On the evening of January 7, in the 18th round of La Liga, Real Madrid faced Real Sociedad at the Bernabéu Stadium.

Ramos was suspended due to accumulated yellow cards, Casillas sat on the bench, and Marcelo was still sidelined, so the captain's armband went to Pepe.

Who would have thought that Pepe, who joined Real Madrid in July 2007, would now be one of the longest-serving players in the squad.

Of course, this was also because for players like Arbeloa, who left and then returned to the club, their captaincy seniority was counted from the day they rejoined, not from their initial arrival.

Before the team took the pitch, Gao Shen personally fastened the captain's armband on Pepe's arm and encouraged the Portuguese centre-back, hoping he could put in a solid performance, maintain his form, and especially show the stability and responsibility expected of a captain.

After the winter break's physical training, Real Madrid's form was actually average, but their attack paid off quickly. Less than two minutes after kick-off, Modric carried the ball forward and played a through pass. Benzema broke into the gap and calmly slotted the ball into the net, unmarked, to open the scoring for Real Madrid.

After that, the match fell into a stalemate.

Real Sociedad's goalkeeper, Chilean Claudio Bravo, who would later join Barcelona and Manchester City, put in a brilliant performance, making saves high and low to repeatedly deny Real Madrid.

It was not until the 35th minute that Modric's strike from the right side of the penalty area extended Real Madrid's lead to 2-0.

In the second half, both sides fought fiercely. Real Madrid created several chances in succession but still could not beat Bravo again. Instead, in the 68th minute, Benzema lobbed a pass for Ronaldo, who scored with his left foot.

Two minutes later, Ronaldo won a free kick on the left side and converted it himself.

4-0!

Real Madrid could have created even more opportunities, but they failed to find the net again.

By the way, in this match Gao Shen played Isco on the right, while right-back Carvajal struggled against the constant threat of Real Sociedad's left winger Griezmann.

In the end, Real Madrid defeated Real Sociedad 4-0 at home.

Before the game, there were rumours that Real Madrid valued Illarramendi, Real Sociedad's best-performing midfielder this season. However, he had just returned from injury and sat on the bench instead of playing.

This also cost Real Sociedad their midfield advantage.

Had Real Madrid been in better form, the score could have been even larger.

…

While Real Madrid were beating Real Sociedad 4-0 at home, Barcelona hosted their city rivals Espanyol.

Thanks to two goals from Pedro, Barcelona also won 4-0.

It is worth noting that Barcelona head coach Vilanova returned to the dugout before this match after undergoing his second surgery to remove a parotid gland tumour late last year.

Many believe that Barcelona's strong performance this season has been inspired in part by Vilanova's battle against cancer, which cannot be underestimated.

The entire football world was behind Vilanova.

As a competitor, Gao Shen not only voiced his support for Vilanova's fight against cancer on Twitter and Weibo, but also tweeted specifically to congratulate him on his return and wish him all the best for the future.

After defeating Espanyol, Barcelona's players also dedicated the victory to Vilanova.

…

Midweek came the second leg of the Copa del Rey round of 16.

Real Madrid hosted Celta Vigo at the Bernabéu.

Just two minutes into the game, Ronaldo latched onto a pass from Marcos Alonso and scored the opener for Real Madrid.

Later, Modric and Higuain each provided assists for Ronaldo to score twice more.

Finally, Toni Kroos received a pass from Ronaldo and netted Real Madrid's fourth goal.

In the end, Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 4-0 at home and advanced to the quarterfinals.

Ronaldo scored a hat-trick and provided an assist in this match, putting in an outstanding performance.

The day after the game, the draw for the Copa del Rey quarterfinals was held.

The eight teams advancing were Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Zaragoza, Sevilla, Malaga, and Real Betis.

Real Madrid's luck was clearly lacking as they drew Valencia, a tough La Liga opponent.

Barcelona drew Malaga, and Atletico Madrid drew Real Betis.

…

That weekend, in the 19th round of La Liga, Real Madrid travelled to the Reyno de Navarra Stadium to face Osasuna.

On paper, there was no suspense, as the gap in strength between the two teams was obvious. But a sudden downpour flooded the pitch, which greatly affected Real Madrid.

To make matters worse, Ronaldo, who had played two straight matches, was suspended for accumulated yellow cards.

Gao Shen opted to have young player Jesé replace Di Maria and link up with Carvajal on the right flank.

This also had some impact on Real Madrid's performance.

The most glaring moment came in the 24th minute. Di Maria drove the ball from the right half-space into the penalty area, rounded the onrushing goalkeeper Fernández, and squared it to the unmarked Higuain.

But with an empty net in front of him, Higuain somehow sent the ball wide, skidding across Osasuna's box.

On the touchline, Gao Shen was left speechless.

It was hard to blame Higuain completely. The rain was pouring down, the pitch was soaked and slippery, passes were sticking in the water, and every kick sent up a splash. The conditions were awful.

Real Madrid were struggling, but so were Osasuna.

The difference was that Osasuna did not play a technical game and relied mainly on long-ball counterattacks, so they were less affected.

The rain hardly hindered them.

The deadlock continued until the second half.

In the 78th minute, Higuain slipped a lovely pass to Di Maria, who scored, but the goal was ruled offside, much to Real Madrid's frustration.

From the sidelines, Gao Shen kept urging his players to stay focused and push on.

He remained on the touchline, letting the rain soak him through, never retreating, showing his willingness to stand with his players in the fight.

It was not until the 87th minute that Real Madrid won a corner.

Toni Kroos sent it in calmly, and Pepe, still wearing the captain's armband, rose to head it home from inside the box, breaking the deadlock.

After landing, the Portuguese centre-back punched the air and roared to release his emotions.

Inside the stadium, the boos and the sound of rain could not drown out the cheers of the Real Madrid players.

On the touchline, Gao Shen shouted his approval for Pepe.

He was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.

This damn weather was awful.

…

Midweek, in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, Real Madrid hosted Valencia at the Bernabéu.

From the start, Valverde's team played aggressively, especially against Ronaldo, committing frequent fouls.

Less than a minute in, Tino Costa fouled Ronaldo. Three minutes later, it was Joao Pereira.

Neither resulting free kick troubled the goal.

But Valencia's physical approach did not intimidate Real Madrid, and Gao Shen instructed his team to press forward.

In the fourth minute, Ronaldo drove down the left flank, beat his man to the byline, and crossed low into the box. Benzema could not shoot first-time, so he held the ball, turned, and laid it back to Modric, who slotted it into the net.

1-0!

In the 36th minute, the move was almost identical.

After winning the ball in midfield, Ronaldo carried it forward, this time cutting inside from the left channel towards the edge of the box before laying it across.

Benzema let it run at the top of the D, Di Maria collected it at the far post, beat his defender, and shot with his left foot.

The shot was blocked, rebounding to the edge of the area, where Toni Kroos arrived, controlled, and blasted a right-footed strike past the keeper.

2-0!

Before halftime, Real Madrid had another chance in a similar position. Ronaldo drew defenders and slipped it to Kroos, who controlled with his right foot, muscled past a challenge, and unleashed another powerful left-footed shot.

This time, the keeper saved it onto the crossbar, denying him a second goal.

In the second half, with a two-goal lead, Real Madrid played with more control, while Valencia's challenges became increasingly reckless.

In the 73rd minute, they finally paid for it.

Kroos sent a simple pass forward, Ronaldo ran onto it, and drove into the box. Rami, beaten, shoved him from behind.

The referee pulled out a straight red card and awarded a penalty.

Ronaldo converted it himself.

3-0!

The Bernabéu erupted.

Though it was only the quarterfinals, winning the first leg 3-0 meant Real Madrid already had one foot in the semifinals.

For a club that had gone years without silverware, this was big news.

In the end, amid roaring cheers, Real Madrid finished with a 3-0 home win over Valencia.

The fans' predictions had been spot on.

In the second leg a week later at Mestalla, Gao Shen rotated his squad, yet they still held Valencia to a 1-1 draw, advancing 4-1 on aggregate.

Some might ask why the rotation?

Because sandwiched between the two Copa del Rey quarterfinal legs, Real Madrid also had to visit Mestalla in La Liga's 20th round.

In other words, in the space of a week, Real Madrid faced Valencia three times, once at home and twice away.

In that league match, Real Madrid went wild, leading 6-0 by halftime. Ronaldo scored a hat-trick with both his head and his feet, Di Maria bagged a brace, and Benzema added one.

It was the highest halftime score in the history of either club.

The match ended 6-0.

Real Madrid had beaten Valencia three times in a week and were simply unstoppable.

The day after the Copa del Rey quarterfinal, the semifinal draw took place.

This time, Real Madrid's luck was terrible.

(To be continued.)