On the afternoon of April 30, in the thirty-sixth round of La Liga, Real Madrid traveled to face Real Sociedad.
A sudden downpour before the match turned the entire Anoeta Stadium into a muddy swamp. This made things extremely difficult for Real Madrid, whose passing and possession offered a clear advantage. On top of that, because of their squad rotation for the Champions League semifinal, key players such as Yang Yang and Suarez were left on the bench, severely weakening Real Madrid's attack.
Instead, former Real Madrid midfielder Illarramendi put in an excellent performance, making major contributions to Real Sociedad from the defensive midfield position.
This left Yang Yang, sitting on the bench by the sideline, feeling helpless.
Illarramendi was indeed a very capable player, and he had performed excellently in La Liga this season. Unfortunately, he had been unable to withstand the immense pressure of playing for Real Madrid. The moment he left the club, he had essentially said goodbye to the ranks of the elite forever, because no team would be willing to pay such a high transfer fee for him again.
In the fifty-fifth minute, after failing to break through for so long, Real Madrid finally made a substitution, sending Yang Yang onto the field.
Just three minutes later, James Rodríguez sent in a cross from the left. Yang Yang struck the ball directly from the edge of the six-yard box, blasting it through Real Sociedad's goal. One-nil!
In the eightieth minute, Vázquez sent in a cross after a Forceful Breakthrough down the right. Once again at the edge of the six-yard box, Yang Yang outjumped Real Sociedad center-back Mikel and headed the ball into the net, scoring Real Madrid's second goal. Two-nil!
A brace!
Real Madrid ultimately defeated Real Sociedad two-nil away from home, taking all