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Well, it was a typical Copa del Rey game. Alcoyano tried to fight during the first part of the match, but Real Madrid's quality ended up being too much for Segunda División B's team.
Mourinho decided to play Adán, Albiol, Varane, Carvalho, Nacho, Essien, Álex, Callejón, Morata, Kaká and Benzema. It wasn't a brilliant game for any of those men, but the important thing is Real Madrid got the win and will enjoy an easy game at the Bernabéu against Alcoyano. Benzema opened the game, Kaká scored Real Madrid's second goal, Rodríguez increased the lead and Benzema sentenced the tie in the match's last minutes.
But the good news came also thanks to José Rodríguez. As we stated in the match's preview, he's one of the most exciting prospects in Real Madrid's Academy. And today, he played 45 minutes of great quality. It's true that he was nervous when he joined the pitch, but he's still 17 years old and he was making his debut with the club. As soon as he scored Real Madrid's third goal off a beautiful quality shot, he started dominating the midfield. And with Luka Modric besides him, he improved even more.
Nacho Fernández showed that he could be a quality backup for Real Madrid's fullbacks. He was focused and played with intensty during the whole game, and so was Raúl Albiol. Carvalho and Varane didn't shine as much and they were just average.
On the other hand, Álex Fernández wasn't able to impact the game. His 45 minutes weren't special, and with José Rodríguez playing the way he did in the second half, every Real Madrid fan could tell there was a big difference between both of them.
Real Madrid will now focus on its next two games against Zaragoza and Dortmund. Both games are really important matches, so Mourinho must be happy about having allowed some of his key players to rest in this Copa del Rey fixture.