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Just a few days after a sloppy win against Celta de Vigo, Real Madrid now returned to Copa del Rey activity at Santiago Bernabéu against Osasuna. Getting a lead tonight was key before visiting the always complicated El Sadar. For that reason, Ancelotti decided to start the game with Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo AND Jesé.
It only took one minute for Luka Modric to creat danger against Osasuna. His shot from outside the box went a bit wide to the left of Riesgo's goal. Just a few minutes later, and after stealing a ball from Marcelo, Cejudo found himself inside Madrid's box, dribbled past Illarramendi and shot but Casillas was in the right spot to make the save.
At the 15th, the ref gave Real Madrid a controversial penalty kick. Ronaldo got past three Osasuna defenders and passed the ball to Jesé, who was entering the box with lots of space in front of him. Riesgo went for the ball and tackled Jesé in the process. The play didn't count as the assistant called a non-existent offside.
Benzema scored the first goal of the game at the 18th minute. Modric crossed the ball on a free kick from the left and Karim headed it to make it 1-0.
At the 29th, Osasuna had a great chance inside Madrid's box on a free kick. Oier headed the cross after beating both Ramos and Pepe in the air but the ball went just outside the post.
Ironically, Real Madrid had a chance too just a minute later. Jesé entered the box and with the GK already beat, tried crossing a low ball to a wide open Ronaldo but Flaño cleared it just before it reached the Portuguese star.
Oriol was close to having a chance inside Madrid' box after a deep ball from Oier but Pepe cleared the ball before Oriol could even control it.
In the 38th minute, Riera was entering the box after a long ball from Oier but Pepe cleared the ball just in time. After the corner kick, De las Cuevas crossed a low ball inside Madrid's box but a wide open Oier couldn't score.
That was it for the first half. It's amazing how easy it is for opponents to create danger against Real Madrid. Ancelotti's men also struggled in creating chances up front. Other than a few long shots and one good play between Jesé and Ronaldo, they were having a very poor offensive game, especially Gareth Bale.
The start of the second half wasn't very intense. It took Real Madrid five minutes to create one meaningful chance. Bale pulled a nice cross which Benzema headed, but it went just to the right of the post. The ref called another non-existent offside anyway.
After a poor header by Cristiano on a corner kick at the 51, Benzema found himself open inside the box after a gorgeous pass from Modric. The French player wasted the opportunity with a very poor shot that wasn't even on target.
Cristiano had another clear chance in the 58th minute. Bale's cross got past Benzema and found Ronaldo completely alone inside the box. The Commander couldn't control properly and his weak shot was easily stopped by Riesgo.
Fortunately, Jesé scored just after that missed chance. Oier tried to pass backwards but Benzema intercepted the pass. He then passed it to Ronaldo who then shared the ball with Jesé. The young Spanish player didn't panic and converted Real Madrid's second score of the game. 2-0
Just a couple of minutes after Jesé's goal, Ronaldo had one more chance to score. Modric placed his deep cross perfectly inside the box. Ronaldo didn't wait for it to touch the pitch and tried to push it towards the goal but once again, it went just a bit wide.
With Modric in beast mode and every attacker contributing, Osasuna was now relying on luck to survive this game.
There was one more controversial play in the 68th minute. Bale was clearly grabbed inside the box but the ref didn't call the penalty. The worst news was that Jesé was injured trying to shoot the rebound of Bale's shot. Isco replaced him at the 69.
One of the most ridiculous plays ever occurred in the 71st minute. Benzema recovered a ball inside Osasuna's box and he crossed it to Bale. Bale shot it and it was clearly going in but then, Osasuna found an unlikely hero in Cristiano Ronaldo. The Animal ended up deflecting the ball and the score was still 2-0.
Morata went in for Benzema in the 80. The game was so comfortable for Los Blancos that even Pepe tried to score his own with a very long shot. He wasn't successful but it was a nice try. Casemiro replaced Illarramendi it the 87th minute.
Madrid's last chance of the game was a shot by Morata that was saved by Riesgo in the 90th minute.
Real Madrid improved a lot in the second half although that's not saying much. Still, Osasuna was very, very lucky to allow just a couple of goals. Whether it was poor accuracy or Ronaldo acting as a defender for Osasuna, Real Madrid just couldn't score more goals.
Luka Modric and Illarramendi didn't allow Osasuna to do anything in the second half. Modric was the player of the game by far. What a beast. And it was an unusual night for Cristiano Ronaldo. Nothing went his way. He tried but it just wasn't meant to happen for him tonight.
Jesé had another impressive performance. Unfortunately, he was injured tonight. Carlo Ancelotti confirmed after the game that the Spanish wonder kid had a cramp so he had to leave the game.
Not the best result or performance but it's hard to imagine Osasuna beating Real Madrid by two or more goals at El Sadar. Still, with such a poor defense, anything can happen for the boys in white.
