Real Madrid suffer humiliating Copa del Rey exit

Real Madrid crashed to a humiliating Copa del Rey exit on  when they were knocked out by little Leganes in the quarter-finals, adding to the atmosphere of crisis at the European champions.

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Real lost 2-1 in the second leg at their Bernabeu home on Wednesday night as the tie finished 2-2 on aggregate with their modest city neighbours going through on away goals despite having lost the first leg 1-0 last week.

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Javi Eraso gave Leganes a 32nd minute lead before Karim Benzema levelled after 47 minutes but Brazilian striker Gabriel Pires then hit the winner with a firm header eight minutes later.

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It was a depressing evening for Zinedine Zidane’s side who, despite being in the Champions League last 16 where they face Paris Saint-Germain in three weeks’ time, are 19 points behind Barcelona in the Spanish title race.

The fans let their feelings known by booing off the team at half-time.

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Leganes have a budget of just 45 million euros — six times less than the 675 million euros commanded by mighty Real.

Even without Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, who were rested Wednesday after starring in the 7-1 rout of Deportivo La Coruna at the weekend, Real’s second-string side should still have had enough firepower for a side languishing in 13th spot in La Liga.