Possible Defeat!

Suddenly, a torrential downpour transformed Sporting de Gijón's Molinón Stadium into a muddy swamp.

The already uneven turf became wet and slippery under the rain, making the playing conditions even worse. For the visiting Real Madrid, who held more than sixty percent possession, this was truly unfavorable.

The sudden rain, the slippery and uneven away pitch, and the midweek Champions League match against AC Milan in which they had fought tooth and nail...

Everything seemed to be foretelling one thing: Real Madrid might lose again.

With fresher legs, Sporting de Gijón launched the first attack as soon as the match began, repeatedly creating danger down both flanks.

Real Madrid still fielded Ramos, Pepe, Vermaelen, and Maxwell across the back tonight. The defensive line performed quite well, remaining composed from the opening whistle. During the early stages, whenever Sporting de Gijón attacked, they caught the hosts offside three times within seven minutes, freezing their attacks with pinpoint precision.

Real Madrid then launched a fierce assault, taking complete control of the match and creating one attack after another.

The best chance of the match came in the twenty-third minute. Sneijder played a through ball that tore open Sporting de Gijón's defense and sent it into Yang Yang's path. Yang Yang made a late run and calmly slotted it home.

But the assistant referee raised his flag to signal that Yang Yang was offside.

Unhappy with the decision, Yang Yang protested to the referee, insisting that he could guarantee one hundred percent that he had not fallen into Sporting de Gijón's offside trap. One of their players had been trailing behind, but the referee chose to trust the assistant referee's judgment.

Just like that inexplicably disallowed goal, Real Madrid's attack seemed to have picked up some bad luck afterward. They were always just