Winning start for Solari at Real Madrid
Santiago Solari got off to a winning start as Real Madrid coach when his side won the first leg of their Copa del Rey tie 4-0 away to third tier side Melilla on Wednesday.
Solari was named as the provisional replacement for Julen Lopetegui, following Lopetegui's sacking on Monday night and included several players from the Real Madrid B-team in his squad for Wednesday's game.
He also gave a start to 45 million euro signing Vinicius Jr, who turned in a good performance against Melilla, who play at the same level as Castilla.
The side from the Spanish north-African enclave started confidently, but Real Madrid soon got on top as a side containing players such as Karim Benzema and Spain internationals, Dani Ceballos, Alvaro Ordiozola, Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio gained control of the ball.
Benzema opened the scoring in the 28th minute following a pass from Odriozola and Asensio doubled the lead just before halftime after an assist from Vinicius.
Real Madrid controlled the game in the second half, but it was not until the 79th minute that Ordiozola made it 3-0 with Vinicius once again playing a major part in the goal.
The fourth goal came in injury time with a header from B-teamer Cristo Gonzalez, who had made his debut as an 83rd minute replacement for Asensio.
The win is a boost for Solari's options of being named as Lopetegui's permanent replacement, although the club are unlikely to make any decision until the next international break which begins after the weekend of November 10-11.