It was a strange occasion. Deportiva are a fifth-tier team hailing from Llano del Beal in southeast Spain, a town with a population of just 1,300 and a stadium so small the match was moved to Cartagena, and a stadium which accommodated 8,000 spectators – most of whom were madridistas.

One member of Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid squad played through illness to secure for himself Man of the Match honours in the club’s meeting with Deportiva Minera.That’s according to Blancos