"Good grief, is this really happening?"
Many fans from the East had just switched on their televisions and were already watching Ronaldo use his signature dribbling to surge at high speed towards Leoia's penalty area.
"Here he comes!"
Leon's eyes sharpened, and he chose to rush out immediately.
If Ronaldo had attempted any other kind of attack, Leon might have hesitated for a moment.
But this was a one-on-one.
Just charge out without thinking.
Watching Ronaldo suddenly wind up to shoot, Leon hurled himself sharply to the right.
In mid-air, Leon's body stretched out completely.
In that instant, Leon unleashed a burst of speed and explosive power that matched everything he currently possessed.
"Thwack!"
Ronaldo's thunderous driven shot was blocked by Leon with effortless ease.
He immediately got back to his feet and scooped up the ball, giving Ronaldo no chance at a rebound.
Ronaldo had already rushed right up to Leon's face, and seeing Leon clutch the ball, he could only pull up in frustration.
"Hang on, wait. Was it that Ronaldo's shot was just terrible, or is Leon actually this good?"
Fans from the East could hardly believe what they were seeing.
That was Ronaldo.
And it was a one-on-one.
Could our player really stop Ronaldo like that in a one-on-one?
In the commentary booth, Yulav and Jackson were struck speechless for a moment.
Jackson had only just been building up to say that Ronaldo would not waste this chance, and had even been trying to give Leon some cover in advance, saying the goal conceded was not the goalkeeper's fault.
It turned out there was no need for any of that.
Leon had cleanly and crisply saved Ronaldo's one-on-one.
"Leon! Leon! Leon!"
After a brief silence, the home crowd erupted in chants of Leon's name.
That was absolutely unbelievable.
"Hold on, now that I think about it, has Leon ever actually failed to save a one-on-one?"
"Come to think of it, he really hasn't."
"Ha! Doesn't matter if it's Ronaldo or some nobody, he saves them the same way!"
Hearing the voices of the fans around him, Watson smiled with quiet satisfaction.
Just on the strength of this save against Ronaldo's one-on-one alone, Leon's move to AC Milan was as good as sealed.
Out on the pitch, Leon gave the ball a calm pat and launched a long kick upfield.
But barely a minute later, Real Madrid won another one-on-one opportunity.
Ronaldo had only just made his way back to around the centre circle before he accelerated into a sprint again.
Another one-on-one.
What on earth?
"Conceding a goal is inevitable if they keep defending like this."
"Leoia really are something else."
"Parking the bus is the only sensible option here."
In the commentary booth, Jackson could not help letting out a groan.
"This time it has to go in."
Yulav instinctively chimed in beside him.
The man taking the one-on-one was Ronaldo, after all.
Two missed one-on-ones in a row was essentially unthinkable for Ronaldo.
Yulav was already beginning to feel sorry for Leon.
If Ronaldo were to score ten goals in a single match against him, the psychological damage alone might be enough to end his career on the spot.
"Blimey, surely he scores this time."
"Of course he will. My boy Ronaldo was just warming up his feet earlier."
In the northern corner of Sarria Stadium, a group of nearly a hundred Real Madrid supporters had made the trip to follow Ronaldo.
Seeing Ronaldo get another one-on-one, they all lit up with excitement once again.
"Eh? Bloody hell, look at that!"
"How is that even possible?"
"That makes no sense!"
Every single one of the nearly hundred Real Madrid fans wore an expression of complete disbelief.
Out on the pitch, given another one-on-one opportunity, Ronaldo had clearly adjusted his approach to shooting.
Seeing Leon commit hard, Ronaldo used that momentum perfectly against him, calling on his own explosive pace to make a simple change of direction that looked set to take him clean past Leon.
But Ronaldo produced the same infamous scene that Barcelona B's Mari Dongou had once gifted the world.
The man went past, but the ball did not.
Leon threw himself to the side and once again pressed the ball firmly beneath his body.
"What the f**k!"
Ronaldo could not hold back the profanity.
He could not even work out how Leon had managed to cut it out.
"That explosive burst."
"Those reflexes."
"That reading of the game."
"Surely the very best goalkeepers in the world are no better than this."
"Could Neuer do that?"
In the commentary booth, Jackson no longer had any energy left to worry about being made to look foolish by Leon again.
After watching the replay, Jackson was too stunned to find any words.
"I don't think Neuer could."
Yulav added a cutting remark from beside him.
The two exchanged a glance, both at something of a loss as to how to carry on with their commentary.
Could it be that Ronaldo was simply out of form after returning from injury?
But watching the replay, it was still plain to see that Ronaldo's explosive pace was excellent.
It was simply that Leon's saves were even more otherworldly.
"Bloody hell, he can actually do it!"
Burke Abel punched the air with excitement on the touchline.
He had been under enormous pressure just moments ago.
They could absolutely go toe to toe in an open match after all.
"Attack! Attack! Attack!"
Burke Abel sent the signal to Leoia's players on the pitch to push forward again.
In the 11th minute, Ronaldo won a one-on-one for the third time, and a chip shot was met by Leon with a sweeping backward lean that redirected the ball and sent it over the bar.
In the 28th minute, Ronaldo's fourth one-on-one saw him attempt a curling inside-foot finish, only for Leon to pluck the ball clean out of the air.
In the 41st minute, Ronaldo's fifth one-on-one brought a long-range strike from outside the area, and the ball flew straight up into the stands.
Ronaldo's composure had completely shattered.
Nil-nil.
At the end of the first half, Real Madrid had been unable to break down Leoia's goal.
The thing was, Leoia had not parked the bus for a single moment.
Instead, they had been going toe to toe with Real Madrid in a completely open match.
Real Madrid had spent the first half either being caught offside or squandering one-on-one chances.
Five one-on-ones, and every single one had been [wasted] by Ronaldo.
"Ronaldo! You'll never break through the goal that Leon is guarding!"
"Ha! Who else but Leon could make Ronaldo look this embarrassed?"
Walking back down the tunnel, Ronaldo heard the jeers from Leoia's home supporters, and his expression, already dark, turned even darker.
"For crying out loud."
Back in the dressing room, Ronaldo drove his foot straight into the door frame.
"Crash!"
Whether the dressing room at Sarria Stadium was simply built to a poor standard was unclear, but the door frame was kicked clean through with a gaping hole.
"Oi! Where's your manager?"
"Keep your players in check. You break something, you pay for it."
A member of the stadium staff heard the thunderous bang, came over to inspect, and left Ronaldo completely frozen on the spot.
"What on earth was happening with those one-on-ones?"
"Is Leon's shot-stopping ability really that strong?"
Ancelotti's expression remained perfectly composed.
This was only a Copa del Rey match, and it was nowhere near enough to make Ancelotti feel any tension or urgency.
All Ancelotti had begun to feel was curiosity about Leon.
Five one-on-one saves against Ronaldo in one match.
A record like that was surely beyond even his own first-choice goalkeeper Navas.
"I honestly have no idea what happened."
Ronaldo, in a foul mood, had no interest in saying more and walked off.
Ancelotti's brow creased for a moment, then relaxed again.
Ronaldo had always been this way, and Ancelotti had long since grown used to it.