Real suffer Copa exit
madrid — Real Madrid crashed to a humiliating Copa del Rey exit on Wednesday when they were knocked out by little Leganes in the quarterfinals, adding to the atmosphere of crisis at the 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.
Javi Eraso gave Leganes a 32nd minute lead before Karim Benzema levelled after 47 minutes but Brazilian striker Gabriel Pires then hit the winner with a firm header eight minutes later.
It was a depressing evening for Zinedine Zidane’s side who, despite being in the Champions League last 16 where they face Paris SaintGermain in three weeks’ time, are 19 points behind Barcelona in the Spanish title race.
The fans let their feelings known by booing off the team at half-time. Leganes have a budget of just 45 million euros — six times less than the 675 million euros commanded by mighty Real.
Even without Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, who were rested Wednesday after starring in the 7-1 rout of Deportivo La Coruna at the weekend, Real’s second-string side should still have had enough firepower for a side languishing in 13th spot in La Liga.
In the night’s other game, Valencia made the semifinals but needed a 3-2 penalty shoot-out 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 semi-finals. Sevilla, finalists in 2016, had won the first leg 2-1. —
AFP wMeanwhile, Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho has been named in the Barcelona squad for Thursday’s Copa del Rey clash against Espanyol, his first call-up since his 160 million euros ($194 million, £142 million) move from Liverpool. —