January 6, Bernabéu Stadium, Madrid.
Winter nights always came especially early, and they were especially cold.
This year, Madrid had not seen snow until after Christmas. These past few days had been cold, just like Real Madrid's situation.
Ramos sat in the stands at the Bernabéu wearing a down jacket.
Although he had been suspended for this match because of accumulated yellow cards, he and all his teammates who had not made the squad had still come to the stadium to face Real Sociedad alongside the team.
Real Sociedad had indeed been underwhelming in recent years. They had even languished in the Segunda División for three consecutive seasons at one point. But it had to be remembered that at the beginning of the century, they had finished runners-up in La Liga. Moreover, they had performed quite well so far this season. Their Head Coach, Philippe Montanier, and several of their players had all received widespread praise.
For example, the French newcomer Griezmann, Carlos Vela, who had once played for Arsenal, and Illarramendi, the deep-lying midfielder hailed as the second Xabi Alonso, had all displayed eye-catching ability and attracted the attention of European Football.
Facing such a formidable opponent, Ramos could only sit on the bench and watch. He was seething with frustration.
What made him even more anxious was that Real Madrid had been unable to break the deadlock on the field.
Just eighty-seven seconds after kickoff, Real Madrid opened the scoring. Yang Yang assisted Robben, who sent the ball into the net.
But in the sixth minute, Real Sociedad launched a swift counterattack. Carlos Vela dribbled into Real Madrid's penalty area, and Mascherano, who had chased him relentlessly all the way back, tripped him while defending. Referee Ignacio awarded the penalty without hesitation and showed Mascherano a red card.