Real Madrid were in trouble against Arandina and were saved by an absurd referee decision

Despite playing against a team of much lower quality, Real Madrid knew that they could not relax this Saturday and that they had to approach the Copa del Rey round of 32 match with a lot of seriousness. There have been examples in recent years of top Spanish clubs being caught by unknown opponents and making fools of themselves in the tournament, and that is something Carlo Ancelotti wanted to avoid.

That is why the coach included in the squad most of the stars, with the exception of Toni Kroos, who suffered a knock against Mallorca last Wednesday, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Vinicius Junior. The goal is for all of them to be at 100% for the match against Atlético Madrid next Wednesday, for the semifinals of the Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.

For the first few minutes of the match, Real Madrid were intent on controlling the ball and pushing their opponents close to their own box. And they succeeded. In the first half they created several chances to score, but lacked accuracy. Arda Guler was one of the most outstanding, with a free kick that hit the post and another shot that was saved by goalkeeper Alvarez.

However, after the break things went better for Los Merengues, as Arandina began to tire and no longer had the same energy as during the first half. With this scenario, the opener came thanks to a controversial decision by Victor García Verdura. The referee gave a penalty to Los Merengues after an alleged foul against Brahim Diaz inside the box. Joselu netted from the spot after 9 minutes, while moments later Diaz doubled the lead with a beautiful right-footed shot. And in stoppage time Rodrygo scored the third, while Nacho netted an own-goal for the hosts.

Now they have another goal

After the 3-1 win against Arandina that allowed them to advance to the next phase of the Copa del Rey, Real Madrid will now travel to Saudi Arabia to compete in the Spanish Super Cup. On Wednesday they will face Atlético Madrid in the semifinals, while the final will be on Sunday against either Barcelona or Osasuna.