

"Beautiful!"

"Raul!"

"One-on-one!"

Raul nudged the ball forward a bit and suddenly dashed past the nearby Deportivo La Coruña player; facing the goalkeeper, he completed a curling shot with his left foot.

The ball traced an arc.

Everyone focused their gaze on Raul.

Will it score?

Raul!

The 201st goal?

"Beep, beep, beep!"

The referee blew the whistle marking the end of the first half.

"Oh no!"

"Raul aimed a bit too much for the angle."

"The first half of this match was somewhat dull."

"Between the two teams, there were a total of 5 shots."

"But none of them reached within the frame."

"Raul's shot in the last moments of the first half could have broken the deadlock."

Amidst the commentators' voice of regret, the first half concluded.

Lodina's performance surprised many when everyone thought he was just a stand-in, that he would be exposed during this match; he used actual gameplay to show everyone.

I still have some tricks up my sleeve.

He wielded the five-defender tactic with great skill.

At least the underpowered Real Madrid lacking edge play options couldn't break their turtle shell.

...

In the guest team's locker room, Schuster stood in front of the whiteboard, visibly displeased. After taking a sip from the bottle Francisco had given him, he forcefully smashed the bottle onto the ground.

This commotion captured the attention of all the Real Madrid players.

"What are you doing?"

"Someone tired and doesn't want to play?"

"We have absolute ball possession, but haven't scored a single goal."

"Who are they?"

"Hmm? Who are they?"

Schuster certainly had reason to be angry.

Real Madrid was currently being praised by the media as "Europe's strongest leader."

He was lauded by the media as "the curse breaker."

And Deportivo La Coruña?

A team knocked out of the contention list, struggling to stay in the league, a "weak team." And their coach, merely a nobody who's had luck steering a third-rate team.

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