GIRONA, SPAIN (AFP) - Vinicius Jr starred and Real Madrid steadied the ship as a 3-0 win over Leganes on Wednesday (Jan 9) put them on the brink of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.
The 18-year-old Brazilian signed last summer capped an electric display at the Santiago Bernabeu with a stunning volley, his third goal for the club and the team's third of the night.
By then, Sergio Ramos had converted a first-half penalty and Lucas Vazquez doubled the advantage to set Madrid on their way to a much-needed first victory of 2019.
It will take a seismic comeback for Leganes to overturn the deficit in next week's second leg but more important to the European champions was the rhythm regained, following two La Liga games without a victory.
The home crowd, who had whistled and waved white handkerchiefs on Sunday after the loss to Real Sociedad, were also treated to the sight of Brahim Diaz making his debut, the 19-year-old coming off the bench following his move from Manchester City.
Vinicius was the shining light, however. The striker was alive to every ball in the final third and his finish, a sweet shot with his body off balance, was a triumph for technical talent.
He had been at the centre of things last weekend too after being denied a controversial penalty during the second half of Sociedad's shock win.
It was Madrid, however, who were the beneficiaries of a marginal decision this time as Alvaro Odriozola tumbled out of a tussle with Gerard Gumbau and Ramos made no mistake.
Leganes had started brighter and could have been ahead had Martin Braithwaite been more precise with his finishing or quicker to a Gumbau pass across goal.
Instead, Madrid doubled their lead in the second half when Karim Benzema latched on to an under-hit back pass from Bustinza and teed up Vinicius. He slid in Vazquez to finish.
Vinicius then got the goal his performance deserved as Odriozola floated a cross to the back post. Back-pedalling, the teenager adjusted his feet before swivelling into an acrobatic shot, the ball flying into left-hand corner.
Earlier, Antoine Griezmann helped Atletico Madrid edge towards the last eight as they took a valuable away goal from a 1-1 draw with Girona.
Griezmann's early shot found its way in off both the crossbar and then goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz but Girona hit back before half-time through Anthony Lozano.
Neither side could find a winner at Montilivi but Atletico will be the happier, with the second leg at home still to come next week.
Adam Swandi became the first Singaporean to win a local domestic title in more than two years on Saturday but his thoughts immediately shifted to the next Albirex Niigata (S) training session
S.League: Predictions for the new season | FOX Sports Asia
Football News -LONDON • With Granit Xhaka facing a late fitness test and Lucas Torreira suspended, Unai Emery has challenged Denis Suarez to finally make an impact in Arsenal's bid to climb back
Football: Improved Denis Suarez ready to make impact, say
Valencia clinch Champions League spot, Getafe in Europa
AFC Wimbledon delivered an FA Cup fourth-round shock as the League One strugglers humbled Premier League West Ham United 4-2 in a gripping tie in south-west London on Saturday. Wimbledon, bottom
AFC Wimbledon Humble West Ham United in FA Cup Shock
Brazilian soccer great Pele had a successful operation to remove a kidney stone on Saturday, doctors in Sao Paulo said. Pele had the surgery at the Israelite Albert Einstein hospital. "The procedure was a success and the patient is back in his room," a brief statement from doctors said.
Pele recovering well after kidney stone operation - ewn.co.za
Top-tier journalist Kristof Terreur: Unai Emery has been in touch with Thomas Meunier a few times 71 · 97 comments LazioNews24 [Exclusive]: Lazio in a good position to sign Alberto Moreno but are facing competition from #AFC and Betis who have started gauging the player's interest recently and are ready to make concrete steps to sign him.
The three key positions Arsenal must spend - football.london
Read Destiny Beckons (1) (on hold at the moment) from the story Destiny Beckons by mysticj with 119 reads. mystery, teen, fantasy. Well hope you all enjoy this
Destiny Beckons On Senator Bukola Saraki As Next Senate
BURNLEY, England (REUTERS) - Crystal Palace moved further away from the Premier League relegation zone with a 3-1 win at fellow strugglers Burnley on Saturday (March 2) thanks to second half goals
Football news - Palace climb away from troube with 3-1 win at
MANCHESTER: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said he was not disappointed by his players' effort despite suffering a surprise 3-2 home defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday. Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring for the home side at the Etihad but Palace hit back with goals from Jeffrey Schlupp and Andros Townsend followed by a Luka Milivojevic
Poch Tells Tottenham To Purchase Players It's a different level to play in the Champions League. Advertisement. Young Player of the Year Dele Alli has been a key part of Spurs' success
Poch Tells Tottenham To Purchase Players - Yahoo News UK
British crash investigators on Tuesday launched an underwater operation to recover a body from the wreckage of the plane carrying Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala in the Channel. "We are attempting to recover the body. If we are successful, we will consider the feasibility of recovering the
Football: British rescuers launch bid to recover body from
LONDON (AFP) - British crash investigators on Tuesday (Feb 5) launched an underwater operation to recover a body from the wreckage of the plane carrying Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala in the
Game of Thrones is a show that has a lot of balls in the air at any given moment.Oftentimes, there will be so many storylines to cover, that we won't see some characters for episodes at a time
Game of Jones: Leslie Jones and Seth Return to Watch Game of
Football: Chelsea's success next season hinges on transfer ban being lifted, says former striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink SINGAPORE - Maurizio Sarri should be given more time as Chelsea manager, but the club's success next season will also depend greatly on whether it succeeds in getting a transfer ban lifted.
Football: Sarri fears Chelsea ban will ruin title hopes
0 comments:
Post a Comment