In the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, the formidable Real Madrid endured the tense atmosphere and managed to get past Elche and produced a marvelous goal in overtime with a score of 2-1 on Thursday.
Match highlights
After a fruitless 90 minutes, Elche dominated the match with an earned free kick from Los Blancos which was reduced to a ten-men squad after Marcel was sent out for a foul on Tete Morente.
Veteran defender Gonzalo Verdu shot the free-kick into the fence but his second try was bounced off to Dani Ceballos and unbalanced goalie Andriy Lunin before ending up in the goal.
Backup Eden Hazard scored on a retaliation attack after he received the ball from David Alaba, encircling the goalie before ending up in a fruitless effort.
Real’s win supported their recent victory in the Spanish Super Cup, and the potential of getting the championship title is still possible for Ancelotti’s squad after we วิเคราะห์บอล in Spain.
Ancelotti’s perspective
Ancelotti criticized a reporter about the current fixture schedule after the match. On Sunday, Real Madrid has to go to Saudi Arabia to participate in the Spanish Super Cup, the game in which they ended up victorious by defeating Athletic Bilbao.
“What am I supposed to say? The schedule is there and it is complete rubbish,” Ancelotti told the press.
“It is imminent that it has to be adjusted, I long for the day that someone will fix it and make a much fairer schedule.”
It isn’t the first time a Real Madrid match ended up into an overtime, eight days ago, they defeated rival Barcelona in a 3-2 match during the semis of the Super Cup.
Ancelotti put some of the first-team players that went against Los Ilicitanos to rest.
“It was a huge achievement the way we won against Elche, I am very satisfied. I believe that It was the match in this season that gave me so much delight because of the way my team handled everything with a lot of passion and resilience,” said the Italian coach.
“You can speak about the challenges that the team faced but I can’t help but praise the individual efforts that this team has,” he added.
Props to Iscoa and Hazard
Out of all Real’s first eleven, Ancelotti complimented Iscoa and Eden Hazard, both of whom scored goals for Real after getting off the substitute’s bench during the overtime.
“I’m very grateful to both of them, back then, they had no time left. However, they managed to show what they are capable of, we knew that it could be a long match, but they scored for us and we became victorious,” Ancelotti said.
“I knew that I could trust them. I have a team of men that has a lot of talent and determination. They refuse to give up, despite the multiple challenges that they face.”
Back in October, Real Madrid won 2-1 when they traveled to the province of Alicante. It was a victorious day for Ancelotti’s side.
Elche’s previous performance
Ever since Francisco replaced Jose Sempere as the new coach of Elche, the performance of the team has improved.
Before Fran Escriba left the team, they had been victorious in their last ten games, among their ten matches, they had six wins, two draws and two losses.
The two defeats occurred by single-goal limits when they faced Valencia and Barcelona, they gave up late goals in both matches, Elche FC have become a formidable side to defeat.
Conclusion
Despite Elche having a strong form and a new leadership, the Los Blancos still reigned supreme during the match of both sides. The competition in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey is getting more intense.
Real Madrid will surely top both the Copa del Rey and the Spanish La Liga under Ancelotti’s helm and it will be evident in the live football results.
