MADRID: Gonzalo Garcia scored in stoppage time as Real Madrid avoided an upset by defeating Leganes 3-2 to reach the semifinals of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.

Madrid had taken a two-goal lead at halftime with Luka Modric and Endrick before the hosts rallied to even the match in the second half.

The 20-year-old Garcia, a striker who usually plays with Madrid’s “B” team, sealed the victory with a header three minutes into stoppage time after a cross by Brahim Diaz.

“I’m thrilled, filled with emotions. It has been a dream since I was a child and since I joined the youth teams. I’m happy to have scored the goal that gave us a place in the semifinals,” Garcia said. “It was a perfect cross by Brahim and the ball went in by itself.”

Another setback would have been troublesome for Madrid after they lost 1-0 at Espanyol in the Spanish league on Saturday for their second defeat in 15 matches across all competitions. Madrid had needed extra time to eliminate Celta Vigo at home in the round of 16 of the Copa last month.

“We suffered but we are in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “We have to be satisfied with the outcome.”

Modric opened the scoring with a strike from close range in the 18th and Endrick doubled the lead after picking up a loose ball inside the area in the 25th.

The hosts rallied with Juan Cruz converting a penalty kick in the 39th and finding the net with a shot that deflected on a defender in the 59th.

Madrid nearly moved ahead again when Díaz’s flick over the goalkeeper struck the crossbar in the 75th.

Atletico Madrid had become the first team to reach the semifinals when thy routed Getafe 5-0 at home on Tuesday with a pair of goals by Giuliano Simeone, the 22-year-old son of Atletico coach Diego Simeone.

In the other two quarterfinals on Thursday, it will be Real Sociedad hosting Osasuna and Barcelona playing at Valencia.

Madrid was depleted in defense because of recent injuries to Antonio Rüdiger and David Alaba. Eder Militão and Dani Carvajal had already been out with long-term ailments.

Ancelotti used youngsters Jacobo Ramon and Raul Asencio as the central defenders, and improvised midfielder Federico Valverde in the right back position. Valverde picked up his 200th win in 295 matches with Madrid.

Ancelotti praised the youth-squad players who came through for the main team.

“The youngsters have been doing a very good job,” Ancelotti said. “They lack experience but have been doing very well. We know that we can count on them.”

Ancelotti rested some regular starters ahead of the Spanish league derby against Atletico at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Saturday. Madrid leads Atletico by one point at the top of the standings.

Madrid last won the Copa in 2022-23. They were eliminated by Atletico in the round of 16 last season.

Leganes only made it to the Copa semifinals in 2017-18, when it was eliminated by Sevilla. It is winless in three matches in all competitions and sits in 16th place in the Spanish league.

LONDON: Chelsea striker Sam Kerr said she “feared for my life” while she and her partner were in the back of a taxi moments before one of them smashed the vehicle’s rear window.
The Australia international is on trial charged with causing racially aggravated harassment to police officer Stephen Lovell during an incident in south-west London in the early hours of January 30, 2023.
It is alleged Kerr, 31, and her partner, West Ham midfielder Kristie Mewis, had been out drinking when they were driven to Twickenham Police Station by a taxi driver who complained the pair had refused to pay clean-up costs after one of them was sick, and that one of them smashed the vehicle’s rear window.
Kerr told a jury at Kingston Crown Court on Wednesday that she had put her head out of the window when she began to feel sick before the driver “rolled it up” and began to “drive dangerously.”
She added the dangerous driving continued for 15 to 20 minutes, saying: “I was terrified for my life. Everything was going through my mind about being in a car with a stranger I deemed to be dangerous. There was no reasoning with him. It was his way or nothing.
“Kristie asked him to stop the car but there was no change to his driving. We had no idea where we were.
“Kristie was very distressed. She was crying and scared. I’ve never seen her like that before and it made me more scared.
“I started to realize how serious the situation was. It put me in protective mode... he had the power over us... I deemed him to be dangerous because of the driving, but also because he could have taken us anywhere.”
Kerr said the pair tried to open the doors and windows several times, but they remained locked.
Mewis eventually “kicked out (the window) with her boot” which led Kerr to feel “relieved,” but she added: “We didn’t get out straight away as the car was still moving.”
On Tuesday, the court was told Lovell first saw Kerr as she crawled through the smashed taxi window outside the station.
A “heated” discussion about the incident ensued between Kerr and the police, during which she allegedly became “abusive and insulting” toward Lovell, calling him “stupid and white.”
Kerr made her debut for current Women’s Super League champions Chelsea in 2020. She is currently out of action with a knee injury.