Sun.Star Cebu

Real Madrid ends slide

-

Real Madrid began life without Julen Lopetegui with a comfortabl­e win in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, when it was Barcelona that struggled to defeat a third-division opponent.

Barcelona needed an injury-time goal to win 1-0 at Cultural Leonesa, while Madrid cruised to a 4-0 victory over third-tier Melilla in a first-leg match in the round of 32.

Interim coach Santiago Solari was on the bench as Madrid won with goals from Karim Benzema, Marco Asensio, Alvaro Odriozola and Cristo Gonzalez in a match played in Spain’s small enclave in Africa.

It was Madrid’s first game since Lopetegui was sacked on Monday, a day after the team was crushed 5-1 by Barcelona at Camp Nou Stadium for its fifth loss in seven matches in all competitio­ns.

“I’m happy because the team worked hard and showed character,” Solari said. “The players showed they are fully committed.”

Benzema scored his sixth goal of the season from close range after a low pass by Odriozola in the 28th minute, and Asensio added to the lead with a one-timer from near the penalty spot after a nice set up by youngster Vinicius Junior on the final play of a rainy first half. Vinicius Junior helped set up Odriozola’s 79th-minute goal, his first with the club. Odriozola then made the cross for the injury-time goal by Gonzalez, also his first with the main squad.

Benzema was one of the few regular starters on the team, along with captain Sergio Ramos and goalkeeper Keylor Navas. Benzema and Ramos played only the first half, being replaced by Federico Valverde and Nacho Fernandez, respective­ly.

Solari, who hasn’t been ruled out as a permanent replacemen­t for Lopetegui, pleased fans in his debut by including Vinicius Junior in the lineup. Lopetegui had seldom used the 18-year-old Brazilian forward who arrived amid high expectatio­ns in the summer but had played mostly in the “B’’ squad.

One of the best players in the match, Vinicius Junior nearly scored in the 72nd with a powerful shot that struck the crossbar.

Solari, who had been coaching Madrid’s B team, is a former Argentina midfielder who played for Madrid in the early 2000s. He helped the team win the 2002 Champions League, being involved in the play that led to Zinedine Zidane’s superb winner in the final. /

 ?? AP FOTO ?? EASY WIN. Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior tries to get past his defender during their Spanish Copa del Rey match against Melilla.
AP FOTO EASY WIN. Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior tries to get past his defender during their Spanish Copa del Rey match against Melilla.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Philippines