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Real Madrid Vs. Alcoyano, Copa del Rey 2012: Madrid Wins Quietly As Albiol Goes Down

The Santiago Bernabéu didn't solve anything. While the Ultra Sur cheered for Jose Mourinho with many chants, some other people in the crowd booed when those songs were started. Albiol wore the captain's armband but got injured in the first minute of the game. He will expectedly be out for about a month.

Denis Doyle

It was a quiet night at the Santiago Bernabéu. Mourinho decided to put four canteranos in the starting lineup, and the Bernabéu wasn't close to full attendance. The Spanish press keeps saying that the Bernabéu wants canteranos to play in the first team, but just when Real Madrid fans had to chance to see Nacho, Denis Cheryshev, Morata and José Rodríguez starting, the Bernabéu was half-empty.

Albiol had very bad luck when he had to leave the match in the first minute after a tough tackle by an Alcoyano-defender brought him down and injured his ankle. The Spanish center back tried to rejoin the game in what was one of his first chances of contributing to the team, but his ankle didn't let him keep playing. He will be out for about a week. It's true that Real Madrid won't probably miss him (Varane was ahead in Mourinho's rotation), but every Real Madrid fan should feel sorry about his situation.

The game went on quietly. The first half concluded with a 0-0 tie in the scoreboard. Jose Mourinho wanted Real Madrid to win this game, so he decided to introduce Benzema and Di María. both players changed the game. Real Madrid now had the quality to keep the ball longer and also play more offensively. Morata and Cheryshev didn't play well at all, and it's obvious that they probably will never be around Benzema and Di María's level.

José Rodríguez played a decent game overall, but Modric's offensive contribution in the first half prevented him from showing his true skills with the ball. The Croatian player played well during the first half but disappeared in the second. The opposite thing happened to Mesut Özil.

At the end, the Ultra Sur started their "Jose Mourinho" chant. Some fans at the Bernabéu responded well, but some others started to boo just to disapprove those songs. That way, everybody will keep speculating about Mourinho's future with the club. And that's not what Real Madrid needs.

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