Copa del Rey: Real Madrid made to struggle by Cacereno on night of upsets

by IANS |

Madrid, Jan 4 (IANS) Fourth-tier Cacereno pushed Real Madrid all the way in their third-round Copa del Rey tie.

It needed a moment of magic from Madrid's Brazilian forward Rodrygo to give Real Madrid a 1-0 win on Tuesday night in a match that was much more complicated than most would have expected.

The first half was an even affair with Cacereno by no means inferior to their illustrious rivals, and little changed after the break as the home side continued to dig deep.

Rodrygo's individual goal decided the game, but the home side are out of the tournament with their pride intact on a night of surprises in Spain's knockout competition, reports Xinhua.

Ceuta, who are bottom of the third-tier RFEF I, beat La Liga's bottom side Elche 1-0 thanks to Rodri's 44th-minute penalty. To make matters worse for Elche, Ezequiel Ponce was sent off 15 minutes into the second half in a disastrous result for a side that has only four points in La Liga.

Second division Sporting Gijon beat top-flight Rayo Vallecano 2-0 with two second-half goals from Serbian striker Uros Milovanovic, while fellow second division outfit Levante won a thriller 3-2 against Getafe.

Valencia had no such problems as they cruised past third-tier La Nucia with goals from Justin Kluivert, Ilaix Moriba and Hugo Duro, while Villarreal recovered from a goal down to thrash second division Cartagena 5-1, with Alex Baena, Arnaut Danjuma, Jose Luis Morales, Samuel Chukwueze and Etienne Capoue all scoring second-half goals.

Latest News
Israel mobilising two extra reserve units ahead of possible Rafah fight Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 04:45 PM
Two killed, 20 injured as tractor-trolley overturns in UP Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 04:44 PM
BJP MP's wife to contest against him from UP's Etawah Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 04:26 PM
91 pc of Indian firms will use half or more data to train AI models in 2024: Report Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 04:19 PM
PDP's Waheed Parra files nomination for Srinagar LS seat Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 04:03 PM
PCB to explore options if Team India doesn't play Champion Trophy in Pakistan Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 04:02 PM
Iran, Sri Lanka inaugurate Uma Oya multipurpose development project Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 03:48 PM
Karnataka to have 1.40 lakh polling officials in 14 LS seats Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 03:38 PM
AIFF technical committee recommends Chaoba Devi as coach of senior women's team Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 03:31 PM
Russian President's key aide visits Kabul, holds talks with Taliban leadership Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 03:13 PM
Repolling underway in eight polling stations in Arunachal amid heavy security Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 02:24 PM
Amid tension in Middle East, Iranian President arrives in Sri Lanka Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 02:00 PM
Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj meets CM Kejriwal in Tihar Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 01:49 PM
Campaigning on eight LS seats for second phase in UP ends today Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 01:30 PM
mRNA vaccine tech can be harnessed to prevent deadly diseases: Report Wed, Apr 24, 2024, 01:01 PM