Real Madrid legend Emilio Butragueño has said the 3-0 win over Atletico de Madrid in the first-leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final was the team’s best match of the season to date.
Goals from Jese, Pepe and Angel di Maria (although the latter two came via huge deflections) easily saw off Los Blancos’ city rivals and ensured revenge for the final heatbreak of last May, when Diego Simeone’s men triumphed over Real.
On the day he celebrated the 30 year anniversary since his own debut for the historic club, Butragueño said it was the best match he had seen the team play this season. Now the club’s Director of Institutional Relations, he added that he could think of no better way to mark his own landmark by winning in the Madrid derby.
“It was a really important day, not in my career, but in my life, and I’ve been able to celebrate today feeling even happier because the team has played an outstanding game. The players have given us a sensational match. Atlético had just one attempt on goal and that was from a set-piece. They’ve been amazing”, he enthused.
Butragueño added: “It has definitely been their best game as a group, with an attitude of solidarity coming from everyone, against a team that knows how it needs to play. The players have kept their heads in a very hard-fought and intense game and the team was up to the job.”
