It’s time for Real Madrid to do the “easy” thing and move forward into the quarter finals of the Copa del Rey, by traveling to Leganes and simply holding on to (or increasing) a 3-0 aggregate lead. The squad is severely depleted due to injuries and resting some players, and we have a big game on our hands this weekend against Sevilla. Solari will need to play his cards carefully to avoid being embarrassed today, but to also be sure he isn’t risking players unnecessarily ahead of an important league match. It will be interesting to see what formation this line-up turns into on the pitch, and Solari has shown he isn’t afraid to try out new (odd?) things. Of course, all eyes will be on Isco, who has hopefully done some “soul searching” in the past few days (eye roll) and is ready to show his coach he is deserving of more minutes. Let’s get in and get out, injury and suspension free! Hala Madrid!<doc-sep>Real Madrid progressed into the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, but had Keylor Navas to thank after suffering a 1-0 loss to Leganes. Santiago Solari’s came into the second leg having won 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu and ultimately that is what sent them into the last eight of the competition. Leganes will reflect on some missed opportunities. They could have pulled off a comeback. Copa del Rey - Round of 16 - Second Leg - Leganes v Real Madrid - Butarque Municipal Stadium, Leganes, Spain - January 16, 2019 Leganes coach Mauricio Pellegrino and Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari before the match Image credit: Reuters Liga Real Madrid set for uncertainty and upheaval after Zidane exit - Inside Football 6 HOURS AGO Martin Braithwaite caused Real Madrid problems throughout and grabbed what proved to be the game’s only goal after 30 minutes, powering home a header past Navas from a Javi Eraso cross into the box. Navas made a number of astonishing saves in the second half, preventing Leganes from forcing extra time, with substitute Brahim Diaz hitting the post late on. In the end, Real Madrid did enough over the two legs, but this did little to ease the pressure mounting on Solari. TALKING POINT - The Isco saga will continue to run and run Real Madrid are into the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey, but the headlines tomorrow will be about the interaction, or lack thereof, between Solari and Isco. There wasn’t even eye contact between the two men as the playmaker was taken off in the second half. The relationship between player and manager has seemingly broken down. So what next for Isco at Real Madrid? Isco of Real Madrid CF in action during the Copa del Rey Round of 16 second leg match between CD Leganes and Real Madrid at Estadio Municipal de Butarque on January 16, 2019 in Leganes, Spain. Image credit: Getty Images MAN OF THE MATCH - Martin Braithwaite (Leganes) The Dane will likely rue a number of spurned scoring opportunities over the two legs against Real Madrid. The world and European champions never really got a grip of Braithwaite and he got the goal his performance deserved in the first half. Were it not for Navas, he might have scored a hat-trick in this second leg. The striker was still the best player on the pitch, though, and the kind of attacking presence Real Madrid are lacking right now with Karim Benzema injured. Copa del Rey - Round of 16 - Second Leg - Leganes v Real Madrid - Butarque Municipal Stadium, Leganes, Spain - January 16, 2019 Leganes' Martin Braithwaite celebrates scoring their first goal with Vasyl Kravets Image credit: Reuters PLAYER RATINGS Leganes - Cuellar 7, Juanfran 6, Bustinza 6, Siovas 7, Omeruo 5, Kravets 6, Gumbau 7, Recio 6, Eraso 7, Braithwaite 8, Sabin 7. Subs - Silva 5, El-Nesyri 5, Arnaiz 5. Real Madrid - Navas 8, Odriozola 7, Nacho 6, Varane 6, Reguilon 4, Casemiro 5, Valverde 5, Isco 5, Vazquez 5, Marcelo 5, Vinicius 7. Subs - Ceballos 6, Brahim 5, Cristo 5. KEY MOMENTS 30’ GOAL! Leganes 1-0 Real Madrid: Leganes have given themselves a lifeline! Braithwaite hits the post with a header from an Eraso cross, the ball pinballs around the box and then falls to the Dane for a second time, who scores into the gaping net. 68’ Close for Leganes! Braithwaite causes mayhem in the Real Madrid box, with a miskick very nearly putting him through on Navas, but Odriozola was on hand to make the tackle. 89’ Off the post! What an opportunity for Brahim to open his account for Real Madrid. A lightning run from Vinicius down the left set up the chance, but Cuellar saved from the youngster. 90+3’ Navas double save! The Costa Rican goalkeeper makes sure there will no late nerves for Real Madrid, first saving from Braithwaite and then denying Arnaiz. Fantastic from Navas! KEY STATS Leganes became the second team to have won against both Barcelona and Real Madrid this season (after Levante). Only one La Liga team (Huesca - 44) have conceded more goals than Real Madrid this season (in competitions). Levante and Rayo Vallecano have conceded the same - 37. Euro 2020 Varane delighted with Benzema's France return A DAY AGO<doc-sep>Leganes beat Real Madrid 1 - 0 (Braithwaite) in the second leg of the Copa del Rey round-of-16. Real Madrid advance 3 - 1 on aggregate. Here’s our quick reaction. Still to come: Player ratings, post-game podcast, and tactical review. As Real Madrid resumed action in the Copa del Rey against Leganes on Wednesday night, Solari rolled out a second consecutive unorthodox lineup. Following the well-discussed 3-5-2 at Benito Villamarin; Solari went with Marcelo and Reguilon together in Butarque — a reasonable gamble to take given the team’s offensive woes and 3 - 0 aggregate cushion. Marcelo played the first few minutes centrally, with Isco (who finally started under Solari) sticking to the left. The two swapped positions and it quickly became apparent that Marcelo was the team’s left-winger, with Lucas Vazquez opposite of him, Reguilon behind him, Isco in front of the double-pivot of Casemiro and Fede Valverde, and Vinicius as the team’s striker. In theory, fielding Marcelo in an advanced position makes sense. The team is struggling offensively, and Marcelo is one of the best creators in the team. Deploying him as a winger also eases concerns about the Brazilian’s positioning and individual defending as the team’s left back. Yet, in theory, a lot of things make sense until you try them. Marcelo has played a left winger sporadically in the past couple seasons, and he hasn’t looked completely comfortable. Tonight, he misplaced three passes early on, and never really was able to play his natural game. Keep in mind, also, that one of the biggest benefits of keeping traditional wing backs in their natural position is the extra dimension they bring with their overloads in addition to an already clicking offense. For what it’s worth, Solari taking this gamble in a game like this wasn’t a huge deal, and he realized it wasn’t working by half-time, when he brought on Dani Ceballos for Reguilon — pushing Marcelo to left-back. The dominos of that sub gave the team a bit more flow in the second half. Vinicius, who was playing as the team’s striker initially, was isolated in the first half, and finally moved to his more dangerous left-wing position where he can run at players on the flank and cut in. (We didn’t really see any significant action from him until he picked the ball up on the counter in the 28th minute to feed Isco). Vinicius immediately looked more involved at the start of the second half, but didn’t have his shooting boots despite getting in good positions. And still, the uptick was not that noticeable — it was just a slight improvement over a humdrum first half, where Real Madrid had little going for them offensively apart from Isco having his shot blocked when through on goal, a long-distance shot from Valverde which was saved, and the odd sequence where the team had the ball in the box before getting closed down. Defensively, it didn’t look great either. While Casemiro and Valverde zipped up vertical channels down the middle, Real Madrid struggled dealing with Leganes’s overloads on the flanks, and treaded water dealing with crosses. Reguilon, Lucas, Odriozola, and Nacho were consistently out-leapt or beaten to the ball on crosses, and the goal they conceded in the first half summarized their struggles: Com gol de Braithwaite o Leganes vai batendo o Real Madrid por 1x0. No agregado está 3x1 para os merengues. pic.twitter.com/sklvzTvvDO — Rodrigo Moraes ⚖️ (@RMora3s) January 16, 2019 Braithwaite earned that goal, given how much trouble he gave Real Madrid over the two legs. Leganes head coach Mauricio Pellegrino, meanwhile, played his cards about as well as he could’ve with the aggregate score he was facing. He got good chances throughout the match, flooded the flanks with really dangerous runs from Kravets, Gumbau, Eraso, and Merino, and his men defended in transition well enough to limit Real Madrid’s attack. This was tough to watch. Real Madrid didn’t have many ideas going forward, and at times you’d be scratching your head, trying to figure out why Odriozola is forcing a cross to Vinicius or Isco by themselves in the box surrounded by striped shirts. Solari’s men were outshot 11-3 in the first half, didn’t have much ball control or defensive security, and only grew into the game offensively in the second half — but were still vulnerable while nearly conceding a second. Next up: A tough home match against Sevilla which Managing Madrid will be at the Bernabeu for, live, press row. We’ll break this game down further on tonight’s Patron podcast.<doc-sep>Match Preview Real Madrid will travel to the Butarque on Wednesday to close out their series with Leganes in this stage of the Copa Del Rey. Real were able to put up three goals in the aggregate last week, which will help them quite a bit. We all know how poor Real have been on the road, this gives them a much needed crutch going in to the first whistle. Real were able to win the match over the weekend that separated these two fixtures with Leganes, a match with Betis which ended in Ceballos’ late free kick winner. Leganes also won their weekend match with Huesca. With the insurmountable number of injuries Real have endured now, it’s almost crucial that they have a lead of this size. Playing away and going in with the three goal lead might prove necessary if Real struggle against Leganes. Injuries/Suspensions The injury list remains the same over the weekend with but one other name added to it. The official list is as follows: Asensio, Llorente, Bale, Kroos, Courtois, Vallejo, and now Benzema. Mariano returned to training last Friday, so he may be available against Leganes. Javi Sanchez also joined Mariano in that training session. Leganes’ injury list is the same as the last fixture with Real, both Szymanowski and Munoz are out. There are no suspensions for Wednesday’s match. Potential XIs Real Madrid Navas; Odriozola, Nacho, Ramos, Marcelo; Valverde, Casemiro, Ceballos; Vazquez, Vinicius, Mariano There’s really so many lineups Solari could go with against Leganes. Marcelo didn’t start against Betis so he may get a start. If Javi Sanchez is fully healed he might play instead of Ramos. With Kroos out, Solari has seemed to favor starting Fede Valverde. Solari could go with Ceballos or even Isco, who didn’t even feature on Sunday. Modric might be given a rest given Real’s lead. Vazquez will be back from his weekend suspension so he might be given the start back on the right side, or he may give Brahim the start instead given the 3-0 lead. If Mariano is fully back, he will likely start up top for Benzema. If not, he may end up going with Cristo, who did sub on for Benzema after his in-match injury against Betis. Leganes Cuellar; Nyom, Bustinza, Omeruo, Siovas, Silva; Arnaiz, Perez, Vesga; Carrillo, En-Nesyri Prediction Real Madrid-Leganes 2-1 Real, again, have the luxury of coming into Wednesday’s match with a 3-0 lead in the aggregate. Realistically, this should be a wide enough lead to carry them through to the next round of the Copa Del Rey. But, Leganes being at home and Real’s poor form on the road could always be a factor and make things a bit more difficult. Even with all the injuries, Real should have enough to be able to capture a win with the 3-0 lead, if not even extend that lead further. Keeping a clean sheet at home ensured that Leganes would not get an away goals advantage, which was Real’s downfall against Leganes in this same tournament last year. This should see Real Madrid through and it should be an interesting finale to this round, just hopefully not interesting enough to make the fans worry.<doc-sep>
Real Madrid’s unconvincing performance against Leganes in the second-leg of the Copa del Rey round of-16 but are through to the next round despite a 1-0 loss. There was not much throughout the game and naturally, there is even less to review in this piece. The team looked as though they were participating in a pre-season match rather than playing against a side who has the potential to knock them out of the competition (and has done so before). Issues right from the start resulted in the team’s loss and things certainly have to change if they want any chance of making it past the quarterfinals. Like in the first leg, head coach Santiago Solari was handed a long list of injuries which most recently includes Karim Benzema as the Frenchman is out with a fractured finger. As a result, he had even less options to try and create a lineup that could put on a good performance at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque. Solari knew that being up 3-0 in aggregate meant that the team had a little bit of cushion during this match and he used that as an opportunity to try another formation experiment lining up his selective healthy players in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Most notably, Isco and Marcelo found themselves back in the starting lineup with the Brazilian playing as a left winger opposite of Lucas Vazquez and Vinicius Jr. moved into a striking role. Marcelo’s move was to try and inspire more movement down the left and have Vinicius’ creativity on the end of the ball but a poor individual performance added nothing. Plus, taking the team’s most exciting player out of his usual position stunts any additional growth. As a result, most of the work was done down the right hand side through Vazquez and Alvaro Odriozola making the team very unbalanced and Leganes often knew where the ball was going and were invited to intercept. At halftime there was only 164/267 passes completed (averaging out to 40 per cent possession), 25 balls losses and one goal attempt. Couple that with the fact that there was hardly any midfield possession from Casemiro and Fede Valverde, Real Madrid did not look like a threat at all. The decision to bring Dani Ceballos on for Sergio Reguilon and place Marcelo back in his usual role helped in the second half but did not make too much of an impact. Most noticeably, whether the team lines up as a 4-3-3, a 3-5-2 or a 4-2-3-1, Real Madrid needs to play with at least two (but preferably three) centre-backs. The lack of solidity at the back resulted in Leganes’ Martin Braithwaite scoring the games only goal as the defence was out of positioning. The team’s love for attacking full-backs has to settle down because relying on players like Marcelo, Odriozola and Reguilon to work double-time in defence and attack leads to too many gaps and therefore costly mistakes. Having a solid backline with Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Nacho (combined with a reliable keeper like Keylor Navas) is necessary in helping the team step up their defensive duties. The Costa Rican was the teams best player over the course of 90 minutes as he time and time again kept the scoreline at 1-0 with some tremendous goalkeeping against Leganes’ attacking threats. Of course Solari’s decision to experiment with his team can be applauded but the project was certainly a failure. Despite this being a smaller competition for Real Madrid, their sub-par performance serves them yet another loss and testifies to their struggling season. The team will find out their next opponents on January 18, 2019.