Jose Mourinho was sent to the stands but his Real Madrid side avoided a third successive Copa del Rey humiliation after brushing aside Segunda Division B Real Murcia 5-1 at the Bernabeu last night
Jose Mourinho was sent to the stands but his Real Madrid side avoided a third successive Copa del Rey humiliation after brushing aside Segunda Division B Real Murcia 5-1 at the Bernabeu last night.
|
| Real Madrid defenders Sergio Ramos (left) and Raul Albiol congratulate Gonzalo Higuain (centre) after he scored Real's second goal during their Spanish King's Cup (Copa del Rey) match against Murcia last night. Pic/AFP |
After being held 0-0 in the away leg there was always the danger Madrid could suffer yet another embarrassing exit at the last-32 stage, having been knocked out in this round by other third-tier outfits Alcorcon and Real Union in the last two years.
However, even the 38th-minute dismissal of Mourinho for protesting to referee Jose Luis Paradas Romero could not stop in-form Madrid, who cruised to victory thanks to goals from Esteban Granero, Gonzalo Higuain, Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema (penalty) and Xabi Alonso.
Madrid had Alvaro Arbeloa sent off in the 80th minute and conceded a penalty to Pedro soon after, but otherwise home goalkeeper Iker Casillas had little to worry about.
Mourinho, who has now won 12 of his 16 competitive games in charge and has yet to taste defeat, sent out a much-changed line-up that included seven Spanish players.
And it was one of those home-grown products, Granero, who put Madrid ahead with a superb 20-yard effort that flew into the top corner past a helpless Dani Hernandez.
Of the 35 goals scored under Mourinho this season, that was only the second one to be netted by one of Madrid's Spanish players after Pedro Leon's Champions League effort against AC Milan.
That was the perfect start for Madrid, but the home crowd had precious little else to get excited about during the remainder of the first half until just before the break.
Not long after Mourinho had been banished from the dugout, Higuain had a great chance to double Madrid's lead when he muscled a Murcia defender off the ball eight yards out but then blazed over.
