On the evening of March 10th, at Balaídos Stadium.
In the 27th round of La Liga, Real Madrid faced Celta Vigo away.
Gao Shen once again made major rotations to the starting lineup, especially resting the players who had featured in the battle at Old Trafford.
Morata finally appeared on the left wing, playing in the position of his idol Cristiano Ronaldo, with Higuaín as the center forward and young Jesé as the right winger.
This was another new attacking trident arranged by Gao Shen.
After the opening whistle, Real Madrid played very actively, but Celta Vigo's offside trap was executed well.
In the first 20 minutes, Real Madrid were caught offside 8 times.
It was not until the 24th minute that Kaka delivered a through ball. Higuaín timed his run perfectly, broke into the penalty area, and faced the goalkeeper one-on-one. He calmly slotted the ball into the net to open the scoring for Real Madrid.
1-0!
After taking the lead, Real Madrid continued to press steadily against Celta Vigo.
In the 39th minute, it was Kaka again. On the left edge of the penalty area, after receiving a pass from Higuaín, he skillfully dribbled with his right foot, evaded defenders, and played a diagonal ball to the right side of the box.
Jesé timed his run well, found himself unmarked, and met the pass with a right-footed volley.
The ball flew past goalkeeper Varas and straight into the net.
2-0!
At the end of the first half, Real Madrid launched two more dangerous attacks, but failed to score.
After the break, the match continued in an orderly manner.
In the 55th minute, Gao Shen made his first substitution.
Marcelo, who had been out for four months with injury, returned to action, replacing Marcos Alonso.
This was the Brazilian left-back's first appearance since October of last year.
But unlike other long-term injury cases, Marcelo had already trained with the squad before his return, and his recovery had been carefully supervised by Buenaventura and Pintus.
After coming on, Marcelo was very lively.
Just four minutes later, during a Real Madrid attack, he received a pass from Kaka and played it into Higuaín at the edge of the penalty area on the left side. Higuaín struck the ball first-time, cushioning it behind the defense.
Morata rushed onto it and finished directly, extending Real Madrid's lead.
3-0!
Real Madrid's attacking waves continued.
Still on the left, Marcelo combined beautifully with Morata in a one-two. The Brazilian pushed down the flank and crossed low into the box. Higuaín met it with a header to score again.
4-0!
A brace for Higuaín!
In the 71st minute, Real Madrid built an attack from the right before switching it to the left.
Marcelo surged forward, almost as if he were a winger, before playing the ball back to Kaka, who then laid it off to Verratti.
After moving the ball on, Kaka immediately darted forward. Verratti read his movement and delivered a lofted pass.
Kaka burst into the box, controlled the ball with his chest, and before it dropped, volleyed it into the net.
5-0!
Kaka turned and sprinted off the pitch in celebration, full of excitement.
Two assists and one goal.
The Brazilian showed excellent form.
In the 85th minute, Real Madrid's midfield intercepted the ball and launched a quick counterattack.
After receiving a pass from Kaka on the left, Morata drove into the box along the edge and squared it across goal. Jesé arrived at the back post and calmly finished.
6-0!
Even in stoppage time, Real Madrid created another chance.
Morata played a ball into the left channel. Jesé dribbled past the defense and broke through into a one-on-one. Despite defensive pressure, he stayed composed and pushed the ball into the net to complete his hat-trick.
7-0!
After scoring his hat-trick, Jesé sprinted toward the touchline to celebrate with Gao Shen and Zidane.
Gao Shen, Zidane, Hierro, Carlo, and the Real Madrid substitutes who rushed over all congratulated him warmly.
Celta Vigo's defense had clear problems tonight.
They had some early success with the offside trap, so they kept using it.
But they did not expect Real Madrid to adapt so quickly, countering the trap repeatedly.
Once broken, the offside line left Celta completely exposed, and Real Madrid's finishing was ruthlessly precise.
This is the risk of playing the offside trap.
When it fails, the opponent gets clean one-on-ones.
Jesé stood out with his hat-trick, which was remarkable for such a young player.
But what satisfied Gao Shen even more was Morata.
Whether he played on the left or as the center forward after Higuaín was substituted, he performed very well.
This season of training had seen Real Madrid's young players make significant progress.
…
Real Madrid eventually defeated Celta Vigo 7-0 away.
After the game, whether it was Jesé with his hat-trick, Higuaín with his brace, or the excellent performances from Morata and Kaka, all received glowing praise.
The most-liked comment on Gao Shen's Twitter read: "For the first time, I've felt the joy of cultivating young talent in Football Manager, but at Real Madrid!"
At the post-match press conference, Gao Shen praised the outstanding performances of several players, saying Real Madrid now had the depth and squad quality to compete on two fronts.
"It has been proven that our young players are capable of standing on their own. I have full confidence in them."
Gao Shen also revealed that Real Madrid would further optimize its rotation system.
"Yes, we are one point behind Barcelona in the league, but I don't think that is a big gap."
Gao Shen expressed his belief that Barcelona would make mistakes.
Meanwhile, there were reports that two very important cancer fighters at Barcelona would soon return to Camp Nou.
One was French left-back Abidal.
Abidal returned to action two months after liver surgery and was applauded across the world, but his illness relapsed and there were rumors he would retire. Fortunately, he underwent a liver transplant and had been recovering ever since.
The other was Barcelona head coach Tito Vilanova.
In December last year, Vilanova underwent his second parotid gland tumor surgery and returned to the bench just 13 days later. But the illness returned and he traveled to New York for treatment.
Recently, news arrived that Vilanova had successfully stabilized his condition and would return to Barcelona soon.
The return of these two figures would provide a huge emotional boost for Barcelona.
Although he was Real Madrid's head coach, Gao Shen said in a press conference interview with Catalan media that he was happy about their return and offered his congratulations.
"They have both put in tremendous effort and shown incredible strength of will. They deserve all of our admiration."
"I'm truly happy to hear of their recovery and I hope to see them back on the pitch. They are real heroes."
When asked if their return could boost Barcelona and put Real Madrid at a disadvantage, Gao Shen smiled and replied, "If their return brings Barcelona a championship, then I and everyone at Real Madrid will sincerely congratulate them."
Gao Shen said that in the face of life, football must take a back seat.
His interview was praised across the board, including by Real Madrid, Catalan media, and fans.
In professional football, victory is important, but life is more precious.
…
After the match against Celta Vigo, Real Madrid enjoyed a rare week of rest.
Over the past month, they had played almost two matches per week, putting them under huge strain.
This time, Gao Shen simply gave everyone two days off, letting the players rest and spend time with their families.
Later that week, the remaining four matches of the Champions League Round of 16 were completed.
The quarterfinal draw was held at noon on March 15 at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
The draw was conducted by Secretary General Infantino and Competitions Director Marchetti, with Wembley Stadium ambassador and former Real Madrid player McManaman serving as guest.
The result of the draw paired Real Madrid with Serie A leaders and near-champions Juventus.
Gao Shen did not feel particularly lucky with this draw.
Serie A's overall strength was not as strong as Real Madrid's, but Juventus' tactical style posed a major threat.
Juventus excelled at defensive counterattacks. With passing masters like Pirlo in midfield and counterattacking forwards such as Vučinić, Matri, and Quagliarella, they were dangerous in transition.
Everyone knew Real Madrid were most vulnerable to quick counters when playing their trademark high pressing game. If Juventus were given opportunities to counter, the results could be disastrous. The best example was Italy's tactics against Spain at Euro 2012.
At that time, Pirlo's influence was fully displayed.
Clearly, Juventus would not be an easy opponent.
Another concern was the scheduling. Real Madrid would play the first leg at the Bernabéu before traveling to Turin.
This was not ideal, because if Juventus scored an away goal in Madrid, Real would be under heavy pressure in the return leg in Italy.
Gao Shen thought so privately, but he would never say it publicly.
In media interviews, Gao Shen first praised Juventus.
"Juventus are the best team in Italy right now. They are very strong defensively and have many excellent players in attack. They are a very tough opponent."
But he quickly added, "Real Madrid has never been afraid of challenges. Whether we play home first or away first doesn't matter much to us."
He also reminded reporters that during his time at Napoli, his record against Juventus was quite outstanding.
"At the very least, I can guarantee that when the draw was announced, our opponents had more of a headache than we did!"
His confidence infected the whole team.
Especially after eliminating Manchester United, Real Madrid's confidence was soaring.
In media interviews, Real Madrid players expressed further belief upon learning they would face Juventus.
Captain Iker Casillas said the team's current form and morale were excellent.
"We all believe the team will succeed this season and win a major title!"
(To be continued.)
***
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