Cacereño 0-1 Real Madrid: Rodrygo nets winner in tight Copa del Rey tie

A stroke of genius from Rodrygo, the saviour for Real Madrid on many occasions, helped Los Blancos beat Cacereño by one goal, get through the round of 32 and stay alive in the Copa del Rey.

The Brazilian unblocked a very even affair in which the bad state of the grass did not help. But Madrid progress at a stage when sometimes there can be unpleasant surprises for the first-division sides.

Coach Carlo Ancelotti assured that he was betting big on the Copa del Rey, a trophy that Madrid have not won for eight years, but logically he made many changes to the team against Cacereño.

It was not deemed necessary to force the wear and tear of his best players and, in theory, the depth of the squad of a team like the Real Madrid, who aspire to win everything, should allow such licenses.

Without going any further, they started with six World Cup players in the starting XI: Militao, Tchouameni, Camavinga, Asensio, Hazard and Rodrygo. Odriozola made his debut this season occupying the left side.

As was expected, Cacereño came out with 'bite' from the first minute. In these matches, the smaller team usually plays with extra motivation and if the big team fails to match it, they can suffer.

It was not the case for Real Madrid in the first half because Cacereño did not create too many chances of danger, but they did almost completely annul Madrid's threat.

The poor condition of the field of play did not help the spectacle and the ball could not circulate too quickly, but the good work in forward pressing by Juan Cobos' men was highly commendable.

Madrid were unable to generate much in the first 45 minutes and their only shots came from outside the area, from Ceballos, and they were easily saved by Iván Moreno.

Cacereño had a couple of chances, a high shot by Carmelo and another by Grande, but the first half ended goalless.

The home side did not want to slow down at the start of the second half but Madrid sent a warning with a good shot from Asensio.

Manchón responded with a long shot that ended in a corner. The "yes you can" that the stands shouted seemed to give strength to Cacereño, who never stopped.

Madrid did not have many collective ideas but then the talent of Rodrygo appeared, who faced Clausí and Aguado, passed them with a great turn and produced a shot that found the corner -- it was impossible for Iván Moreno to save.

Cacereño tried until the end but Madrid knew how to play out the last few minutes and they will be in Saturday's draw.