Real Madrid's Karim Benzema (L, Front) competes during the Spanish King's Cup round of 16 first leg soccer match between Real Madrid and Leganes in Madrid, Spain on Jan. 9, 2019. Real Madrid won 3-0. (Xinhua/Edward F. Peters)
MADRID, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid defeated Leganes 3-0 in the first leg of their Copa del Rey last 16 tie on Wednesday night to take some of the pressure off coach Santiago Solari.
Brazilian winger Vinicius Jr had a big part in the win as he set up Lucas Vazquez for Madrid's second goal of the night in the 68th minute, before scoring the third in the 77th minute.
Madrid had taken the lead a minute from halftime from a Sergio Ramos penalty after Gerard Gumbao was adjudged to have fouled Alvaro Odriozoa.
Until that moment, Madrid had controlled the ball, but failed to create clear chances against a well-organized Leganes defense.
The second piece of good news for Madrid was new signing Brahim Diaz's debut just 48 hours after his arrival at the club, while B-teamer Cristo Gonzalez also made his first team debut in the closing minutes.
Wednesday's other games saw Atletico Madrid draw 1-1 away to Girona thanks to an opening goal from Antoine Griezmann for the visitors after just 9 minutes which was cancelled out by Antonio Lozano in the 34th minute.
Angel Rodriguez scored a 92nd minute to give Getafe a narrow first leg win at home to Valladolid, while Villarreal fought back from 2-0 down to claim a 2-2 draw at home to Espanyol.
Sergi Darden and Alex Lopez had put Espanyol 2-0 ahead but an 85th minute strike from Karl Toko Ekambi and an 89th minute goal from Carlos Bacca saw the Primera Liga strugglers stage a dramatic late comeback.
Thursday sees FC Barcelona visit Levante, while Athletic Club Bilbao entertain Sevilla and Betis take on Real Sociedad.
