Real Madrid were thrashed 6-1 last night in the first leg of their King's Cup (Copa del Rey) semi final against Zaragoza at the Romareda stadium; their biggest defeat since 1999, when Valencia stuck six past them, also in a Cup semi final.
A first half hat trick by Argentina's Diego Milito (photo) left the visitors reeling, although Julio Baptista pulled one back before the break. However, Milito picked up where he had left off, bagging his fourth in the 56th minute, and his Brazilian strike partner, Ewerthon, completed the rout with two more goals in the 59th and 82nd minute.
Nonetheless, Zaragoza coach, Victor Muñoz, remained cautious ahead of the return leg in Madrid next week, "Progression is not assured in spite of the clear advantage that we have for the return match in Madrid. In football you never know what can happen and I have seen many things in this respect."
Similarly, Real coach Juan Ramón López Caro, refused to accept the seemingly inevitable, "We have pride, quality, faith and hope that we can make the final, but we know that we faced a good team. I hope we have the same efficiency in front of goal that they had tonight," he told reporters after the game.
Deportivo La Coruña are in Barcelona for their semi final first leg against Espanyol this evening at the Montjuic Olympic stadium.
