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29.10.2014 » Cornellà 1-4 Real Madrid. No surprises in the Copa del Rey 1st round
The reigning Copa del Rey champions visited Catalonia this Wednesday night, in order to take on the local UE Cornellà for the first leg of the 4th round of the Spanish Cup. As expected, Carlo Ancelotti's men didn't face much trouble to beat this third-tier Spanish side and even without Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch, Real Madrid left the autonomous region with a satisfying 1-4 win. The goalscorers of the night were Raphael Varane in the first half (who actually scored a double), and then Chicharito and Marcelo after the break. The two teams will meet again for the second leg in the Santiago Bernabéu on the 2nd of December, but if Ancelotti already felt comfortable to rotate his team tonight, he certainly won't mind doing more of the same in the return leg.
UE Cornellà 1-4 Real Madrid - Goals and highlights:
Real Madrid added another chapter in their high-scoring saga this season and their last victims were UE Cornellà, right in their first tie of this year's Copa del Rey. Carlo Ancelotti had the wise decision of resting several of his key players, leaving some of his stars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Kroos, Modric, Sergio Ramos and a few others, all out of the squad list for tonight's game.
The Merengues lined up with Keylor Navas in goal and then a back-four with Arbeloa, Varane, Nacho and Carvajal. Illarramendi and Sami Khedira were the men picked by Ancelotti to pull the strings in midfield, while Isco and James Rodríguez were given a more creative role to support an unusual attacking cast formed by Chicharito and Karim Benzema.
Despite having so many changes in place, Real Madrid managed to break the deadlock around the 10th minute of the first half, when a corner-kick from James Rodríguez found Raphael Varane rising above everyone around him in the heart of Cornellà's box, and heading it past the hosts' goalkeeper for the first goal of the night. The Frenchman hasn't been getting many opportunities to play for the Merengues this season, but he sure took his chance tonight to let Ancelotti know that he can count on him for the more challenging battles coming ahead...
Against all odds, Cornellà somehow managed to equalize the game 10 minutes after the Merengues' opening goal, in a play where both Arbeloa and Varane didn't look like they've done all they could. The locals' hero was Óscar Muñoz, who got turn around with Arbeloa glued to his back as he was entering Real Madrid's box, and then basically slammed the ball past Navas to draw things level in Catalonia. Certainly a moment that the Spanish forward won't forget so soon...
The hosts' joy didn't last more than 20 minutes though, since Real Madrid would still restore the lead before the game reached its half-time. Very similarly to what had happened in the first goal, the visitors took full advantage of another corner-kick to make UE Cornellà pay. This time, the cross was sent in by Isco, but the man waiting for it in the box was once again Raphael Varane, who anticipated Cornellà's goalkeeper and buried his second of the night with another header.
Real Madrid appeared to have the game in their control at half-time, but Ancelotti knew that it would be important to get a third goal as soon as possible, even if only to avoid a possible momentum swing in favor of their opponents. That's preciselly what happened when the game was still inside its first 10 minutes of the second half, with Chicharito showing his resilient spirit right after having fallen to the ground just outside Cornella's box. The Mexican forward stood up when a rebound ball came in his direction, worked his way through a few defenders and then struck it with precision to the far post, making it 1-3 to Real Madrid.
The matter was only settled for good near the 76th minute of the match, when a good attacking play carried through by Isco ended up leading to a first save by Cornella's goalkeeper, who was forced to leave the ball bouncing to his right. Marcelo was in the right place at the right time and finished it off without hesitation, setting the final score in 1-4 to Real Madrid. The two sides will have a second meeting on the 2nd of December in the Santiago Bernabéu, but the truth is that the Merengues already seem to have made enough for their ticket into the next round of the Copa del Rey to be virtually assured...
Real Madrid line-up vs Cornellà:
Goalkeeper: Keylor Navas
Defenders: Arbeloa, Varane, Nacho, Carvajal
Midfielders: Illarramendi, Khedira, James Rodríguez, Isco
Attackers: Chicharito, Benzema.
| Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
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UE Cornellà
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Real Madrid
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Shots on goal |
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Corner kicks |
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Fouls commited |
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Yellow cards |
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Red cards |
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Ball possession |
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Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Real Madrid is a La Liga fixture against Granada, on November 1 (Saturday). You can watch Juventus live stream, Granada vs Real Madrid, Barcelona vs Celta Vigo, Newcastle vs Liverpool, Chelsea vs QPR, and Bayern Munchen vs Borussia Dortmund, all matches provided from our soccer streaming game pages.
Real Madrid next game:
Granada vs Real Madrid kick-off time (01-11-2014):
Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+6: 21:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 16:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 15:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-4: 11:00
New York (United States) | GMT-5: 10:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-8 07:00
Beijing (China) | GMT+7: 22:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / realmadrid.com / dailymail.co.uk / sportsmole.co.uk
