Madrid: Real Madrid staged a late turnaround to take a huge step towards the last four stage of the Copa del Rey beating Girona 4-2 at home in their quarterfinal, first leg, here Thursday thanks to goals from Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema in a three-minute spell.
Real Madrid recovered from an early goal by Anthony Lozano to take a 2-1 half time lead thanks to a Lucas Vazquez strike and a cheeky ‘Panenka’ penalty from captain Ramos but were pegged back by Alex Granell’s penalty midway through the second half.
Girona’s joy at having a second away goal for did not last long as Ramos struck again by heading home from a corner to restore the stuttering European champions’ lead in the 77th minute.
Benzema then tapped the ball into the net at the near post in the 80th to give Madrid a two-goal cushion, increasing Santiago Solari’s side’s chances of reaching the semifinals for the first time since they won the competition in 2014.
“The tie is still wide open, we would have liked to have kept a clean sheet but this is a good result,” said Ramos.
“The second leg won’t be easy, Girona knocked out Atletico Madrid) and scored three times against them. We’ve taken an important step today, but we have to finish the job over there,” added the Real skipper.
Coach Solari named a strong and experienced line-up for the game, recalling veteran left-back Marcelo but again leaving out Isco, although the out-of-favour Spain international was to come off the bench to play a huge role in their rampant finish.
Reuters