Sergio Ramos recovered from a knock to the knee to put in a captain's performance which helped Real Madrid get past Girona and enter the Copa del Rey semi-finals.
Some assumed that Madrid's 4-2 lead from the first leg was enough and thus Santiago Solari could perhaps have avoided using some of his fatigued or slightly injured stars.
Ramos, however, was in no such mood and instead was set on finishing the job at any cost.
The 32-year-old, as captain, has lifted LaLiga, Champions League and Club World Cup trophies but never the Copa del Rey, and he is intent on doing so this campaign.
Signs of this are evident in his appearances in the cup this season, with just the 2013/14 campaign seeing Ramos feature more in the Copa, which ended in glory for Los Blancos over Barcelona at Mestalla.
He has proven pivotal so far en route to another potential final, scoring twice against Girona in the first leg, while also wanting to travel to Melilla in what was Solari's first match.
As if Ramos needed any more motivation to lift his first Copa as captain, he has the opportunity to do so at the Estadio Benito Villamarin, home of the former Sevilla man's arch rivals Real Betis.