In the final few minutes, the entire Real Madrid side had clearly fallen into a state of frustration.
With Leoia parking the bus and defending for their lives, breaking into the penalty area again was proving genuinely difficult for Real Madrid.
And as Ronaldo's final long-range effort sailed over the bar, the final whistle blew.
Leoia had produced a miracle.
They had pulled off a massive upset in the Copa del Rey and beaten Real Madrid.
Sarria Stadium had become a sea of pure joy.
Every single Leoia home supporter had been swept up in a frenzy.
"This can't be real."
"This is impossible."
The Real Madrid supporters who had made the trip to watch in person were all left questioning everything they knew.
They had come expecting to watch Ronaldo bag a hat-trick or more and pull ahead of Messi's goal tally.
Instead, they had watched Ronaldo's one-on-ones get saved by Leon again and again.
And Ronaldo's signature weapon, the knuckleball free kick, had been emphatically palmed away by Leon as well.
In direct head-to-head confrontation with Leon throughout this match, Ronaldo had been completely beaten.
Out on the pitch, Ronaldo's face had turned ashen, and he walked back to the dressing room without a word.
Losing the Copa del Rey was not a serious matter for Real Madrid.
Compared to the league and the Champions League, the Copa del Rey was clearly of little significance.
But being shut out by Leon in this match had left Ronaldo with no way to save face.
The reason Ronaldo had taken to the pitch in this match in the first place was genuinely to chase goals.
He had not expected it to end like this.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on winning the match! 2,000 System Points awarded!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on keeping a clean sheet! 2,000 System Points awarded!]
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on keeping a clean sheet against Ronaldo! 1,000 System Points awarded!]
The system chimes rang out in his mind, and Leon smiled.
5,000 System Points in hand.
From attribute upgrades alone, this would give Leon's ability a massive boost.
But the system chimes did not stop there and continued to ring.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host, on fulfilling the condition [Defeat and Shut Out an Opposing Star Player]! A badge can be drawn from Ronaldo!]
[Ding! Draw now?]
An unexpected bonus.
The badge system had already been unlocked previously.
But Leon had genuinely not thought about drawing a badge from Ronaldo before this match.
The system had given no notice before kick-off, and Leon had completely forgotten about it.
"Draw!"
Leon said it quietly in his mind, and a wave of emotion passed through him.
Ronaldo's badge was bound to be something exceptional.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Ronaldo's badge [Knuckleball Master] has been drawn!]
[Ding! [Knuckleball Master]: Free kick attribute raised to 15! Probability of executing a knuckleball from a free kick: 100%! (Note: other free kick styles are still available. Determined by Host's intent!)]
Absolutely perfect.
Leon could not hold back a surge of excitement.
His free kick attribute had previously sat at only 1.
Now, after drawing [Knuckleball Master], it had jumped straight up to 15.
How many System Points had that just saved him?
And having acquired the ability to bend a knuckleball like Ronaldo, Leon as a goalkeeper now had a genuine attacking weapon at his disposal.
In specific situations, a single strike could decide the outcome of a match.
"Goalkeeper from the East Shines in the Copa del Rey!"
"Ronaldo Off Colour! Struggles to Find the Net Against Lower-League Opposition!"
"Who Is Leon? Ronaldo Has No Choice But to Find Out Now!"
After the match, major outlets across the board ran coverage of the game.
This massive upset left many Real Madrid supporters heartbroken.
And because of this match, Leon had made his existence undeniably known to every fan from the East.
"A talent like this is genuinely one of a kind back home."
"You know, what about our national side..."
"Don't even go there. Just let Leon keep playing in the top five leagues. He can still bring honour to us that way."
"Exactly. Don't even bring our national side into it."
"Fair enough."
In the hearts of many fans from the East, Leon had become their new source of hope.
He absolutely had to make his mark in the top five leagues.
Fans from the East all believed that as long as Leon kept performing at this level, clubs from higher up the ladder were certain to come calling once the season ended.
In fact, Leon was already on the verge of joining AC Milan.
The day after the Copa del Rey match ended, Leon was called into the office of the club's owner, Clorin.
Also present were the club's operations director, Robin Todd, and AC Milan's scout, Watson.
AC Milan's chief scout, Polly, had watched the previous match and signed off on the deal and the signing on the spot.
The match had attracted the attention of a number of clubs towards Leon.
But AC Milan clearly held all the cards.
Because Leoia was an AC Milan satellite club.
And Watson's interest in Leon had been building for a long time.
"Leon, I genuinely had no idea you had this much potential and ability."
"Otherwise I would absolutely have given you a proper contract to begin with."
Club owner Clorin spoke to Leon first.
Leon smiled faintly and said nothing in response.
"Leon, I'd like you to sign this new contract."
"Of course, this won't affect your move to AC Milan, but it will mean any club that takes you away will need to pay an additional two hundred thousand euros in compensation."
Operations director Robin Todd followed up.
Leon glanced across at AC Milan's scout Watson, mildly puzzled.
Was it really wise to say that so openly in front of the buyer?
"Leon, it's entirely up to you."
"No issue on AC Milan's end."
Watson gave a shrug.
AC Milan had been dealing with some significant financial difficulties over the past few seasons, but they were not about to quibble over two hundred thousand euros.
In the current football world, signing a promising youngster from another club always came with a compensation fee.
For higher-profile prospects, clubs had been known to pay two or three million euros.
Leon's two hundred thousand euro release clause was remarkably cheap.
Especially given the context of Leon shutting out Ronaldo, making the value on offer even more extraordinary.
Of course, if Leon chose not to sign the new contract Leoia had put forward, AC Milan would be able to acquire him for nothing at all.
"Alright, I'll sign."
Leon did not overthink it.
If Leoia had not given him the opportunity to play, AC Milan would never have taken notice of him.
He might even have spent the rest of his days wandering the streets.
That much was very clear in Leon's mind.
Since AC Milan did not mind, Leon was equally happy for his departure to bring the club some income.
"Leon, we will always be friends!"
"Here is ten thousand euros, consider it your bonus."
Seeing Leon sign, Clorin broke into a smile and produced ten thousand euros to hand across to Leon.
Leon smiled as well and took it without hesitation.
Ten thousand euros was a significant sum of money for Leon at this point in his life.
Three days later, Leon packed his bags and prepared to travel with Watson to report to AC Milan.
When the moment came to leave, Hachim Mastour nearly broke down in tears.
His only true friend at Leoia had, against all expectation, ended up going to AC Milan before him.
"Leon! Wait for me in the youth squad!"
"I'll have your back when I get there!"
Sixteen-year-old Hachim Mastour watched Leon and Watson climb into the car heading for the airport and felt an emptiness settle in his chest.
"He never really belonged here."
A group of Leoia players appeared behind Hachim Mastour.
Captain Xio said it with quiet feeling.
If Leon had stayed at Leoia permanently, Xio would have wanted to hand the captaincy over to him right then and there.
But a player like Leon was never going to stay long in a pond this small.
One day later, Leon passed his medical and officially joined AC Milan.
AC Milan announced the news.
It did not cause the slightest ripple across the top five leagues.
After all, this was just a completely ordinary youth signing by AC Milan's academy from a lower-league club.
But back in the East, it had set off a storm.
"Leon Signs for AC Milan!"
Headlines like that appeared on the front pages of major outlets everywhere.
And just like that, Leon shot straight to the top of the trending charts back home.