Gareth Bale made his return from another injury layoff with an exquisite assist for Real Madrid, but goalkeeper Keylor Navas’ ricocheted blunder may have overshadowed Bale’s attempted heroics. Real Madrid drew 2-2 against Fuenlabrada in the second leg of their Copa del Rey Round of 32 match on Tuesday, advancing 4-2 on aggregate as the club’s (relative) struggles continued this season.
One wouldn’t expect many story lines out of a cup tie against a third-division side, but Real Madrid is never one to do things quietly. Before the match fans were told they must attend the Copa del Rey fixture or they wouldn’t be allowed to attend the Clasico at the Bernabeu on Dec. 23. Supporters probably didn’t expect much of a spectacle after Los Blancos won the first leg 2-0 despite a red card to Jesus Vallejo, but nonetheless it was mandatory viewing and actually turned into a decent match.
Fuenlabrada took a surprise lead in the 25th minute. Luis Milla, son of the former Real Madrid player by the same name, smacked a thunderous shot at Navas’ goal. The Costa Rican goalkeeper parried the shot onto the crossbar before it bounced back down off his head then off his hand and into the goal.
Navas showed some apparent rust after having been out with injury since October but Milla was given credit for the goal. Fuenlabrada was shockingly a score away from drawing level on aggregate, a condition that remained well into the second half.
Gareth Bale played for the first time since September. Photo: @InsideWales | Twitter
In the 62nd minute, with the score still 1-0, Zinedine Zidane brought in Bale and moments later he supplied this sublime cross for Borja Mayoral to head home.
Mayoral added a second goal when he hit home a rebound from a Bale shot after a nice move from the Welsh international.
Fuenlabrada did score a late equalizer through Alvaro Portillo, who was afforded two shots at goal thanks to lazy defending from Real Madrid and Navas saving his first effort right back to the striker.
But it didn’t matter as Real Madrid still advanced with a two-goal cushion into the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey.
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