A lesson had to be learnt about what the game at the Santiago Bernabéu was going to bring. 15 years after the last visit, and with the victory at Valdebebas last season as a precedent, the yellows came up against Real Madrid fighting until the end.
The eleven was as expected. Conditioned by the absentees, Álvaro Cervera opted to field Sobrino on the left flank and take Álex out of the trio to place him up top behind Choco. Alejo was chosen for the right flank.
The madridistas set the pace of the match from the start. Dominance without danger. Cala, after four minutes, pulled one back from Vinicius, who replied shortly afterwards with a high volley from Fali after a pass from Lozano.
Ledesma appeared on the quarter-hour mark to clear a dangerous cross from Benzema into the six-yard box. Shortly after, Mendy's shot hit the crossbar with the fortune of Jonsson's unintentional touch. The clearest attempt of the first half was yet to come. It came in the 22nd minute when Fede Valverde's shot from the edge of the box was saved by Ledesma with a sensational action. Alejo, with a shot over the crossbar, tried to balance the offensive actions without much luck.
There was also room for controversy. In the 25th minute Casemiro made a hard tackle from behind on Iván Alejo with his studs in front of him. The referee's sanction was to show him a yellow card.
The objective of Cervera was fulfilled, a few seconds before half-time Cádiz had run 52 kilometres to their opponents' 50. But what he had not counted on was the injury to Choco Lozano. The Honduran had to be treated, but the bench hesitated between bringing on Osmajic or Negredo. With stoppage time ticking away, they waited until half-time to make the decision, and the striker Álvaro Negredo was chosen.
The local attack was to continue in the second half against a well positioned Cádiz. Akapo had to be at his best time and again to stop Vinicius, while Hazard was the dance partner of a very active Espino. The Belgian had a chance with a header from an excellent pass from Kroos that was blocked by Ledesma. The Argentinian goalkeeper showed his strength. Casemiro, with a shot that hit the post, and Vinicius, with a shot that was blocked by the keeper, continued to cause problems.
Chapela replaced Alejo with twenty minutes to go. The first cadista chance was to come. A counter-attack by Rubén Sobrino gave Negredo a chance inside the box, but his shot went just wide of the post. A penalty was called shortly afterwards when Benzema's shot was cleanly cleared off the line by the defence. There was still a quarter of an hour to go.
In another controversial action, where the referee allowed the ball to go on and then pointed to a free kick, Benzema found Ledesma with his direct kick. The clock was ticking down to the final stretch. Espino failed to get on the end of an accurate cross on the counter that ended up going wide without a finisher. Bastida replaced Jonsson to try to freshen up the midfield.
Three minutes of extra time. A dangerous shot from Benzema was cleared off the goal line. The added time was up but in the corner of the box there was one more for the home side. Alaba hit the wall and Kroos' shot was saved by Ledesma. What a point!
