Real Madrid staged a late rally to take a huge step towards the last four of the Copa del Rey by beating Girona 4-2 at home in their quarter-final, first leg on Thursday thanks to goals from Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema in a three-minute spell.
Madrid recovered from an early goal by Anthony Lozano to take a 2-1 halftime lead thanks to a Lucas Vazquez strike and a cheeky ‘Panenka’ penalty from captain Ramos but were pegged back by Alex Granell’s penalty midway through the second half, reports Reuters.
Girona’s joy at having a second away goal for Thursday’s second leg at the Montilivi stadium did not last long as Ramos struck again by heading home from a corner to restore the stuttering European champions’ lead in the 77th minute.
Benzema then tapped the ball into the net at the near post in the 80th to give Madrid a two-goal cushion, increasing Santiago Solari’s side’s chances of reaching the semi-finals for the first time since they won the competition in 2014.
“The tie is still wide open, we would have liked to have kept a clean sheet but this is a good result,” said Ramos.
“The second leg won’t be easy, Girona knocked out Atletico Madrid and scored three times against them. We’ve taken an important step today, but we have to finish the job over there.”
Real are having a disappointing Liga campaign, having fallen 10 points behind leaders Barcelona, but looked to have turned a corner after last week’s galvanising 2-0 win over Sevilla.
