It was the 104th minute of the Madrid derby when Karim Benzema scored from the right to make it 2-1. The French striker scored his 13th goal of the season and broke Atlético in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey. In the last minute of extra time, Vinicius Junior scored a goal to make it 3-1 and Real advanced to the semi-finals. A promotion that hung in the balance for a long time, because Carlo Ancelotti’s team was losing 0:1 until the 79th minute.
Great Rodrygo
It was Benzema and Vinicius Junior who scored the decisive goals, but they were not Real’s heroes that evening. It was Rodrygo, who fell for Ancelotti a week ago. The Brazilian did not shake hands with the Italian coach after he replaced him during the cup match against Villarreal (3: 2).
“You’re the one who has to remember to shake hands,” Ancelotti told Rodrygo. It was the 56th minute, Real were losing 0-2, and the Brazilian was replaced by Marco Asensio. Moments later, the dreary game of the Spanish champions came to life, and Vinicius Junior scored a contact goal. Eder Militao and Dani Ceballos also scored before the end of regular time, thanks to which Real advanced to the quarter-finals of the competition.
– What do I think about it? Rodrygo had an overloaded muscle at half-time so I didn’t want to risk it. He did his job, but then he didn’t shake my hand. I think he forgot about it. For me, it doesn’t change anything in our relationship. There is no tension between us,” Ancelotti said after the match.
The Italian assured that there was no problem with Rodrygo, but in the league match with Atlético Bilbao (2:0) and the cup match with Atlético, he let him on the pitch from the bench. The Brazilian was very keen on rehabilitation for last week’s behavior, because on Sunday he assisted the goal of Toni Kroos.
On Thursday, the Brazilian made an even better change. The 22-year-old came on the pitch in the 69th minute, replacing Fedrico Valverde, and scored a goal 10 minutes later. Rodrygo carried out a great, individual action. The Brazilian passed four opponents and beat Oblak with a strike with the outside of his foot.
Rodrygo was also involved in Benzema’s goal. After playing from the right, it was the 22-year-old and Vinicius Junior who focused the attention of Atlético’s defenders so that the French striker could strike from a better position.
It started badly
Ancelotti’s team scored the coveted goal at 1-1 after many minutes of overwhelming lead. From the beginning of the second half, the Spanish champions put a lot of pressure on Atlético, but either their players failed miserably, or Oblak intervened brilliantly.
Real in the second half was an incomparably better team than before the break. In the first part of the game, the hosts gave only two shots on Atlético’s goal (14 in the second!), and – what’s worse – they went to the break losing 0:1.
In the 19th minute, the guests performed a great situation. Koke played the ball to the right to Nahuel Molina, who put it into an empty net for Alvaro Morata. The guests played very well and were confident, but after the break they changed beyond recognition.
This was also the case in overtime. Atletico’s situation became even more difficult in the 99th minute when Stefan Savić was sent off for a second yellow card. Although Diego Simeone’s team managed to get under the Real penalty area several times in the second half of extra time, they ultimately failed to lead to a penalty shoot-out.
Real completed the Copa del Rey semi-finals, joining FC Barcelona, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna. The draw for the semi-finals on January 30. Matches of this phase will take place in early February and March. Final on May 6 in Seville.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
