January 27, noon.

In the 21st round of La Liga, Real Madrid hosted Getafe at the Bernabéu.

With Barcelona coming up this weekend, Gao Shen rotated heavily for this match.

Goalkeeper: Casillas.

Defence: Marcos Alonso, Pepe, Ramos, and Nacho.

Midfield: Casemiro in the holding role, with Kaka and Verratti ahead.

Forwards: Ronaldo, Higuain, and Isco.

A noon kick-off was rare in La Liga, and it left the Real Madrid players feeling a bit uncomfortable.

From the start, Real Madrid dominated possession, controlled the tempo, and pressed Getafe hard.

Getafe, however, were well-prepared and defended with great tenacity.

The first chance of the match fell to former Real Madrid player Sarabia, who would later join Paris Saint-Germain. His long-range effort threatened Casillas but sailed over the bar.

It wasn't until the eighth minute that Real Madrid carved out a flurry of chances.

Ronaldo crossed from the left, Kaka's fierce shot was saved by goalkeeper Moyá, and Marcos Alonso followed up on the left side of the penalty area to slot home the opening goal.

Real Madrid kept pushing.

Six minutes later, Verratti threaded a pass through, and Higuain's header was tipped over by Moyá.

From the resulting corner, Ramos rose high and headed in, doubling the lead to 2-0.

And that was only the start.

From the 20th minute onwards, Real Madrid took full control.

First, after intercepting the ball in midfield, Kaka played a through pass, and Ronaldo finished from the left side of the box to make it 3-0.

Three minutes later, Verratti switched play with a long ball to the left, Marcos Alonso crossed with his left foot, and Ronaldo powered in a header from the edge of the six-yard box for 4-0.

That was the halftime score.

During the break, with the game essentially won, Gao Shen substituted Ronaldo for Morata.

The formation switched to 4-3-1-2.

Morata and Higuain led the line, Isco played just behind them, and Kaka, Casemiro, and Verratti formed the midfield three.

In this setup, Gao Shen gave Isco maximum freedom.

From the start of the second half, Isco shook off his first-half sluggishness and became far more involved, dribbling constantly and running at Getafe's defence.

One telling stat reflected his influence: in the first ten minutes of the half alone, Getafe received three yellow cards, all for fouling Isco. The cautions went to holding midfielder Xavi Torres, former Real Madrid player Borja, and centre-back Lopo.

But much to Gao Shen's frustration, while Isco's skilful dribbling looked dangerous, it rarely led to real threat.

Real Madrid failed to produce any truly dangerous attacks in that period.

The key problem was that Isco held onto the ball too long and often missed the best passing option.

It was Gao Shen's biggest headache with him.

"Do you have any ideas on how to wake him up?" Gao Shen asked, exasperated.

Carlo, Zidane, and Hierro exchanged glances, equally helpless.

This was simply Isco's style: heavily influenced by street football, and exactly how he enjoyed playing.

It was hard to come down on him too harshly, but in the context of modern football tactics, his approach was more flashy than effective.

"I'm thinking, why don't we take a page from Ferguson with Ronaldo?" Gao Shen said with a wicked smile, looking eager to try.

For some reason, Zidane and Hierro both shivered.

That smile was full of malice.

Everyone knew how Ferguson dealt with Ronaldo — in training, he instructed defenders to go in hard on him to force him to stop over-dribbling and play more directly.

But that was Cristiano Ronaldo, with his physique, his frame, and his muscle.

Isco, on the other hand, had a slighter build and lean muscle...

Still, Gao Shen was serious. He turned to Carlo and said, "When we're back in training, get someone to stick to him. Casemiro, Ramos, Pepe — don't go easy on him. I refuse to believe this won't work."

It sounded like Gao Shen was ready for a showdown with Isco.

…

Although Real Madrid had led 4-0 at halftime, they failed to score in the second half despite controlling the game.

Gao Shen was disappointed.

He could already picture the headlines suggesting Real Madrid were over-reliant on Ronaldo.

But the core issue was that the attack was disjointed, and that came down to Isco.

There was also another problem: Ramos picked up a yellow card in the second half.

That meant another suspension.

Gao Shen couldn't be blamed for not resting him — Pepe was already on four yellow cards and one away from a ban.

The real problem was the Spanish Football Federation's strange suspension rules.

Five yellow cards in combined league and cup play brought a one-match suspension.

So Ramos, now on five, would miss the first leg of the Copa del Rey against Barcelona.

The odd thing was that red cards were counted separately for league and cup. A red in La Liga wouldn't affect the Copa del Rey, and vice versa.

This left Gao Shen very frustrated. He almost wished Ramos would get another yellow, or even a red, just to serve the suspension in La Liga instead.

But he couldn't do something that dishonourable. When Mourinho had done something similar, it had caused a storm of controversy. Gao Shen wouldn't risk his reputation.

Still, when Ramos came off, Gao Shen was furious.

"Didn't I tell you to hold back?" he snapped, pointing at Ramos.

The captain looked guilty. "I got carried away and couldn't help myself."

Everyone groaned.

Now, they had beaten Getafe but lost Ramos for Barcelona.

"Remember this, kid! Every yellow card from now on, you're getting punished!"

Ramos fell silent. He feared no one except his boss.

Pepe, standing nearby, turned away to hide a smirk.

When had he ever seen Ramos so meek?

"What are you laughing at? You too!" Gao Shen said sharply, catching Pepe's expression.

Everyone else stared at the ceiling, pretending to admire the Madrid sky.

Yes, the weather was beautiful.

"I've never seen players so keen on collecting cards!" Gao Shen muttered before walking off.

Ramos and Pepe were left with bitter expressions, knowing they'd been caught in a tight spot.

The others passed by, clearly enjoying their discomfort.

Carlo, however, sighed as he walked past Ramos. "You've made life very hard for him."

That made Ramos and Pepe freeze.

What trouble?

Of course, the Copa del Rey against Barcelona.

Sometimes young players only think about the moment and forget the consequences.

Ramos suddenly realised his suspension was for the Barcelona match.

He wanted to slap himself. The boss had warned him before the game and reminded him again at halftime. How could he have forgotten?

Ramos turned to look at Pepe.

The Portuguese defender, grinning, said, "Don't worry. I'll give everything against Barcelona."

Ramos was touched. "Yeah. If I lose my head again, slap me. Don't hold back."

Pepe nodded eagerly. "Okay, I'll remember that."

Finally, an excuse to hit him.

"Oh, and Sergio, wash the captain's armband. It smells," Pepe added.

Ramos froze. What did that have to do with him?

Wait… this guy was going to be captain for the next game!

Was he trying to usurp the throne?

Sensing trouble, Pepe ran off. "Make sure it's clean," he called back.

Ramos was left fuming.

…

Real Madrid beat Getafe 4-0 at home, but Ramos' suspension for accumulated yellows left fans with mixed feelings.

That was Ramos — reckless and card-prone, yet indispensable.

Without him, Real Madrid's defence lacked authority.

Albiol and Varane weren't at his level yet.

Ramos had everything: skill, passing, pace, and one-on-one defending. Alongside Pepe, they were a formidable duo.

Apart from their recklessness, they had no weaknesses.

The irony was that Real Madrid also had Varane, whose defensive play was clean and precise — almost like he had a phobia of fouling.

His tackling was immaculate, with minimal contact, as if one foul would stain years of work.

Varane's mild temperament lacked Ramos and Pepe's edge, which made him seem less dominant despite his quality.

As Zidane and Hierro said, if Varane had more bite, he'd already be challenging them.

But for now, with Ramos suspended, Varane was the only option.

(To be continued.)