Real Madrid did their job in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey.
An emphatic 5-0 defeat of minnows Deportiva Minera was secured with a team full of substitutes and academy players, with the exception of Eduardo Camavinga and Fede Valverde.
It was a strange occasion. Deportiva are a fifth-tier team hailing from Llano del Beal in southeast Spain, a town with a population of just 1,300 and a stadium so small the match was moved to Cartagena, and a stadium which accommodated 8,000 spectators – most of whom were madridistas.
This is what the Cartagonova stadium looked like when Kylian Mbappé came on. It’s hard to say that Real Madrid aren’t playing at home today. @TheAthleticFC pic.twitter.com/vRKFm5gY0s
— Guillermo Rai (@GuillermoRai_) January 6, 2025
Goals from Valverde, Camavinga, two from Arda Guler and a superb strike from Luka Modric sealed victory, with head coach Carlo Ancelotti praising how his team had “played a serious game from start to finish. It was obvious that we had more quality, but it wasn’t easy to match their attitude. And that’s what we did from the start.”
Here, The Athletic analyses the main talking points.
Guler continues to grow
He is only 19 years old, but Guler was the leader against Deportiva Minera.
Normally, one of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior or Jude Bellingham is the last to take the field: this time, it was the Turkish teenager, who was clearly determined to stamp his authority on this occasion.
During the warm-up, he practised his passes and controls with Camavinga, as well as shooting, and looked confident despite the fact that he had missed Saturday’s training session due to flu. That belief was translated to his performance, where he had six shots and 95 touches, played five key passes, created three good chances, won seven duels even completed two successful tackles.
He showed the composure and positioning of a No 9 to score his second goal just before the end of the game, but it was his strike in the 28th minute that made him the man of the match: a biting shot from outside the box after taking on virtually the entire defence.
Madrid coaching staff have been highlighting Guler’s effectiveness in front of goal for months and the numbers back them up. This season he already has three goals and three assists in 766 minutes of football, far more than the 442 he played last season. There has been no repeat of the repeated muscular injuries, either.
Guler has ambitions to play more but he trusts the process and has an appreciation for Ancelotti, who he feels has protected him along the way. This performance will help his cause.
A word, too, for his reaction after the final whistle. Before returning to the dressing room, Deportiva’s Omar Perdomo asked for his shirt and was surprised when Guler asked for his back in return. It was a classy gesture that says much about his personality.
Un crack ❤️ @10ardaguler
— Omar Perdomo 🦁 (@Perdomomachado) January 6, 2025
Just like Guler last season, Endrick is finding it hard to earn a place in the Madrid team.
This was the 18-year-old striker’s first start for three months, a Champions League defeat in Lille on October 2. He played as the focal point of the attack from the start but was left frustrated despite having five shots on goal and one more blocked. Deportiva goalkeeper Fran Gonzalez was his nemesis, making some excellent saves including one from long range in the dying seconds.
Endrick had a frustrating evening (Mateo Villalba/Getty Images)
During the winter break, despite having permission to go to Brazil or elsewhere, Endrick decided to stay and train in Madrid because he knew he could be a starter against Deportiva and considered it an important opportunity.
Ultimately, he did not have the impact he would have wished but should not be too disheartened. “He played a good game, even if the goal didn’t come. I’m sure he will score when we need him,” Ancelotti said.
The academy is working
It is not so easy for Ancelotti to give minutes to youth players at Madrid, but injuries and the Copa del Rey usually present good opportunities and Diego Aguado, Lorenzo Aguado (not related) and Chema Andres were the three academy graduates given the chance to shine against Deportiva
At 17, Diego Aguado was the youngest, the only one not playing for Castilla and the biggest surprise. From the first minute, he lead Real’s game from the back, something Dani Ceballos had predicted would happen before the game.
— Daniel Ceballos (@DaniCeballos46) January 6, 2025
Diego stood out for his passing accuracy of 94 per cent (59/63 passes) and from time to time he even got into the attack on the inside.
The first team coaching staff have been following him closely for months and they love his footwork. Alvaro Arbeloa, the former Madrid player and his Under-19 coach, said on X that “few people reflect better than Diego everything that a Real Madrid youth player should be.”
Diego has already been called up to the Spanish national team in his age category and has just renewed his contract with Madrid. His future looks bright.
Lorenzo — who had already made his unofficial debut in the first team’s tour of the United States last summer — also put in a solid performance as a starting right-back, completing all 23 of his passes and winning four out of seven duels on the ground.
In the absence of Carvajal, Lorenzo is the full-back in whom Ancelotti has the most confidence and he is the one who is usually called up to train with the first team.
Chema also made his debut as a second-half substitute as the pivot in midfield, committing a foul within moments of coming on, which at least showed he does not lack personality.
Chema, 19, still lives in the Valdebebas residence but already stands out for his physical condition (he is 1.90 m tall and sturdy) and knowledge of the game.
He almost missed this game due to ankle problems, but in the 27 minutes he had on the pitch, he had time to show his power by winning two duels on the ground.
At the end of the match, the three youth players posed respectively with their shirts for a photo. A few fans were still in the stands and asked for them – but it was a day for them to keep them.
(Top photo: Mateo Villalba/Getty Images)
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