On the evening of September 14, at Villarreal's El Madrigal.
In the fourth round of La Liga, Real Madrid were away to the Yellow Submarine.
When the match reached the 62nd minute, two Real Madrid players stood on the touchline at the same time.
Ronaldo adjusted his shorts while waiting for Morata to leave the field.
After the two high-fived on the sideline, the Portuguese quickly rushed onto the pitch.
At the same time, Modric replaced the Italian midfielder Verratti.
After Morata and Verratti walked off, they both came to head coach Gao Shen.
"You have done a great job. Your next task is to watch closely and study carefully. Do you understand?"
Morata and Verratti both turned their heads toward the pitch and immediately understood what the coach meant.
Gao Shen wanted them to learn more from Ronaldo and Modric, to see how these top stars with greater strength and experience make decisions when facing similar situations.
Both young players nodded, returned to the bench, sat down, and watched the match intently.
Gao Shen remained standing on the touchline.
At this moment, the scoreboard showed the current score.
1-0.
By convention, the home team is listed first and the visiting team second.
Real Madrid had conceded in the first half due to a defensive mistake.
Goalkeeper Courtois performed very well. Without the Belgian's outstanding display, Real Madrid would definitely have conceded more than one.
The FIFA virus had a great impact on Real Madrid, especially for some internationals whose condition was seriously affected by long travel.
Gao Shen had actually put all the South American internationals on the bench, but it still did not work.
Of course, there was another problem, Illarramendi.
Gao Shen spoke to Illarramendi several times in the first half, asking him to control the shape and his position and to avoid pushing too far forward, but Illarramendi obviously did not grasp Gao Shen's intention.
Or perhaps he understood but could not execute it.
As a result, Real Madrid could not score in the first half and also exposed problems in their defense.
In addition, the team wasted chances frequently, so Gao Shen had no choice but to release his ace players.
After Modric came on, he quickly communicated with Pogba and helped Illarramendi control midfield, pulling the three lines back toward the halfway line.
Gao Shen nodded with satisfaction.
Turning around, he looked at Verratti on the bench and found the Italian watching the game intently. He sighed inwardly. Verratti was still a little young.
Modric's ability to control the tempo is truly unique.
Once he sorted things out, the rhythm of the match took on its own cadence.
Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, giving the opponent a headache.
Just like now, after Real Madrid dropped off a little, Villarreal's defense naturally followed.
At this time, Ronaldo, Dzeko, and Jesé lined up just outside the top of the box.
This is a very suitable zone for attackers to use their power.
It was not just Modric. After Ronaldo came on, he quickly opened up the left side of the attack and created two straight threats, though neither resulted in a shot.
Villarreal began to pile numbers on Real Madrid's left, their own right.
If Marcelo were behind him, Ronaldo might still insist on attacking, but with Marcos Alonso there, Gao Shen told Ronaldo he could wait for the right moment to switch sides and attack from the other flank.
Not long after, Ronaldo quietly swapped with Jesé.
In the 68th minute, when Real Madrid launched another attack down the left, everyone was surprised to see Jesé there. The youngster tried to beat his man but failed, then worked it back to Marcos Alonso, who played Pogba.
After Pogba carried it forward a step, he suddenly stopped and laid it off to Modric.
Modric killed the ball dead and looked up. When Ronaldo was in position and Villarreal's defenders were converging, he immediately switched it diagonally back to Ramos on the back line. It looked like he was being forced to recycle.
As expected, this confused Villarreal's defenders, who began to step up.
On the forward line, Jesé and Dzeko both drifted left, and Ronaldo also dropped in.
This drew Villarreal's left center-back Dorado forward as well.
But just when everyone thought Real Madrid's attack was about to fizzle out, Ronaldo in front of Dorado suddenly stopped, spun, and sprinted in behind.
Almost at the same time, Ramos took Modric's pass and launched a long ball.
Among all the center-backs in the world, Ramos's long passing is among the very best.
His ball was fast and vicious, with a low, skimming arc. It sailed over Villarreal's center-back and dropped straight into the area.
After shaking off Dorado, Ronaldo accelerated, timed his run to beat the offside trap, and met Ramos's long pass with a header.
The ball glanced off Ronaldo's forehead, changed angle, and flew toward the left side of the goal.
The goalkeeper had already started shifting right, his weight on that side. How could he recover? He tried to reach back for it, but it was too late.
He could only watch the ball fly into the left side of the net.
"GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!"
"Cristiano Ronaldo!"
"Just over six minutes after coming on, Ronaldo levels for Real Madrid!"
After scoring, the Portuguese did not over-celebrate. He sprinted to the touchline to celebrate, looking composed.
Gao Shen was not overly excited on the sideline, he just waved his hands.
1-1, level.
…
On the bench, Morata and Verratti were both dumbfounded.
They had just experienced it on the pitch. Villarreal's defense was really solid and their players were relentless.
No matter how they pulled or moved, it was difficult to shake off Villarreal's markers, which was frustrating.
But as soon as Ronaldo and Modric came on, the score was tied within six minutes.
Was that a coincidence?
How could it be?
If that was not enough, they soon saw another attack.
In the 73rd minute, Villarreal entered Real Madrid's box. Ramos used his body to block Pereira's path and left the ball for Courtois.
After the Belgian gathered, he quickly threw out to Marcos Alonso on the left.
Marcos carried it forward, spotted the opening, and launched a long diagonal to the right flank.
Nacho stepped up, controlled, and gave it to Ronaldo, who laid it back to him immediately.
Real Madrid's right-back drove to the edge of the area, saw the line, and slipped a pass down the right side of the box.
Ronaldo had made a diagonal run there, but Dorado, having learned his lesson, stuck tight, forcing the Portuguese wide and making him return it to Nacho.
Nacho nodded it back to the trailing Illarramendi.
The midfielder then fed it forward to Modric.
Modric cushioned it to his right and, seeing Nacho primed, shuffled two steps sideways and zipped a low pass.
With Dorado still locked on Ronaldo to the left, a gap had opened in Villarreal's back line.
The ball threaded between two defenders and went straight to the byline on the right side of the area, where Nacho surged at top speed.
Even within Real Madrid, Nacho's pace is very high. He immediately shook off his man, reached Modric's pass before it crossed the line, and squared first time with his right foot across the six-yard box.
Dzeko arrived and swept it home.
The ball was in again.
"2-1!"
"Turnaround!"
"Dzeko's finish puts Real Madrid ahead of Villarreal!"
"My God, those two substitutions, Ronaldo and Modric, have completely revitalized Real Madrid's attack."
…
After scoring twice in quick succession to turn it around, Real Madrid grew even more confident.
Villarreal immediately made a flurry of changes, trying to steady the situation.
But soon, Real Madrid seized another opportunity.
In the 81st minute, Villarreal won a throw-in on the left side of their attack, Real Madrid's right, near the edge of the area.
The Yellow Submarine took it quickly. Three players combined down the left, but Varane forced them to the byline and they recycled in a triangle.
There was no one there.
The pass rolled back toward the penalty spot. Illarramendi hacked clear under pressure, but it did not travel far.
Pogba surged forward, rose, and outmuscled Soriano to head it on. As he landed he burst after it and fed Ronaldo, who was already streaking ahead.
Ronaldo carried it forward and slipped the pass inside to the right side of the box from the left channel.
Jesé had been flying up in support. He met Ronaldo's pass and shot first time.
The strike was fast and venomous, arrowing toward goal.
Villarreal's goalkeeper reacted sharply and got down in time.
But the shot had too much power to be held and spilled loose.
For a split second the center-backs were caught flat-footed, and Ronaldo ghosted into the prime spot in front of goal. With his right foot not set to strike, he let his left meet the bouncing ball and lashed it in.
3-1.
A brace.
Now Ronaldo was truly fired up.
The Portuguese tore off on a lap of celebration, reveling in his second goal.
In less than twenty minutes, he had been involved in all three goals, scoring twice himself. What could be more exhilarating than that?
Now, who dares underestimate his role in this Real Madrid team?
Who else dares say he is not on Messi's level?
Finally, the Portuguese performed his signature celebration on the touchline.
On the bench, Morata and Verratti were stunned.
This is the power of a superstar.
It is true for Modric, and even more so for Ronaldo.
(To be continued.)