Copa Del Rey: Real Madrid take care of business in North Africa

Real Madrid made a big statement on Halloween night in Melilla as Santiago Solari picked up his first win as the first-team manager. Thanks to two first-half goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio, Los Blancos cruised to a 4-0 win in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey round of 32.

It was a heavily rotated, young side put out by Solari in his first match in charge. Despite having just one day of training to prepare his lineup and tactics for this match, the interim boss made some very good choices as it was clear all players were on the same page throughout the contest.

It was a slow start for the away side wearing orange in the Municipal Stadium Álvarez Claro on a spooky, rainy night, but the weather and the newly appointed manager seemed unphased as Real controlled the pace of the match from kickoff to the final whistle.

Solari elected to start players with tons of pace and good ball skill. Vinicius Júnior on the left flank and Lucas Vazquez plus Álvaro Odriozola on the right were the key cogs in helping to build up the attack and stretch the Melilla defense.

To couple with the pace on the wings, Solari put Asensio in behind Benzema as the central attacking midfielder with help from Dani Ceballos and Marcos Llorente.

These three Spaniards were hungry to push forward and dominated the possession. Real finished the match with 60 percent possession and 21 total shots (14 on goal).

Goal recap

With nearly all of the chances in the first 20 minutes, it seemed like a matter of time before Real Madrid found its breakthrough. That breakthrough didn’t come until the 28th minute but it was well worth the wait.

A good link-up between Vazquez and Odriozola helped to spring the fullback down the sideline and into the box unmarked. Thanks in large part to poor communication by Melilla and good awareness from both Odriozola and Benzema, Karim tapped in the opening goal.

Seeming rattled, the home side began to push further upfield as they tried to get the crowd back into the match. But, Javi Sanchez and Sergio Ramos were stout at the back and several times caught Melilla offside.

The second goal came just seconds before the halftime whistle as the young Brazilian winger, Vinicius, found Asensio alone at the top of the box to double the lead.

A good set-up pass from Llorente and lazy defending again helped Real Madrid carry a 2-0 lead into the locker room.

Solari made two changes at the break, taking off both Benzema and Ramos and bringing on Federico Valverde and Nacho with the match already decided.

Real Madrid continued to defend well in front of Keylor Navas as the Costa Rican goalkeeper was never really tested throughout the 90 minutes.

The third goal should have been credited to Vinicius as it was blocked at the goal line by two Melilla defenders, but luckily, Odriozola was there to tap in his first goal since joining the club over the summer.

Júnior was credited with the assist on the goal as he managed to get a touch back to his teammate for the goal.

The fourth and final goal of the contest came just seconds before the final whistle as Real Madrid did not let up on the attack. Castilla prospect, Cristo, headed in a picture-perfect cross from Odriozola to give Los Blancos a comfortable four away goals before heading back to the capital for the second leg.