Real Madrid exited from the Copa del Rey at the quarter final stage, after being beaten at home by Real Sociedad, after the Basque team thrashed the current La Liga leaders early on in the second half.
This brought an end to Real Madrid's 21 game unbeaten run, after they had shown so much promise and cutting edge in recent games, which brought memories of the Real Madrid team Zidane was managing a few seasons ago.
This was Zidane's 250th game as a manager, and he was made to suffer, watching his Real Madrid side concede on four occasions for the first time under his management.
To make matters worse for Zidane, who along with brace scorer Alexander Isak had a good game? Real Madrid loanee Martin Odegaard.
The Norwegian had a brilliant game, and he even got a goal for his performance, showing Zidane how wrong he was to let him go out on loan instead of trying to gel him into the squad earlier on in the season. This season, he has contributed greatly, scoring six goals and providing eight assists in 23 games in all competitions for Real Sociedad.
To add even further insult to injury, Gareth Bale made the headlines despite not being involved, after he left the Santiago Bernabeu in the 82nd minute of the game. The Welshman has not been picked in the squad for the last two games, as his public row with Zidane worsens even more, despite Zidane saying that he wanted to use Bale more after the January transfer window. Bale missed two of Real Madrid's goals and Andoni Gerosabel's red card late on, as the home side fought to make a late comeback, yet they were unsuccessful in doing so.
Whilst Real Madrid are still top of La Liga, and have grown in confidence throughout the season, which might make them contenders for the UEFA Champions League, exiting the Copa del Rey in the quarter finals will come as a big disappointment, especially now that Barcelona have also been knocked out.
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