Zizou can’t believe his eyes as Real exits
REAL Madrid crashed to a humiliating Copa del Rey exit on Wednesday when they were knocked out by little Leganes in the quarterfinals with under-fire coach Zinedine Zidane taking the blame.
European champions Real lost 2-1 in the second leg at their Bernabeu home as the tie finished 2-2 on aggregate with their modest city neighbours going through on away goals despite having lost the first leg 1-0 last week.
“I am responsible for all of this. It’s a failure for me,” said Zidane who recently penned a contract extension until 2020.
Admitting that it had been his worst night as a coach, the Frenchman added: “It’s a logical result, our opponents played their match and we did not.
“It is a big blow. We did what we had to do in the first leg. Nobody expected this, especially me but this is football. I am the manager. I picked the team and I was wrong in many regards. It’s up to me to find the solutions. I will continue to fight, to work, to battle and to find the things the team needs.”
Javi Eraso gave Leganes a 32ndminute lead with a spectacular curling shot from long-range.
Karim Benzema levelled on the night after 47 minutes thanks to a pass from Lucas Vazquez but Brazilian striker Gabriel Pires then hit the winner with a firm header eight minutes later.
It was a depressing evening for Zidane’s side who, despite being in the Champions League last 16, are 19 points behind Barcelona in the Spanish title race.
The fans let their feelings known by booing off the team at halftime.
Leganes have a budget of just à45million (R663-million) – 15 times less than the à675-million (R10-billion) commanded by mighty Real.
Even without Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, who were rested on Wednesday after starring in the 7-1 rout of Deportivo La Coruna at the weekend, Real should still have had enough firepower for a side languishing in 13th spot in La Liga.
Zidane, nicknamed Zizou, started with Sergio Ramos, Benzema and Marco Asensio, who scored in the first leg but he got a warning of what was to come when Claudio Beauvue saw a free-kick come back off a post.
In the night’s other game, Valencia made the semifinals but needed a 3-2 penalty shootout to defeat Alaves who won 2-1 for a 3-3 aggregate.
On Tuesday, Sergio Escudero’s goal after just 24 seconds set Sevilla on their way to a 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid and a place in the semifinals. Sevilla, finalists in 2016, had won the first leg 2-1.
Meanwhile, Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho was named in the Barcelona squad for yesterday’s Copa del Rey clash against Espanyol, his first call-up since his $194-million (R2.3-billion), move from Liverpool. —