Emperor Madrid's Nemesis

January 16, San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao.

La Liga, round eighteen. Real Madrid visited Athletic Bilbao.

When referee Vázquez blew the final whistle, deafening cheers erupted throughout San Mamés Stadium.

Forty thousand Athletic Bilbao fans cheered wildly, celebrating the hard-fought victory of the team they supported. Many also shouted the name of the scoring hero, Fernando Llorente.

One-nil. That was the final score.

Real Madrid suffered their third defeat of the season, making the team's situation after Christmas even worse.

Yang Yang had played the entire match. Sweat poured down his body, and right up until the moment the whistle sounded, he had still been fighting for a chance. But when it finally came, he felt as though his entire body had been hollowed out.

He stood on the unfamiliar pitch, tilting his head back and letting the sweat slide down his face.

The Basque Lions were famous for their hostility toward outsiders, and they were notoriously unfriendly to visiting teams. Everyone had expected those difficulties before the match.

But no one had expected the game to be this difficult.

Less than two minutes after kickoff, Athletic Bilbao took advantage of a corner and Llorente headed the ball into the net.

That was right—another corner!

From Liverpool to Real Madrid, Benitez's teams had always suffered terribly from corners.

The team's defensive problems had also been repeatedly exposed and picked apart, especially after Christmas.

For one thing, the team's form had fluctuated after the break. For another, their defensive problems had been exploited by opponents again and again.

They had first drawn with Osasuna in the league, then been eliminated from the Copa del Rey by Racing Santander, and now had lost to Athletic Bilbao. A record like that was certainly impossible to satisfy anyone.

Athletic Bilbao had also paid a