Copa del Rey 2016/17: Cultural Leonesa 1-7 Real Madrid - 5 Talking Points
Real Madrid hammered Cultural Leonesa 7-1 in the first leg of their Round-of-32 tie in the Copa del Rey. It was a positive night for Madrid’s first King’s Cup game of the season, with Alvaro Morata and Marco Asensio both netting braces, while Nacho and Mariano also were on the scoresheet for Madrid’s after Gianni’s own goal began the scoring for the visitors. Substitute Benja Martinez scored a late consolation for Cultural Leonesa.
Los Blancos take 6 away goals to the second leg of this tie to be played at the Santiago Bernabeu on the 21st of December, due to their FIFA Club World Cup commitments.
Here are 5 talking points from the game:
#1 No BBC, No Problem
It was hardly a surprise when Zinedine Zidane did not name Real Madrid’s BBC trio of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting lineup. They have been struggling of late – Cristiano Ronaldo, in particular, who’s enduring his worst ever spelll of goal-scoring form in a Los Blancos shirt.
It’s times like these when you need your squad to step up, and my word, did Real Madrid’s backup choices ever step up. Marco Asensio, Alvaro Morata and Lucas Vazquez tormented their opponents throughout the night. While one can argue that this ‘only’ was a Segunda B side, you can only defeat what’s put in front of you.
Asensio and Morata, in particular, have made a great case to start Real Madrid’s next La Liga match – an option Zidane might consider, so as to withdraw Ronaldo from the line of fire. Morata and Asensio have scored 12 goals this season, the same amount as Ronaldo, Bale and Benzema put together.