Real Madrid survived a major scare in the Copa del Rey, narrowly escaping an upset with a 3-2 victory over a resilient CF Talavera at the Estadio El Prado, Softfootball reported. While the win extends Madrid’s unbeaten run to eight matches across all competitions, the Spanish giants were made to sweat until the final whistle by the lower-league side.
Real Madrid shared a post of the result via their official X account.
One month ago, Real Madrid Castilla beat CF Talavera 1-0 in a league fixture. Now, it was the first team’s turn, after the third division outfit drew the biggest team in the world out of the hat. They’d be up against Kylian Mbappé, who started up top, alongside Gonzalo García and Endrick. Franco Mastantuono was deployed just behind them, with Castilla full-back David Jiménez getting a much deserved opportunity. Andriy Lunin captained the side this afternoon.
Despite firing the shots in consistently, Real Madrid would only take the lead via a penalty, late in the first half. Nobody but Kylian Mbappé was going to take it, sending the keeper the wrong way to score. He thought he had another before half-time after some great work to infiltrate the box, but the ball bobbled in off a defender to confirm an own goal. It was 2-0 at the break.
While the second half followed a similar pattern in terms of missed chances, the game took on a different edge. Talavera did to Real Madrid what they could not against Castilla one month prior, find the net and make it “game on.” Mbappé would bag another to restore breathing space, but Talavera struck back again in added time, setting up a chaotic finish.
They managed to see it out, but should they have needed to? The 3-2 scoreline was enough to seal qualification, yet it did little to fully convince sections of the fanbase. This comes just days after a narrow La Liga win over Alavés, a result that also raised questions about Xabi Alonso’s side despite securing all three points.
Madrid showed experience in the closing stages, keeping possession to stifle any late Talavera surge. While the hosts will be disappointed, they leave with their heads held high after a valiant display. Real Madrid, meanwhile, march on in their Copa del Rey campaign and now await the Round of 16 draw, as attention briefly shifts before returning to La Liga action.
