On the evening of March 19, at Madrid's Beradium, Real Madrid faced Real Betis iweh round of La Liga.

  As the first half s end in stoppage time, the score remained 0-0. Iands of the Berhe Real Madrid fans were growiless. Some radical fans in the south stand even started booing the team, especially targeting head coach Gao Shen. Many fans dispyed banners and shouted slogans, venting their dissatisfa.

  Just as the fans' patience was about to run out, Real Madrid's midfield suddenly made a crucial steal. After Gravessen intercepted the ball, he quickly passed it to Guti upfield. The Golden Wolf, repg Zidane as the starter, took two steps forward a a sharp through ball to the left side of Real Betis' penalty area.

  Negredo had pulled the defender away, allowing Raul to make a ing run. Before the defender could react, Raul poked the ball with his foot, and it skimmed the inside of the left post, rolling into Real Betis' goal.

  The Beradium erupted in an instant!

  Raul turned and sprinted around the field, celebrating amidst the deafening cheers of the Real Madrid fans. Since Gao Shen took over, Raul had been given a pivotal role. With Negredo sharing the defensive workload, Raul was pletely liberated, sg repeatedly and overtaking Ronaldo to bee Real Madrid's leading scorer of the season.

  Tonight, Raul's decisive goal in the crucial moment gave Real Madrid the lead at halftime.

  Gao Shen, standing on the sidelines, jumped iement upon seeing Raul score. After nding, he turned around and high-fived Lucas, Maqueda, and others, then reached out to Bueura. As the fitness coach grabbed his hand, Gao Shen pulled him in for a warm hug. Amid the deafening cheers, Bueura could hear Gao Shen's ughter.

  Raul's goal hadn't e easily. Every goal for Real Madrid at this stage was hard-woing go of Bueura, Gao Shen exhaled heavily and roared, releasing all his tension and pressure.

  "Tonight's Fourteenth Master, I love it!" Gao Shen excimed joyfully.

  Everyone khat Guti was uable, often insistent. But Gao Shen had started him in two secutive games, letting him py Zidane's attag midfielder role, trolling the game without needing to defend, to maximize Guti's offensive creativity.

  I game against Valencia, Guti's diagonal pass set up Callejon's assist. This time, his through ball was surgical, enabling Raul to score. How could o love such a Guti?

  In the end, Real Madrid beat Real Betis 1-0 at the Berhanks to Guti's assist and Raul's goal.

  Despite the victory, boos still echoed at the final whistle. Real Madrid fans were dissatisfied with the dull and unattractive performance. Real Madrid hadn't dominated offensively, even taking six fewer shots than Real Betis, with Real Madrid shooting 13 times to Betis' 19. Although Real Madrid had 60% possession pared to Betis' 40%, they failed to vert that into attag opportunities, frustrating the fans.

  A home game against a team in the relegation zone shouldn't be this difficult, they argued. How could Real Madrid hope to challenge Bara?

  Moreover, questions arose about the absence of Zidane and Beckham. Ronaldo and Carlos watched from the stands, uo tribute.

  After the match, the Spanish media also expressed their dissatisfa with Real Madrid's performance. Gao Shen's refusal to attend pre- and post-match press ferences was criticized as unprofessional. However, Alfredo, the editor-in-chief of *As*, defended Gao Shen in his n, arguing that Real Madrid was improving, especially defensively.

  "Real Betis may have had 19 shots, but only one was on target, meaning Casils faced only ohreat. This would have been unthinkable in the past," Alfredo wrote.

  He hat the improvement in Real Madrid's defense came at the cost of their attag prowess.

  "Acc to our sources within Real Madrid, Gao Shen had a thh discussion with Chairman Martin and Teical Director Butragueno before the game. He anticipated a possible draw because the team has been fog on fitraining."

  Real Madrid's uping schedule was grueling: Real Betis at home, Zaragoza away in midweek, Deportivo at home weekend, the Champions League quarterfinals against Juventus, and the following weekend, the El Csico against Bara.

  "If Bara's tough schedule was in February, Real Madrid's is in Mard early April," Alfredo wrote.

  But despite Alfredo's rational perspective, it was drowned out by the overwhelming boos and criticism.

  Meanwhile, Bara's 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad only added to the panic among Real Madrid fans as the season's end approached.

  Amid all this doubt, Gao Shen's attention was caught by a piece of news in *As*: Ronaldo stated in an interview that he had no pns to move to Serie A and wao stay at Real Madrid, crifying that her he nor his agent had tacted any Serie A clubs or received any invitations.

  This was Ronaldo's first public response since rumors of a transfer emerged. Gao Shen saw this as a signal of Ronaldo's ge in attitude.

  After all, Ronaldo hadn't made the squad for four secutive games and was feeling the pressure. Raul was now outsg him, and Real Madrid had won fames in a row without him. Ronaldo had to choose: tio be marginalized or soften his stance.

  If he tio resist, his p Brazil's national team for the World Cup in Germany could be at risk.

  Despite external criticism, Gao Shen remained focused. On March 22, Real Madrid faced Zaragoza away at La Romareda Stadium. Their st visit had ended in a humiliating 1-6 defeat in the Copa del Rey. This time, Gao Shen made signifit rotations, resting Raul, Gravessen, and Negredo, with Beckham starting and Zidane on the bench.

  Both teams pyed cautiously, resulting in a dull match. Gao Shen emphasized pressing and tai, preventing Zaragoza from mounting effective attacks.

  The most threatening moment came in stoppage time. In the first half, former Real Madrid midfielder Cedes made a through ball, Everton crossed, and Diego Milito's shot was blocked by Woodgate, allowing Casils to save fortably.

  In sed-half stoppage time, Real Madrid created their best ce. Beckham's diagonal pass found Zidane, whose collision with Zaragoza's goalkeeper César left the ball loose. Soldado reacted quickly, sweeping it into the .

  Real Madrid won 1-0 with Soldado's stoppage-time goal. The game was still ckluster, and fans and media remained critical. Bara's current 3-1 victory etafe, with Eto'o sg twice, kept them ahead and highlighted the trast: Bara pyed spectacurly, while Real Madrid pyed servatively.

  While media aral fans favored Bara, many Real Madrid supporters criticized their team's servative py.

  Gao Shen remained silent, knowing it wasn't the right time to speak out.