Plain sailing for Real Madrid in Zaragoza

Real Madrid are through to the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey after a routine victory over Real Zaragoza. Raphael Varane made it 0-1 after six minutes and Lucas Vazquez made it two 26 minutes later while Vinicius and Karim Benzema scored in the second half to complete the victory. Both teams fielded much changed sides as Zidane wanted to give others a chance while Zaragoza decided to focus on their La Liga promotion push and the away side's strength in depth was the difference. 

The first goal came from a short corner after a one-two between Kroos and Carvajal and then Varane tapped home at the far post. Vinicius cleverly allowed the ball to pass through his legs to allow the Frenchman to score. Real Madrid were dominant, but Zaragoza came into the game after 20 minutes. Kagawa saw a deflected strike tipped over by Areola, but just as it looked like Zaragoza were fighting back, it went 0-2. 

Linares made a terrible mistake on the edge of his own box, Kroos dispossessed him and he gave a simple pass to Vazquez who made no mistake. Vinicius could have added to the lead before the break and Real Madrid were cruising. They fully deserved their half-time lead and Zaragoza had done next to nothing going on, 

In the second period, it did not get any better for the Segunda outfit. Vinicius and Marcelo had early opportunities for Zidane's men so the home team decided to bring on Alex Blanco and top scorer Luis Suarez just before the hour mark. Their introduction brought renewed optimism around the stadium. The two substitutes to win a corner, James Igbekeme had a go from distance and Kagawa curled one over from just outside the box.

Luis Suarez also had a great opportunity after combining with Kagawa, but he scuffed his shot wide and 18 minutes from time, Vinicius put the tie to bed. He played a one-two with James Rodriguez before chipping the ball over goalkeeper Alvaro Raton and into the back of the net. Lucas Vazquez somehow could not make it four a few minutes later after pinball in the Zaragoza box and the game began to open up once the game was over as a contest. 

Alphonse Areola made a great save to deny Luis Suarez after Kagawa had put in the pass for the Colombian and then Karim Benzema got on the scoresheet six minutes after coming on when he tapped in a Carvajal cross at the back stick. Brahim and Benzema could have even added to the score and the game ended with both teams playing out time. 

It was a very one sided cup tie and Real Madrid were worthy winners. It was a job well done from a Real Madrid point of view while Zaragoza will be disappointed not to have put up a better show. In any case, their main focus is to try and get promoted to La Liga after seven years away from the top flight.