Zinedine Zidane celebrated a spectacular first year in charge of Real Madrid as James Rodriguez scored twice to set the European champions firmly on course for the Copa del Rey quarter-finals with a 3-0 round-of-16, first-leg win over Sevilla.
Not even the absence of the rested Cristiano Ronaldo could halt Real’s now 38-game unbeaten run as Rodriguez took full advantage of a rare start by blasting home the opener from outside the penalty area after just 10 minutes.
Raphael Varane headed home a second and Rodriguez added Real’s third from the penalty spot before halftime.
Photo: AFP
“The first 45 minutes were physically and technically almost perfect,” Zidane said.
The margin of Real’s win will be of particular comfort to Zidane with next week’s second leg now appearing a formality amid a hectic schedule that could see Real play 21 times in 11 weeks.
Madrid started a second consecutive home game without any of their first-choice front three as Karim Benzema was left on the bench, Ronaldo rested and Gareth Bale sidelined by an ankle injury.
However, having enjoyed a rare 17-day break since their last outing in winning the FIFA Club World Cup against Japanese champions Kashima Antlers, Real started brightly.
“We have a great squad and the players are happy when they see their teammates who have played less getting the chance to play,” Zidane said. “We are still missing players through injury. That is something we can’t change, but when someone else comes in and plays well the coach is always happy.”
“We were overrun in the first half, which is something that hasn’t happened to us in a long time,” Sevilla boss Jorge Sampaoli said. “We have to rediscover the characteristics with which we ended 2016 as soon as possible.”
Earlier, Real Sociedad also took a huge step toward the last eight as Willian Jose, Carlos Vela and Mikel Oyarzabal were on target in a 3-1 win over Villarreal.
Second-tier AD Alcorcon and Cordoba drew 0-0 in the other tie.
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