Madrid stumble into Copa quarters

Real Madrid stumbled into the Copa del Rey quarter-finals after they could only manage a 2-2 draw with second-tier Numancia on Wednesday.

A tale of two braces saw Lucas Vazquez give Madrid the lead twice, but they were pegged each time by Numancia substitute Guillermo Fernandez as Los Rojillos avoided defeat at the Santiago Bernabeu for the first time ever.

Zinedine Zidane made 10 changes to his Blancos team, with the side 3-0 up from the first leg, and they went ahead after 12 minutes thanks to Vazquez’s bouncing header.

Numancia lost their No 9 to injury just before half-time, yet Guillermo made an instant impact off the bench, slotting home Dani Nieto’s low cross.

Vazquez restored the hosts’ lead on the hour mark, finishing off Borja Mayoral’s knockdown from close range, but Madrid were to be held for the second game running as Guillermo expertly flicked a header past Kiko Casilla with eight minutes to spare.

Real Madrid 2-2 Numancia (5-2 agg.)

Vazquez 10, 59 (RM) Guillermo 45, 82, Calvo sent off 90 (N)

Real Madrid: Casilla; Carvajal (Achraf 46), Vallejo, Nacho, Theo; Marcos Llorente, Kovacic, Ceballos; Vazquez, Mayoral (Casemiro 77), Asensio (Isco 63)

Numancia: Munir; Medina (Markel 72), Calvo, Elgezabal, Saul Garcia; Larrea, Sierra; Nacho, Nieto, Mateu (Milla 66); Higinio (Guillermo 41)

Referee: Munuera Montero

La Liga - Club News