It was much tougher than originally anticipated for Real Madrid, but Carlo Ancelotti’s side did enough to see off Segunda Federacion side Cacereno in the Copa del Rey.
In a match that lacked quality, Rodrygo produced a moment of magic to send Los Blancos into the next round of the competition. The Brazilian beat two players before sending a curling effort into Ivan Moreno’s top corner.
Despite the closeness of the match, Ancelotti was happy with his side’s performance, as per AS.
“I liked everything, from the first minute to the last. We knew that we had to suffer, but we didn’t risk anything in defence and it’s now the second game without conceding.”
Outwith Rodrygo’s strike, not much good football was played at the Estadio Principe Felipe on Tuesday evening. Ancelotti put this down to the state of the pitch, which he believes was in an unacceptable condition.
“You can’t play on it. For me, it’s not football. It’s nice because the smaller teams can compete against the bigger ones. It’s good for the fans, but the fans also want to see good football matches.”
Eden Hazard was given a rare start by the Italian, and he struggled to make an impact before being replaced by youngster Alvaro Rodriguez after 68 minutes. Despite his lack of involvement, Ancelotti was please with the Belgian’s efforts.
“I liked him, but it’s difficult to individually assess the level of the players on days like this. It was impossible to play. For players like him and Rodrygo, it’s difficult on days like this, where they suffer. But he has delivered.”
