Real Madrid advanced to the last 16 of the Copa del Rey with a routine win at fourth-tier side Arandina on Saturday night.
Los Blancos’ defence of the national cup began with a trip to El Montecillo, where their hosts put up an admirable fight before eventually succumbing to an expected defeat.
Carlo Ancelotti made several changes to his lineup and there was a lack of cohesion at times, but Real Madrid’s talent ultimately helped see them to victory.
How the game unfolded
Real Madrid went close to taking an 11th-minute lead when Brahim Diaz carried the ball into the Arandina box, and though he was tackled cleanly, Eduardo Camavinga was on hand to strike the loose ball, with his effort whistling past the far post via a deflection.
Debutant Arda Guler forced goalkeeper Adrian into a smart save soon after with a fierce strike towards the near post after finding a pocket of space on the right of the Arandina penalty area.
Guler nearly broke the deadlock with a fine free-kick from 20 yards, rattling the outside of the Arandina post.
Long throws were causing Real Madrid plenty of problems down the other end, and the hosts were furious when Diaz was not punished when the ball appeared to strike his arm at the end of a worked routine.
Another chance went begging for Real Madrid as Fran Garcia’s cross was graciously brought down by the long legs of Joselu, but he fired into the side netting.
Arandina looked threatening on the break at the start of the second half before Real Madrid spurned another chance, with Diaz curling a strike past the post after making his way to the edge of the six-yard box.
With the clock rolling over to 53 minutes, Real Madrid were awarded a penalty when Diaz was tripped by Zazu. Joselu stepped up and scored from 12 yards.
Almost immediately from the resulting kick-off, Real Madrid doubled their lead. Diaz drove right through the Arandina defence and shifted play wide to Joselu to cross, and though a defender managed to initially clear the ball, the diminutive forward was on hand to lash the rebound into the bottom corner.
Joselu should have added a third goal late when Real Madrid broke at pace, but he fired high into the stands from close range.
Substitute Rodrygo capped off the win in stoppage time with a well-taken goal from just inside the box, setting himself before firing into the far corner.
There was still time for Arandina to find a consolation, with Raly Cabral’s low cross deflecting in off of Nacho Fernandez.
GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6/10 – A passenger for much of the game. Raced off his line to sweep up with Real Madrid playing a high line.
RB: Vinicius Tobias – 6/10 – Stationed himself high in the final third when Real Madrid were in the ascendancy.
CB: Alvaro Carrillo – 6/10 – Didn’t look out of place despite Arandina’s plan to just put the ball in behind the high backline.
CB: Nacho Fernandez – 5/10 – Similarly untroubled for the most part, though didn’t cover himself in glory with an own goal in added time.
LB: Fran Garcia – 7/10 – Provided some much-needed width with both of Real Madrid’s starting wingers determined to play infield.
CM: Nico Paz – 6/10 – A mixed display. Sometimes gave the impression of a smooth operator who couldn’t be rumbled, sometimes of a player lazily strolling with complacency.
CM: Eduardo Camavinga – 7/10 – The 21-year-old had one of the calmest heads on the pitch, maintaining his composure even when Real Madrid were under the cosh a little. Withdrawn just before the hour mark on his return from injury.
CM: Dani Ceballos – 5/10 – Didn’t have much control in the game. Threw up a quite laughable dive in the first half to win a cheap free-kick.
RW: Arda Guler – 7/10 – Showed glimpses of spritely brilliance on his long-awaited debut, always searching for the reverse pass to split open a defence. Like Camavinga was hooked to protect his fitness.
CF: Joselu – 8/10 – Showed the graceful flexibility of a prime Zinedine Zidane, as weird as that is to say. Deserving of a goal regardless of it being from the penalty spot.
LW: Brahim Diaz – 9/10 – Real Madrid’s most influential player, carrying the ball into dangerous areas and punishing Arandina.
Substitutes
SUB: Rodrygo (59′ for Guler) – 7/10
SUB: Fede Valverde (59′ for Camavinga) – 6/10
SUB: Mario Martin (70′ for Paz) – 6/10
SUB: Alvaro Rodriguez (80′ for Tobias) – 6/10
Subs not used: Andriy Lunin (GK), Fran Gonzalez, Dani Carvajal, Jude Bellingham, Luka Modric, Antonio Rudiger
Manager
Carlo Ancelotti – 7/10 – It was tough going at first but Real Madrid got the job done while resting most of their stars.
Player of the match – Brahim Diaz
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