BARCELONA, Spain: Real Madrid eased to a 2-0 win at Cadiz in the Spanish league on Saturday despite resting several first-choice players ahead of its trip to London to face Chelsea in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.Karim Benzema had already hit the woodwork twice as Cadiz clung to the goalkeeping skills of backup David Gil to stay alive before Nacho Fern?ndez and Marco Asensio broke though with goals in the 72nd and 76th minutes.The win left Madrid 10 points behind Spanish league leader Barcelona, which visits Getafe on Sunday.Madrid visits Stamford Bridge on Tuesday holding a 2-0 lead after its convincing win over Frank Lampard’s team in Spain.Coach Carlo Ancelotti once again rotated his squad after his team’s 2-1 loss to Barcelona last month effectively finished off its Spanish league title defense.Vin?cius J?nior and Toni Kroos both stayed in Madrid to recover from what Ancelotti described as minor muscle issues that are not expected to keep them from playing at Chelsea. Luka Modric started the game on the bench. Benzema, who has missed several games this season with muscle injuries, was in the starting 11 at Nuevo Mirandilla Stadium.In the last round of games, a similar mix of backup players and set starters for Madrid were beaten by Villarreal 3-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu.This time, Madrid won through at Cadiz which, unlike the attack-minded Villarreal, tried in vain to annul the visitors’ superior talent by packing its area.With a two-goal advantage, Ancelotti even found the moment to send Eden Hazard on as a late substitute in the former Chelsea star’s ninth appearance of the season.
Thursday, December 26, 2024