Real Madrid sinks Valencia in the first leg of the Copa del Rey Quarters

Iker Casillas started in goal for Real Madrid, who also welcomed Ronaldo back to the starting lineup, in a shaky 2 – 0 win over the visiting Valencia. It was a less than convincing performance from Los Blancos, who let Valencia have the ball for large spells in the game, and had to rely on a Guardado own goal for comfort, after a first half strike from Benzema had given them the lead.

The threat from the left flank was obvious as Ronaldo was in the thick of the action over the opening minutes, blasting a free kick just wide of goal, and then winning a free kick in a dangerous position, which he then sent sailing harmlessly over the bar. He even found himself in an excellent position to score with a well-timed run into the box inside the ten minute mark, but Luka Modric chose not to pass the ball, and took a shot himself, missing by mere inches. Ronaldo continued to represent Real’s most potent threat, drawing a save from Guaita from around 30 yards out, while Tino Costa did the same with Casillas at the opposite end.

It was Benzema who eventually put the ball in the Valencia goal after latching on to an aerial through ball, and lobbing it over the ‘keeper, but the linesman had his flag raised for offside. Much of the game was then played in midfield with both teams fashioning half chances, Jonas coming the closest with a curling shot that grazed the top of the Madrid net while Casillas was rooted to the spot. Jonas would come close in the very next minute though, side footing a shot straight at Casillas, and leading to the home team’s opening goal in the 37^th minute. Madrid’s French striker finally broke the deadlock when a swift counter saw the ball fall to him off Khedira, and was duly dispatched into Guaita’s bottom right corner. Michael Essien deserved plenty of plaudits for the attack as well, having carried the ball out of defence, and made the correct choice to pass it to Khedira.

That would be the last real threat on goal for the half though, as apart from the ball striking Carvalho’s hand in the Madrid box, there wasn’t much excitement generated from the remaining minutes. A relieved man, Mourinho would have been, going in with a 1 – 0 lead at the break, while Valencia should have rightfully had a penalty for the aforementioned incident.

Valencia began the second half on top, just as they had played much of the first; quite surprisingly, considering the game was at the Santiago Bernabeu. Victor Ruiz seemed to have missed a golden opportunity when his header from a free kick looped over the bar, but closer inspection revealed that he was under not inconsiderable pressure from the Madrid defenders. Roberto Soldado had the next gilt edged chance when a through ball put him one-on-one with Casillas, but the Spanish striker hit the cross bar with his effort. The linesman had flagged for offside though, albeit incorrectly, and it would have been a big issue indeed if Soldado had managed to finish the opportunity.

As things happened though, it was Madrid who struck again, against the run of play. A good dash forward from Coentrao allowed the Portuguese full back to roll a ball across the box, where, under pressure from Higuain, Guardado deflected it into his own net after a bad break. Guaita managed to get a hand to the ball from Coentrao, but that may have played a role in the ball bouncing off the Mexican full back’s thigh, onto his hand and into the net, making it 2 – 0 in the 73^rd minute. Ronaldo missed a fantastic chance to increase their lead even further when Ozil squared the ball to him in a two-on-one situation, but was denied with some good keeping by Guaita. The duo were at it again just moments later, when the attacker dispossessed a defender, and got his shot away, but saw it float just wide, with some good covering from Guaita.

The end to the match was pretty tame though, as Valencia could not make an impression in spite of their best efforts, and had to settle for a less than fair 2 – 0 defeat.

Result: Real Madrid (Karim Benzema 37’, Andres Guardado (OG) 73’) 2 – 0 Valencia