Real Madrid set a new Spanish record on Thursday night, coming from behind to clinch a thrilling 3-3 draw (6-3 on aggregate), progressing to the Copa del Rey quarterfinals and in the process stretching their unbeaten streak to 40 games,

And Zinedine Zidane’s men had to work extremely hard for the result, as at 3-1 down with less than 13 minutes of regulation time remaining, Madridistas the world over were groaning at the prospect of being so close yet so far.

They needn't have worried with Sergio Ramos in the starting XI, as the club captain once again came up when his side needed him the most, cooly converting a penalty with a ‘Paneka’ chip in the 83rd minute.

Casemiro had been bundled over in the box, leaving match referee Alberto Mallenco with no qualms of pointing to the spot and Ramos kept his nerve to reduce the deficit.

Had Cristiano Ronaldo been playing, he would have been the ideal candidate to take the spot-kick, but Zidane elected to give the star a much-needed rest and the move ultimately paid off when Karim Benzema spectacularly equalised in the 93rd minute.

The French forward played a smart one-two with Marcelo before beating three defenders with a lovely slalom and finishing well to deny Jorge Sampaoli’s men the consolation of breaking Los Blancos’ historic streak.

While the goal was highlight-reel worthy, it was not the finest strike of the match as that unique honour fell to Madrid youngster Marco Asensio.

Madrid had been trailing 1-0 after Danilo had put a Sevilla cross into his own net and were under pressure by the home side who sensed a second goal was in the offing. Committing a lot of their men to the attack, they were left vulnerable to a counter and that is exactly what happened when Asensio got the ball near just outside the Madrid box.

Sprinting almost the entire length of the pitch with the ball at his feet, the 20-year-old then finished cooly between David Soria’s legs in the 48th minute to evoke memories of Gareth Bale’s great goal against Barcelona in the 2014 Copa del Rey final.

Sevila to their credit continued to press and while new signing Stevan Jovetic restored their lead in the 53rd minute and later Vicente Iborra bundled in the third, Madrid’s desire to win or not to lose at least was unmatched and they came roaring back in the latter stages.

Without their talismanic duo of Bale and Ronaldo, Madrid eked out a thrilling result and while they do not get the plaudits as their arch-rivals Barcelona do almost on a weekly basis, Zidane’s side are indeed special to have created history in such superb fashion.

Unfairly criticised for being unable to impose his own ‘style’ on his side, the French legend has spectacularly answered his critics by the one most important facet of the football: Results.