Leganes 1 Real Madrid (1-3 agg): Isco underwhelms on rare start as Los Blancos progress in Copa del Rey

Isco started for just the second time under Solari tonight.
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Tony Mogan16 January 2019

Real Madrid have booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey despite losing away to Leganes.

An early goal from Martin Braithwaite gave the hosts the lead in Wednesday’s second-leg clash but it proved not to be the start of a remarkable comeback.

Real progress after a securing a comfortable 3-0 win at the Bernabeu last week with Sergio Ramos, Lucas Vasquez and Vinicius Junior on the score sheet that night.

With Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema injured, there was a rare start for Isco at the Estadio Municipal de Butarque. The Spain international has been frozen out of the first-team under Santiago Solari with this just his second start since the Argentine’s arrival – both of them coming in the Copa.

The Spain international lasted just 67 minutes, taken off after an underwhelming performance to be replaced by 21-year-old Cristo Gonzalez.

The 26-year-old has been strongly linked with a January move away from the Spanish capital, speculation that is unlikely to wane over the coming weeks.