Buenos Aires, December 17 (NA) – Real Madrid, with Argentine Franco Mastantuono in the starting lineup, beat modest Talavera de la Reina 3-2 and advanced to the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey.
At the humble 'El Prado' Municipal stadium with a capacity of 6,000 people, Xabi Alonso's team visited Talavera de la Reina, who play in Group I of the Primera Federación, the equivalent of the third division of Spanish football.
According to the Argentine News Agency, in this category, the team coached by Argentine Alejandro Sandroni is second from bottom in the relegation zone with 15 points, three points clear of Osasuna B, who are avoiding the drop.
Real Madrid took the lead in the 41st minute with a penalty goal from Frenchman Kylian Mbappé, who struck to the right as goalkeeper Jaime González slid to the other side.
Four minutes later, from a corner near the left edge of Talavera's area, Mbappé feigned a pass to a defender, took the ball on the edge of the box, and chipped it into the middle. Defender Manuel Ferrando deflected it into his own net, making it 2-0 for Real Madrid.
The humble Castilla-La Mancha side pulled a goal back in the 35th minute of the second half with a goal from Nahuel Arroyo. On the right, defender Ferrando made a deep run and sent a great cross to the far post, where striker Arroyo appeared and pushed it in as Ukrainian goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, who had come out to intercept the ball, was left stranded.
However, Real Madrid did not let up and, in the 43rd minute, made it 3-1 with Mbappé's second goal of the match.
After an exquisite free-kick from Isaiah Navarro that crashed against the right post of Ukrainian Lunin, the ball fell to the Bahía Blanca native, who slotted it home to make it 3-2.
In other matches of the round, Atlético Madrid beat Atlético Baleares 3-2, Cultural Leonesa eliminated Levante with a 1-0 win, Racing de Santander beat Villarreal 2-1, Osasuna won 4-2 against Huesca, Alavés eliminated Sevilla with a 1-0 win, and Albacete beat Celta de Vigo 3-0 on penalties after a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
From the edge of the area, the French star struck a low shot that seemed to be an easy save for González, but the ball bounced up and went over him, ending the home side's hopes of an equalizer.
Talavera de la Reina pulled another goal back in the 46th minute with a goal from Argentine former Lanús striker Gonzalo Di Renzo.
