Yang Yang Zone

Real Madrid thrashed Valladolid 5–2 at home. Although they once again came under scrutiny, good news soon followed one after another.

Barcelona failed to break through Los Murciélagos' defense away at Valencia, and the two sides drew 0–0.

As a result, Real Madrid successfully clawed back two points and now trailed Barcelona by just one.

Moreover, with neither Messi nor Villa scoring this round, Yang Yang once again produced a brace, taking his tally to eight goals and leading the La Liga scoring charts. He had shown the entire league the destructive power of the world's number-one superstar.

La Liga had played seven rounds this season, yet Yang Yang had already scored eight goals and provided four assists. Whether in goals or assists, he had clearly maintained the level he showed at Liverpool—and his overall performances were even better than they had been there.

It had to be remembered that Yang Yang had missed one round through injury.

However, although the outside world praised Real Madrid's victory, plenty of media outlets were also worried about the problems exposed by the Galácticos, namely the team's defense.

This was not the first time something like this had happened this season. Whether against Zurich or Valladolid, Real Madrid had conceded twice, and neither of those teams was particularly strong.

In the clash between strong sides, Real Madrid had lost 2–1 away to Sevilla, which had caused many people to worry about their defense.

Some had even questioned whether there was a problem with Benitez's team selection and tactics.

Real Madrid sporting director Valdano later told AS, "The team is indeed still lacking balance."

"Looking at the matches we've played this season, we've produced some very fluid football, but we've also easily become disconnected between attack and defense. These are unavoidable problems during the