Overview
- Real Madrid beat Talavera 3-2 at El Prado to reach the octavos, with Kylian Mbappé scoring twice as Andriy Lunin started and Jude Bellingham and Vinícius Jr. stayed on the bench.
- Franco Mastantuono earned another start for a heavily rotated Madrid side that mixed first-teamers with Castilla talents.
- Villarreal lost 2-1 to Racing de Santander, Levante fell 1-0 to Cultural Leonesa, and Celta went out to Albacete on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
- At Madrid’s Christmas media event, Florentino Pérez criticized the RFEF and LaLiga over the Negreira case, saying the institutions had left the club alone on the issue.
- Athletic prepare for a one-off tie at Ourense with planned rotations and worries about O Couto’s poor surface, as Oihan Sancet continues to lag last season’s form.