Copa del Rey | Benzema, Vinicius strike as Real Madrid fight back to sink Atletico
The Hindu
Real Madrid beat local rivals Atletico Madrid 3-1 to advance to the semifinal of the Copa del Rey along with Barcelona, Osasuna and Athletic Bilbao
Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr. scored in extra time as Real Madrid fought back to beat local rivals Atletico 3-1 on Thursday and reach the Copa del Rey semifinals.
On a freezing night at a sold-out Santiago Bernabeu hosting its first game for 77 days due to the World Cup break, Real started slowly and Atletico had many dangerous counter-attacks.
Atletico captain Koke delivered a brilliant through ball to Nahuel Molina who ghosting in behind Real’s defence and the full back set up Alvaro Morata, a former Real academy player, to tap the ball into an empty net in the 19th minute.
Eder Militao wasted a golden chance to equalise in the 32nd minute after Toni Kroos had delivered a perfect cross.
It was not only until Dani Ceballos came off the bench to replace the injured Ferland Mendy late in the first half that Real started to play better.
The 26-year-old midfielder injected a new dynamic into the team who were far more aggressive after the break.
Benzema wasted two good opportunities and Federico Valverde also sent a shot wide from just outside the box.