Copa del Rey 2018-19, UD Melilla vs Real Madrid CF: 5 Talking points

Santiago Solari's reign at the club began with a bright 0-4 victory 400 miles away from home in the North African district of Melilla, an autonomous Spanish city at the border of Morrocco.

He picked a largely different starting eleven from the one that started the Clasico on Monday, naming nine changes in total with only Ramos and Benzema retaining their places, but that could be accredited to injuries in defense to Varane, Vallejo, Carvajal, and Marcelo.

Melilla fought quite well for a few patches of the game when they pressed Real players in possession, particularly Asensio and Ceballos.

They were quite solid in defense and picked out gaps in the makeshift backline that featured Alvaro Odriozola, Castilla captain Javier Sanchez, Sergio Ramos, who was replaced at halftime by Nacho, and Sergio Reguilon.

The midfield featured Marcos Llorente, who had his first start of the season, alongside Dani Ceballos, and Marco Asensio playing behind Karim Benzema as a No. 10 and running into the pockets of spaces that were made by those running ahead of him.

Mariano Diaz was also out with the injury bug that's strangling Madrid, as he suffered a pull in his right hamstring in training earlier this week, which lead to Benzema starting the game. The French striker was later replaced by midfielder Fede Valverde at half-time, probably keeping the upcoming fixture against Valladolid in mind.

Vinicius Junior got his first start for the club, alongside Lucas Vasquez, who played on the left and right wings respectively.

Here are my observations, as Madrid absolutely cruise through the first leg of the Round of 32 of the Copa del Rey.

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#1 Solari was bang on with the selections

One major issue with Julen Lopetegui era was the coach's inability to field players based on form instead of reputation. This lead to a lot of dismal displays from star players who were either not fully fit or just not up to scratch anymore (Benzema).

He failed to pick Dani Ceballos in matchups, choosing to field the still not fully fit Isco, who's just returned from an appendicitis surgery a couple of weeks ago and gave the club's only two attacking signings a combined total of 271 minutes in all competitions (256 for Mariano from 11 appearances and 15 for Vinicius from 2 appearances).

He kept benching players who were raring to have a crack at the first team (Odriozola, Llorente, Ceballos, Vinicius, and Mariano) and the results of those selections were a major part of the reason he was the man with the shortest stint as a full-time manager of Los Blancos.

Santiago Solari fielded all of these players, and the result was a thrilling performance, and a much-needed result for Real Madrid and their fans around the globe.

They were never really against the strongest opposition, but playing away in cup games can always be tricky, and having just been humiliated in the previous game, it could have become a banana skid had they gotten a bad result tonight.

Fortunately, for Solari, that wasn't the case as his eleven cruised past modest opposition, brushing them away by four goals, producing one of the best performances of the season by the club.

#2 Melilla was in it to win it (for the first half at least)

Navas wasn't troubled by the Melilla attackers

UD Melilla were set up very well to counter Real's pace on the break and capitalize on the gaps their bombing full backs leave behind by stealing the ball in their own half and releasing their wingers.

It worked quite well during the initial phases of the game and put the backline under some pressure, but were lacking the quality to really make Madrid pay for any discrepancies at the back, and never looked like making Keylor Navas work hard on the night.

Even after going a goal down by a tap-in from Benzema after Vazquez tore through their midfield and fed the onrushing Odriozola, who took two strides before laying it up for the big Frenchman for probably the easiest goal he will score all season, as he was left unmarked two yards from goal. Asensio made it two from a brilliant pass by debutant Vinicius at the stroke of half-time and the game never seemed to get out of hand for the Blancos after that, as they created loads of chances, and Lucas Vasquez could have scored 4 goals or more with better finishing.

#3 Vinicius was Real's best threat in attack

Vinicius is a rather unknown quantity, but the club agreed a $53Million deal for him a couple of seasons ago, and he finally got the first senior start of his Real Madrid career

Vinicius Jr. was handed the opportunity to dazzle the Estadio Municipal Álvarez Claro and the world with his talents from the first whistle, which a lot of Real fans have been calling for, given his exploits for Castilla and the club's own struggles in front of goal this season.

He set up Marco Asensio at the stroke of half-time with a beautiful pass with the outside of his right boot, and inadvertently assisted Alvaro Odriozola's first goal in a Real Madrid shirt.

He was very unfortunate to not have gotten on the scoresheet tonight as his beautiful curling shot from the edge of the box came back off the crossbar in the 72nd minute and he was easily the most dangerous looking player going forward on the night.

His teammates were looking to feed him the ball in the channels to create chances quite often throughout the match.

All his best traits were on display today, and while it may not be against the best opposition, but it's a step in the right direction, and it justifies fans' calls for him to be given more minutes in the first team squad following the summer departure of club legend Cristiano Ronaldo.

#4 The minnows won't be too eager for the second leg

This is a vibrant young squad eager to prove itself at the pinnacle of World football, and their potential is unquestionably irresistible

The home side was blown away and outclassed by the visitors on the night, and despite Real not even bringing most of their star players on the trip the Estadio Municipal Álvarez Claro, they never looked in trouble against the third-tier side, who will not be too eager for the return leg at the Bernebau on 6th December.

The youngsters representing the class of European Champions of the past 3 years looked the part on the night.

The home defense had a torrid time keeping the Real attack in check and was saved on more than one occasion by their goalkeeper Dani Barrio, who was their best player on the night.

The second leg is all but a formality at this point for the Club World Champions and will represent another opportunity for young future stars to showcase their talents in front of their own home fans while progressing with ease to the next round unless Melilla makes the most historic of comebacks at the Bernebau come December.

#5 It was a good night for youth

Marcos Llorente was brilliant in the holding midfield role

Real Madrid started a very fresh looking lineup on the night, giving the fans a glimpse into what may lie ahead as they fielded the youngest lineup they have all season.

Vinicius Junior and Alvaro Odriozola were handed rare starts in Solari's first game in charge as the summer signings put in excellent displays, leaving fans wondering why Lopetegui failed to give them more chances, especially considering the struggles of the first team squad.

Castilla captain Javier Sanchez also made his first team debut, starting alongside club captain Sergio Ramos, and ended up playing the full 90 on the evening.

Also making his debut on the night was Cristo Gonzales, the Spanish forward coming on for Asensio in the final 10 minutes of the game, who also grabbed his first goal for the club with the last play of the game.

Marcos Llorente was brilliant in the holding midfield role, protecting his backline well and driving forward with ease when required, while also looking assured in possession and very press resistant. Him next to Ceballos is the club's midfield for the future.

Fede Valverde also came on for Karim Benzema on the stroke of halftime and played a solid half of football as he linked up play well in midfield and didn't make any mistakes going forward or backward.

Asensio played a new role under Solari and looked the best he has all season, and the departure of Lopetegui and fresh ideas could be exactly what he and the club both need to really kickstart their season.