Zinedine Zidane was able to celebrate as both a coach and a father on Wednesday night as his son Enzo (pictured above) scored on his debut for Real Madrid.
The European champions went into the second leg of their Copa del Rey tie with an unassailable 7-1 lead over La Cultural y Deportivo Leonesa and the manager used the fixture to give the younger members of his squad some first-team experience, playing Martin Odegaard, Alvaro Tejero and Ruben Yanez.
He introduced his son to the Bernabeu crowd after the break and the 21-year-old was soon showing touches of his father's brilliance, attempting a roulette turn five minutes into the second period and playing with the fearlessness of youth.
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His reward was a goal midway during the half, firing past the visitors' goalkeeper from 20 yards.
Real ran out 6-1 winners, with Mariano Diaz scoring a hat-trick and James Rodriguez making the most of a rare appearance by also getting on the scoresheet.
The 13-2 aggregate win over the third-tier side takes Real into the last 16 of the Copa del Rey. Greater challenges lie ahead in the competition, but Zidane, in his second season as coach, declared himself delighted with how his young guns performed.
"The team showed a good attitude and intensity tonight, especially considering the 7-1 from the first game," he said. "We played a serious game, began strongly and achieved what we wanted."
Asked about his son's display, Zidane replied: "If I take off my coach's hat, I am very happy for my son. As his coach, I am very happy for Odegaard, Alvaro and Ruben too and for all the players who did great work tonight. Of course when I get home, we will talk about it."
Real face Barcelona in El Clasico on Saturday, which is why the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Luka Modric were rested. A win would lift Los Merengues nine points clear of their bitter rivals. "From tomorrow, we will prepare well," said Zidane. "But whatever happens, it will not be decisive."
Barcelona go into the game with their confidence low after being held to a 1-1 draw against third-tier Hercules in the first leg of their Copa del Rey last-32 tie.
David Mainz put the Segunda Division B side one up before 18-year-old Carles Alena spared Barcelona's blushes with an equaliser.
"It was not the result we wanted," said coach Luis Enrique. "It's tough to close out these type of games."
Enrique emulated Zidane in resting some of his key players ahead of El Clasico, but even without Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, it was an unconvincing performance from a side now without a win in their last three domestic matches.
