After playing Juventus, Real Madrid rushed straight to Málaga for an away match.
At La Rosaleda Stadium, Real Madrid defeated Málaga 2–1 with goals from Isco and Casemiro.
Isco scored one and assisted another, earning Man of the Match honors.
Yang Yang was once again absent from the matchday squad, along with Modrić, Toni Kroos, and several others.
After consecutive grueling matches against Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, Real Madrid had also expended a great deal of energy and needed a proper rest.
In the same league round, Barcelona, who had just suffered a shocking comeback defeat away to Roma, beat Valencia 2–1 at Camp Nou this time, claiming another three points and keeping pace with Real Madrid.
Since they had not been included in the weekend matchday squad, Yang Yang, Modrić, Toni Kroos, and the others stayed behind at Valdebebas to train. The sessions were not too intense, and the atmosphere was relaxed, filled with laughter and conversation.
After training, Yang Yang made a special trip to the medical room.
Professional footballers—who among them wasn't covered in aches and injuries?
Yang Yang's injuries were all minor. Perhaps he had accidentally been scraped by a stud during a match, or taken a blow while contesting the ball with someone, or suffered something else entirely...
Over the years, he had grown used to living with a steady stream of minor injuries. As long as they did not affect his ability to play, he did not care.
The same was true of everyone else, more or less.
But people who only watched matches on television and had never actually taken the field would never understand how intense football really was. Injuries were simply part of the game.
Real Madrid's Valdebebas boasted some of the finest medical facilities in all of Europe.