Leganés win the battle but lose the war as Real Madrid advance
A solitary goal from Martin Braithwaite was enough to see Leganés beat Real Madrid but Solari's side advance thanks to their 3-0 win in the first leg.
Leganés 1-0 Real Madrid: match report
Leganés beat an experimental Real Madrid side on Wednesday night at Butarque but could not overcome the 3-0 first leg scoreline.
Santiago Solari gave Isco a rare start and Marcelo played in left midfield with Vinicius and Lucas Vazqeuz also leading the line.
Karim Benzema's injury against Real Betis leaves Solari with a problem in attack and he says his "specialist" Benzema would be a loss as nobody else in his squad plays that role. Isco played as a false nine for a spell and Vinicius also took up a central role for some of the game but it was a disjointed display by the visitors.
They found themselves a goal down after half an hour when Martin Braithwaite, the lively Danish attacker, poked home after some good pressure on Real Madrid. The ball fell kindly to the new signing after his initial header hit the post and bounced back out to him.
Real Madrid were struggling to get anything going and Solari switched things up at the break. He removed Sergio Reguilon and put Marcelo back to left back with Dani Ceballos coming on to try and control the middle.
They did improve but were still stuttering in attack and never truly troubled Carlos Cuellar.
Leganés, for their part, ran out of ideas late on too and the game petered out.
Mauricio Pellegrino was sent off late on after he though his side should have won a penalty for a potential Alvaro Odriozola hand ball and Brahim Díaz hit the post for what would have been his first goal in a Real Madrid jersey.
Keylor Navas was called into action with a string of late saves also as Leganés piled on the pressure late on. It would have only been a consolation, however, as they needed two goals to push the game to extra-time.
Real Madrid continue their poor form with another poor performance but they march on into the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey after a solid showing in the first leg.
Leganés vs Real Madrid live online: match updates and commentary
Leganés vs Real Madrid live online: preview
Real Madrid travel to Leganés on Wednesday January 16 after winning 0-3 at the Santiago Bernabéu last week. The lead that Santiago Solari's men take into the clash means he can rest some of his starters and give some youngsters minutes but all eyes will be on whether Isco starts or not with a very young squad named for the Copa clash.
Dani Ceballos stole the show on Sunday night with a late free-kick to beat Betis but most of the analysis after the game focused on Isco's lack of gametime. With Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos rested along with the injuries to Marco Asensio, Gareth Bale, Mariano and Karim Benzema, there are chances for plenty of youngsters in Real Madrid's squad. Jaume Grau could make his first team debut on Wednesday night having been drafted into the squad with Solari lacking resources. Thibaut Courtois remains out and Keylor Navas should remain in goals while Jesus Vallejo has been ruled out again with another muscular injury.
Leganés travel to the Camp Nou at the weekend and it remains to be seen just how strong a team Mauricio Pellegrino puts out with the 3-0 scoreline going against his side last week. Andriy Lunin and Oscar Rodriguez can not play given they are on loan and have a fear clause in their deals. New signing, Martin Braithwaite, was impressive in the first leg and should start again with Guido Carrillo missing.