Starting as a Defensive Midfielder at Real Madrid

”Ten Straight Wins to Start the Season! La Liga’s Strongest Has a New Name!”

”A Year of Polishing—Mourinho’s Madrid Finally Takes Shape!”

”One Trophy, Ten Wins—Real Madrid’s Only Opponent Is Themselves”

”La Liga Suspense? El Clásico May Be the Decisive War!”

After Real Madrid secured a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad, extending their winning streak at the start of the season to ten matches, the Spanish media quickly fell into unanimous agreement.

Even the staunchly pro-Barcelona Mundo Deportivo had to admit—this season’s Real Madrid was incredibly resilient in tough matches!

They could go all-out on attack when necessary and hold their line firm on defense when required. Most importantly, they had players ready to step up in every section of the pitch—attack, midfield, and defense.

Cristiano Ronaldo needed no more praise. Currently the runaway top scorer in La Liga, his signature no-angle power shots had become a nightmare for every goalkeeper in the league.

Mourinho’s successful transformation of Ramos had also made Madrid’s back line practically impenetrable.

As for the midfield, the Alonso-Leon duo had become the envy of La Liga coaches everywhere.

Hardworking and consistent, the two ironclad defensive midfielders formed a safety net that gave Madrid a rock-solid baseline for their performances.

In the recently concluded 11th round of La Liga, Leon had even delivered the most stunning long-range goal of the matchday!

Even luck now seemed to be on Real Madrid’s side—how could the media not align in their praise?

Madrid was now playing like true champions.

They didn’t just bully weaker teams—they had the grit to handle big matches, the stability to defend under pressure, and always someone to rise in the critical moments.

For Real Madrid, the priority now was maintaining their form and keeping players healthy.

In the past, Mourinho would have been more cautious at this stage of the season if they were still in the Premier League. The brutal winter schedule in England was notorious.

One poorly managed rotation around Christmas, a couple of injuries to key players, and it could cost a manager his job!

But in La Liga, Mourinho had fewer worries.

Approaching Christmas, the Spanish league slowed down—and included a brief winter break.

It wasn’t as long as the Bundesliga’s full-month winter pause, but La Liga’s break lasted close to a month, which was still very helpful.

So, with careful squad management, Madrid didn’t need to overly fear fatigue or injuries.

After the grueling battle against Real Sociedad, Mourinho, following advice from the medical staff, deployed a rotated lineup for their trip to Lyon.

Madrid had already won three straight matches in the Champions League group stage, holding a significant points lead. It made sense to use a mix of youth and rotational players for this away game.

Fans were especially excited for the chance to see the ”New Five Eagles” of Real Madrid potentially play together this round.

All five were included in Madrid’s official 18-man Champions League squad released before the match.

And about an hour before kickoff, when the starting lineup was announced, Madrid supporters were buzzing with excitement.

Leon, Nacho, and Lucas Vázquez were named starters, while Morata and Carvajal were listed on the bench!

This setup made the simultaneous appearance of the ”New Five Eagles” highly likely—depending on whether Madrid could score early and take control.

Naturally, Lyon wasn’t thrilled about Madrid’s lineup.

They felt disrespected—bringing on youth players was one thing, but leaving out Ronaldo up front, Pepe at the back, and Alonso in midfield?

It was like Madrid thought Lyon were some mid-table La Liga side—just using them for squad rotation practice!

Feeling humiliated, Lyon’s players came out aggressively from the start, pressing hard on Madrid’s half.

Over 30,000 Lyon fans packed into the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, shouting and cheering their team on with full voice.

But despite the fiery start, Lyon’s attacks were effectively blunted by Madrid’s midfield trio—Leon, Khedira, and Lassana Diarra.

For the first 15 minutes, Lyon didn’t even manage to breach Madrid’s defensive third.

It was a rather awkward situation.

So much noise and fanfare—but no results. Thunder without rain.

Madrid fans went from nervous to smiling as the match went on.

Lyon’s attacking force just wasn’t strong enough. Once Madrid targeted and neutralized their playmakers, Ederson and Källström, their influence evaporated.

With their midfield engines silenced, Lyon’s striker Gomis was left wandering without service—and was completely shut down by Ramos.

”How did we lose to Lyon two seasons ago? Our lineup back then wasn’t bad, right? Or was Pellegrini really that poor in the Champions League?”

”Back then the squad hadn’t gelled yet. Our depth also wasn’t what it is now.”

”You’re all missing the key point—this Lyon team is weak. Two years ago, their midfield had Toulalan and Pjanić.”

”Now Ederson and Källström—who used to be substitutes in the Champions League—are their starters. Tsk tsk.”

Real Madrid fans were relaxed, discussing Lyon’s decline on online forums during the match.

And the players on the pitch weren’t letting Lyon get any chances either.

Despite fielding many backups, Madrid’s squad was still superior in quality and tactical discipline.

In the 23rd minute of the first half, Leon dispossessed Ederson on the left flank and immediately surged forward along the touchline.

Disrupting Lyon’s defensive structure, he quickly laid the ball off horizontally to Khedira, who was also making a forward run.

In this moment, ”Facebro” (Khedira’s nickname from Chinese fans) showed world-class ability in front of Lyon’s midfield.

He muscled aside the tall-but-slender Gonalons, then performed a smooth cutback to leave Gourcuff in the dust.

German commentators were raving about Khedira’s brilliance—but Leon, watching it unfold, couldn’t help worrying about his partner’s knee.

”Please don’t tell me Facebro will need another two or three matches to recover after this Champions League group game…”

Just as that thought passed through Leon’s mind, Khedira slipped a perfectly weighted through-ball along the ground toward Lyon’s penalty area—

Higuaín made a perfectly timed forward run, broke the offside trap, and calmly slotted the ball into the near corner of Lyon’s goal with a clinical finish!

”Holy crap! Facebro, what a pass! That was brilliant—I knew you could slice through their defense!”

As soon as the ball crossed the line, Leon sprinted straight toward Khedira, showering him with loud, gleeful praise as he ran.

”Little Lion, you sure know how to talk sweet! Just a bit of luck, a bit of luck~”

Khedira, catching the lunging Leon, laughed heartily and gave him a hearty pat on the shoulder.

”Lyon’s defense has been breached! Khedira showcased his individual brilliance on this attacking run—both his dribble and final through-ball were beautiful! And Higuaín’s shot? Spot on! But let’s not forget Leon’s timely pass to launch the counter after the interception.”

The commentator Dan Xuan had a smile in his voice as he complimented every player involved in the play. He didn’t even leave out Vázquez and Di María, who had drawn defenders away with their off-ball runs.

And with the goal putting Real Madrid on the verge of four straight wins in the Champions League group stage, the team played with increasing confidence after the restart.

When there was an opening to counter, they pushed up decisively; when there wasn’t, they dropped back and held firm in the midfield, forming a wall against transitions.

Lyon struggled to break them down. Without any explosive playmakers, they were up against a Madrid midfield trio that might have lacked creativity—but more than made up for it with defensive coverage and relentless pressing.

Mourinho, watching the game’s tempo unfold exactly as he’d hoped, grew more relaxed. After the halftime break, he subbed off Higuaín—the goalscorer—for Morata.

Higuaín wasn’t upset. He already knew he’d be starting in the next league match and sat chatting and laughing with Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench.

Morata, excited and fired up, was making his Champions League debut tonight. Naturally, he wanted to impress—and if he could get his name on the score sheet, even better.

Unfortunately for him, Lovren had other ideas.

From the moment Morata came on, Lovren marked him like glue, determined not to give the teenager a single clean look at goal.

At just 19 years old, Morata found himself physically overmatched by the 22-year-old Croatian.

With Morata struggling, Madrid’s counterattacks started to stall. Sensing the momentum shifting, Mourinho made another change in the 58th minute: Cristiano Ronaldo replaced Di María.

The moment Ronaldo stepped onto the pitch, you could feel the tension rise among Lyon’s players.

Meanwhile, Leon and Khedira switched sides—Leon moved to the left-central midfield position, Khedira to the right.

Once the change was made, Leon repeatedly surged forward on the left, linking up with Marcelo to deliver service to Ronaldo.

Lyon wanted to respond defensively, but their right back, Réveillère—almost 32 years old—simply couldn’t handle Ronaldo’s repeated attacks.

In the 69th minute, Ronaldo had been on for just over ten minutes when he received a delicate lobbed through-ball from Leon in the left channel and charged into Lyon’s penalty area!

And right in front of Morata, he pulled off a daring fake shot, sent Lloris diving the wrong way, and calmly pushed the ball into an empty net from a tight angle.

Watching Ronaldo’s confident celebration, young Morata could only admire him with awe.

That run, that composure, that finishing ability.

Morata realized just how far he still had to go to reach the level of the world’s elite forwards.

Leon, on the other hand, wasn’t overwhelmed with emotion. He was just happy to have picked up an assist so effortlessly.

And seeing Ronaldo score the second goal, Mourinho wasted no time calling up Carvajal to warm up.

The sight thrilled Real Madrid fans watching at the stadium and from afar.

Five minutes later, Carvajal entered the match to a roaring ovation from thousands of Madrid supporters in the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, replacing Ramos.

And just like that, the ”New Five Eagles of Castilla” had all made appearances in the same Champions League match!

There were young faces across all three lines—defense, midfield, and attack. It was a nostalgic and emotional sight for older Madrid fans.

It had been so many years—how long had it been since a scene like this graced the pitch for Real Madrid?

Ever since Florentino Pérez’s return, the club had gone all-in on signing global superstars, cementing Madrid’s status as the world’s premier footballing power.

But Castilla’s youth products had grown increasingly marginalized, year after year, often forced to find opportunities elsewhere in La Liga.

There had always been jokes among fans—”Castilla develops talent for the whole Spanish league.”

It was both a compliment to Madrid’s youth academy and a lament for the squandered potential of so many gifted players who never got their chance in the first team.

These players clearly had the talent—but they simply never got the call.

And for Madrid supporters, it was frustrating to see homegrown kids overlooked again and again.

So, in this moment—when five players from Castilla, all around 20 years old, were representing the first team in a Champions League match—Madrid fans were ecstatic.

Even if none of them registered another goal or assist that night, it didn’t matter.

The image of those five young men sharing the pitch would be forever etched into the memories of this generation of Madridistas.

It was a moment not just for Castilla—but for the entire Real Madrid legacy.

The next day, Spanish newspapers featured many front pages with a photo of the five Castilla boys on the pitch together.

Even four days later, as Madrid prepared for their next league match against Osasuna, fans and media were still buzzing about the historic ”New Five Eagles” moment.

Of course, this intense focus from the press didn’t sit well with Osasuna.

Sure, they had only won three of their first ten league matches.

But they’d also drawn six!

Their attack wasn’t great, and they lacked the ability to kill off games—that was their flaw. But they also had a solid defensive unit, and that was their strength.

So today, Osasuna came to the Bernabéu with their minds made up—to rely on their defense and go toe-to-toe with Real Madrid. They wanted to show the Madrid fans their true strength.

Right from kickoff, Osasuna set up in a standard 4-5-1 midfield defensive formation.

However, instead of challenging Madrid for control in the middle of the park, they sat deep, retreating into their own half and waiting for Real Madrid to press forward.

This approach left Madrid’s starters exchanging puzzled looks.

Seeing Osasuna give up the midfield so easily, Mourinho didn’t hesitate. He immediately signaled for Leon and Alonso to push up.

Today, Madrid was playing their modified 4-4-2 formation that had become standard during the opening stages of the league.

Di María returned to midfield, playing on the right with Kaká on the left. The pair quickly pulled apart Osasuna’s flanks.

Dragon Bro (Alonso) and Leon’s organization and passing were direct and efficient.

Whenever Di María or Kaká stretched Osasuna’s shape, the duo immediately picked out Ronaldo with through balls, aiming at the gaps in defense.

Early in the match, Ronaldo frequently dropped back to collect the ball and began threatening Osasuna’s goal with long-range shots.

Several powerful efforts forced Osasuna’s goalkeeper, Fernández, to constantly shout at his teammates to close down Ronaldo more quickly.

In the 14th minute, Ronaldo received the ball, turned, and saw two defenders closing in.

Rather than take the shot, he threaded a beautiful through ball that split Osasuna’s defense, allowing Higuaín to make a semi-breakaway run just outside the box.

Nowadays, Higuaín only had the occasional ”funny” miss—when it came to finishing, he was far more reliable than ”锅锋” (Benzema, humorously dubbed ”Pot Striker” by fans for missing sitters).

With a smooth first touch and a quick adjustment of his stride, Higuaín calmly slotted a low shot past Fernández, who dove the wrong way.

Real Madrid had broken the deadlock with ease at home.

But that was only the beginning.

Forced to shift their shape and attack, Osasuna soon found themselves repeatedly punished by Madrid’s deadly counters.

Ronaldo struck twice on the break—in the 22nd and 29th minutes—seizing opportunities with pinpoint timing and clinical finishing!

In the 36th minute, Kaká received a header back from Higuaín, took a touch to settle, then launched a thunderbolt from 28 meters out!

Fernández couldn’t get to it. Goal number four for Madrid.

At halftime, Mourinho considered leaving it at that. Scoring too many would only humiliate Osasuna further.

So he started the second half by substituting Benzema and Callejón in for Higuaín and Kaká.

But what he didn’t expect was for Benzema to score twice within ten minutes of stepping on the field!

By the 55th minute, Real Madrid led 6-0 at home.

Osasuna’s players were shattered. Desperately, they pushed forward hoping to salvage at least one goal.

But in the 68th minute, Ronaldo completed his hat-trick, calmly finishing another attack.

With the score now 7-0, Mourinho subbed him off and brought on Lass Diarra.

Yet Osasuna still couldn’t score, and just before the final whistle, Di María added one more long-range strike to make it 8-0.

The blood-red scoreline hung on the Bernabéu’s scoreboard like a brutal reminder.

Madrid fans were in ecstasy, but Osasuna’s players looked ghost-white, their faces slapped raw by humiliation.

All their pre-match talk of ”ambition” now seemed like a bad joke.

They hurried down the tunnel, heads bowed, fleeing the scene of their heartbreak as quickly as possible.

Emboldened by their 8-0 demolition, Real Madrid only grew stronger across La Liga and the Champions League.

On November 19th, after a two-week international break, Mourinho sent out a rotated squad for a gritty 90-minute battle away to Valencia.

Both teams seemed content with a draw—but in the final moments of stoppage time, Ramos scored a diving header off a corner, shielded by Leon’s movement, snatching victory with Madrid’s only shot on target.

Three days later, back at home, a heavily rotated Madrid squad cruised to a 4-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb, clinching their fifth consecutive group stage win in the Champions League.

On November 26th, with a full-strength lineup, Real Madrid welcomed city rivals Atlético Madrid to the Bernabéu for the capital derby.

Atlético were riding high in seventh place in La Liga and had only conceded 14 goals across 12 matches—boasting solid defensive form.

But Madrid showed no mercy, tearing them apart with five goals to Atlético’s one, securing their 13th straight league win!

In Round 15, facing third-from-bottom Sporting Gijón, Madrid eased off slightly.

With the starters well-rested, they still coasted to a 3-0 victory, claiming their 14th straight win to start the season.

By now, Real Madrid had played nearly every team in La Liga—and no one could stop them.

They were unbeatable. Truly, unquestionably, unstoppable.

Barcelona?

Madrid had already beaten them before the season began—in the Supercopa, with a better aggregate score over two legs.

If people didn’t count that, then surely their next La Liga meeting would leave no doubts—Madrid just needed to beat them again, head-to-head.

All eyes in Spanish football turned toward December 10th.

10 p.m. local time in Madrid. El Clásico. The battle that could decide it all.

Leon glanced at the date on his phone and couldn’t help but remember Messi, who had torn him apart three months ago.

He muttered to himself:

”Mr. Messi… in this world, all encounters are reunions after long partings~”

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