15.01.2014 » Osasuna 0-2 Real Madrid. Another step forward in the Copa del Rey

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Real Madrid qualified for the Copa del Rey quarter-finals, after beating Osasuna in their own ground by 0-2 (0-4 on aggregate). The Merengues had already won the first leg with the exact same result, but this time it was Cristiano Ronaldo and Di María who led the way with one goal each.

After winning the FIFA Ballon d'Or last Monday evening in Zurich, Cristiano Ronaldo didn't lose much time to return to scoring form and help Real Madrid with another win. Carlo Ancelotti's men defeated Osasuna by 0-2 in Pamplona and have gone through into the next round of the Copa del Rey (with a 0-4 result on aggregate), where they will now face Espanyol. The visitors controlled their opponent throughout the entire game and the two goals scored by Ronaldo and Di María have simply helped sealing a deal that has never really been in jeopardy. Next Saturday, Real Madrid visits Sevilla to clash with Real Betis, for the fixt fixture of La Liga's second half. The race for the title has never been hotter this season, with co-leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid only 3 points above Real Madrid.

Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Osasuna vs Real Madrid
Osasuna 0-2 Real Madrid goals and highlights video:

All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Osasuna:

Was there a better way for Ronaldo to celebrate the recently received FIFA Ballon d'Or than winning tonight and scoring his 30th goal this season? Most likely not... The Portuguese star, who was coming off two poor games against Espanyol in La Liga and against this very same Osasuna side during last week's first leg, has finally picked it up this Wednesday night and left the pitch in the 61st minute of the game not before adding another goal to his personal count.

The 2-0 brought from the first leg was in a certain way an already extremely comfortable result for Ancelotti's men to be able to step on to the pitch without much pressure. With that in mind, the Italian manager has chosen not to present his strongest eleven right from the start, as he probably felt that Osasuna wouldn't be capable of really threatning Madrid's chances of qualifying for the next round of the competition. Players like Marcelo, Modric, Benzema or Gareth Bale were given a rest, even though the former Tottenham winger ended up stepping on for Ronaldo later in the second half, by the time the visitors were already leading by 0-2.

We had roughly 20 minutes played in the first half, when Cristiano Ronaldo started taking on a few Osasuna defenders already inside his opponent's half and ended up getting tripped by the visitor's French midfielder, Raoul Loe. The referee booked the 24-year old player and awarded Real Madrid with a shoting-range free-kick. Naturally, it was Ronaldo who got in charge of taking it and he has done it in such a powerful way that Osasuna's goalkeeper messed it all up when trying to block the shot with his two fists. The ball ended up dropping right between his legs and slowly went past him, sending Real Madrid into the lead almost in the midpoint of the first half.

Real Madrid was in complete control of the game and after scoring that away goal, Osasuna now had the herculean task of scoring 4 goals without response in case they were still interested of have a chance to go through into the Copa del Rey's quarter-finals. It wouldn't be the home side scoring the next goal in the game though and that was mostly due to a superb action from Jesé Rodríguez, who raced down the right wing to leave two Osasuna defenders behind, just before he brilliantly assisted Di María for a strong finish with his left-foot. Terrific play from Jesé!

Osasuna never appeared to be capable of creating many difficuties to this Real Madrid side and the Merengues got to finish their fourth straight game with a clean sheet, their longest streak this season. Cristiano Ronaldo came off the pitch around the 60th minute, by the time Ancelotti was already rotating a few of his starting men to avoid any unnecessary injuries. Unfortunately, one of the players getting injured ended up being Morata, just a few minutes after he got in coming from the bench. Fábio Coentrão has made his return to the team after a long period of absence, but ruined his performance close to the final whistle, when he was shown the second yellow card and respective red, after a reckless tackle.

Real Madrid line-up vs Osasuna:

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas
Defenders: Fábio Coentrão, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Arbeloa
Midfielders: Xabi Alonso, Illarramendi, Isco
Attackers: Di María, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jesé Rodríguez.

Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Real Madrid will be against Betis next Saturday afternoon, in another fixture for the Spanish League "La Liga" (January 18, 2014). You can watch Juventus live stream, Betis vs Real Madrid, Getafe vs Barcelona, Manchester City vs Cardiff and Arsenal vs Fulham, all matches provided from our football and live soccer section.

Real Madrid next game:
Betis vs Real Madrid kick-off time (18-01-2014):

Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 22:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 16:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 15:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-2: 13:00
New York (United States) | GMT-5: 10:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-8: 07:00
Beijing (China) | GMT+8: 23:00

Sources: ronaldo7.net / realmadrid.com / goal.com

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