After Atletico Madrid were drawn in the Copa del Rey, the coaching staff gathered the players for a meeting at Valdebebas. They discussed the team's plans for the second half of the season, and Benitez emphasized two cup competitions.
This had essentially revealed the Head Coach's plans for the second half of the season: focus on the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.
For Yang Yang, this was upsetting news.
"Barcelona have been too steady this season!"
After leaving the meeting room, Yang Yang stood by the corridor railing, facing the training ground across from him below. He gripped the fence tightly and said unwillingly, his tone filled with helplessness.
Barcelona had indeed been incredibly steady this season. So far, they had lost only once—to Real Madrid. Apart from that, no team had been able to defeat Barcelona.
Since Yang Yang returned from injury at the end of November and defeated Barcelona in El Clásico, Barcelona had played five league matches. Their results were a 3–0 away win over Osasuna, a 5–0 home win over Real Sociedad, a 5–1 away win over Espanyol, a 2–1 home win over Levante, and a 4–0 away win over Deportivo La Coruña.
It could be said that everything Barcelona had done this season so far had been almost despairingly consistent.
Even worse, Real Madrid had dropped too many points earlier and were now seven points behind Barcelona.
In theory, there were still twenty rounds left in the league. It was only mid-January, and anything could still happen. However, Real Madrid had no choice but to prepare for both possibilities in advance.
Because of the FIFA Club World Cup, along with the interruptions caused by Christmas and the winter break, Real Madrid had been playing two matches a week ever since January began. However,