Mighty Madrid too good for minnows Zaragoza
‘Refugees from Pak, Bangladesh have equal right over the country’
Madrid, Jan. 30: Real Madrid made it 20 games unbeaten by thrashing Real Zaragoza 4-0 on Wednesday to ease into the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey.
Raphael Varane, Lucas Vazquez, Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema all scored at La Romareda, where Madrid were again without injured duo Gareth Bale and Eden Hazard, while Benzema only came on as a late substitute.
Benzema will almost certainly start the Madrid derby against Atletico Madrid on Saturday, when Real will be hoping to at least preserve their threepoint lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga.
After their victory over Real Valladolid on Sunday, Zinedine Zidane said his team’s strong run had been been built on its defence and this clean sheet against Zaragoza means they have now conceded only three goals in nine games.
Their stubbornness should stand them in good stead in the Champions League, with a last-16 tie against Pep Guardiola's Manchester City to come next month.
Hazard, who has resumed light training after recovering from an ankle injury, is likely to be back against City and if the Belgian can add some attacking finesse to their solidity, Zidane’s side may prove hard to stop.
Zaragoza were once an established top-flight club in Spain but have been unable to return since being relegated to the second tier in 2013.
Yet promotion remains in sight this season and, with a trip to league leaders Cadiz up next on Saturday, their priorities also appeared to lie elsewhere.
Victor Fernandez made eight changes to his starting line-up, which included a 30-year-old Shinji Kagawa, once of Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United.
Zinedine Zidane, meanwhile, gave run-outs to Vinicius, Luka Jovic, Vazquez and James Rodriguez. — AFP