Real Madrid 2-2 Numancia (5-2 aggregate): 5 Talking Points

#4 A half-empty Bernabeu

Empty stands behind

Just before the kick-off, the Santiago Bernabeu was so sparsely filled that it looked like the struggles of Catalonian independence had crept into Madrid and caused this game to play under closed doors. But it soon got to at least half the capacity as the time went by which is also a disappointing number when you look at it from the tournament's perspective.

But by 9.30 pm Spanish time, a start for dead rubber against a second division opponent was hardly going to excite the Real Madrid fans to come and see their players playing it out on a cold January night.

One of the other reasons that might have caused such a low turnout at the Bernabeu was the faltering form of Zidane's men. Real Madrid have not won a game in their last four tries and have already seemingly lowered their weapons in the title race.

Low turnouts like this again bring the age-old discussion to the fore - Are two legs necessary to be played in the knockout stages of the Copa del Rey? This incident also comes on a day when Sevilla's extortion plans from high ticket prices in the UEFA Champions League came to light.