Real Madrid extended their unbeaten record to 32 games last night beating Cultural Leonesa 6-1 in the Copa Del Rey. Zinedine Zidane has now overtaken Carlo Ancelotti’s record of 31 games unbeaten and has made his mark as a manager in a short space of time.
Zidane rested his big players for the upcoming Clasico and fielded a starting eleven filled with many of Real Madrid’s youth players and they were rather delightful to watch. There was a start for Casemiro as well, who managed to eke out some game time before the Clasico. The game ended with Real crushing their lower league opposition with a host of goals and great play from the debutants.
Also read: Twitter reacts as Enzo Zidane scores on his Real Madrid debut
Here are 5 talking points from the game
#1 Mariano Diaz – history maker
Mariano Diaz has placed himself into the record books after scoring Real Madrid’s fastest ever goal in Copa Del Rey history. He scored after just 23 seconds after a bad back pass from the Cultural keeper to their defender on the edge of the box was pounced on by Marco Asensio, who then duly squared it to the onrushing Mariano, who tucked it into the net.
Real took the lead, going 1-0 up and the night sprang to life. This was also the fastest goal by Real Madrid in the last six years. Diaz is also the first Real Madrid academy player to score a hat-trick in a Copa Del Rey game after Real legend Raul.
#2 Magical Mariano bags a hat-trick
The 23-year-old Dominican Republic striker Mariano Diaz was handed a start by Zidane against Cultural Leonesa and he gave their defence a night to forget with his exceptional play. After bagging his first of the night in the 1st minute of the game, Mariano was ruled just offside after he found the back of the net in the 16th minute after great all round play by the Real youngsters.
However, he bagged his second of the night in the first half after a superb bit of play. Dani Carvajal crossed into the player and he took a sublime first touch with his chest to get the ball down and finished emphatically on the half volley. If there was a goal to announce Mariano’s arrival into the world of football then it was this one.
He wasn't done, however, as in the 87th minute he finished off his hat-trick with a superb header after an Alvaro Tejero cross found him unmarked. Expect him to be contending for a starting spot from next season.
#3 Isco warms up for the Clasico as James Rodriguez and Casemiro disappear
Isco has been performing at a very high level for Real Madrid whenever he has been asked to play. He had a cracker of a game against Atletico in the Madrid derby and tonight he was involved in nearly every positive move for Real Madrid until Enzo Zidane came on.
His dribbling was very much like the Isco people have known for a while now, ever since his Villarreal days that is. He went really close with a shot from outside the box after dribbling his way out of trouble to begin the move on 36 minutes and then threaded a ball to Mariano after dribbling past 2 defenders inside his own half on 37 minutes which the Dominican Republic striker could not finish.
The Spaniard has been performing consistently well for Los Blancos and surely this was him getting a warm up for the Clasico as James Rodriguez and Casemiro simply disappeared.
Casemiro, who was perhaps thrown in just to get some game time under his belt after his return from injury was simply non-existent. Although James did score a good headed goal, Real fans will be wondering when the real James Rodriguez stands up.
#4 Welcome to the world stage Enzo Zidane
It’s hard when your father is the manager of a big club like Real Madrid, it’s even harder when he is Zinedine Zidane, but that being said Enzo Zidane gave some case and point of why he is one to watch for the future.
A classic roulette on 52 minutes which almost came off was the first indication of things to come. 18 minutes into his Real Madrid debut, Enzo started a move on the left after passing to Odegaard, who played a ball through to Mariano. The Dominican Republic striker then passed the ball first time back to Enzo who finished off the move with a calm and composed finish to the keeper’s right while slightly off balance.
It was very much like his father and it was also Enzo Zidane’s first ever shot on target for the Real Madrid senior team. A goal on his debut for the young midfielder is surely a sign of things to come.
#5 Martin Odegaard showed us why he is a talent but there is a lot to work on
Martin Odegaard, the youngster who signed for Real Madrid at the age of 16, was also handed a debut tonight and, to be fair, he had a good game. He played Isco in for his shot from outside the box and made a number of clever runs into the box.
The Norwegian played a brilliant scooped pass to Alvaro Tejero for a chance which Mariano’s outstretched leg eventually could not get to. He then took a left-footed drive from outside the box after cutting in brilliantly. He certainly showed flashes of the highly touted youngster that signed as a 16-year-old for Real Madrid but there is a lot to work on for the player.
His movement is good and was unlucky tonight to not have been passed the ball on numerous occasions. However, he must improve his all round game and make more key passes, improve his shooting and assert himself on the pitch. Fair play to him, though, he gave a decent performance and just needs time to work on his game.
