Huesca Dealt Cruel Real Blow
It is safe to say it has been a tough debut season in La Liga for minnows Huesca.
However, the club that four years ago was plying its trade in Spain’s third tier has proven a welcome and solid edition to the league this season even if relegation is looking an almost certainty.
With nine games to go, Francisco Javier Rodríguez Vílchez’s men find themselves seven-points adrift of safety. By no means down and out, but clearly with much to do and their fate out of their hands.
Five wins this season has highlighted the progression a club can make despite boasting a stadium that only holds a meagre 7,638 spectators.
Sevilla has so far been the biggest scalp the minnows have claimed defeating the almighty giants 2-1 at the beginning of March on home soil.
That result will no doubt go down as the greatest in the club’s history, but on Sunday night, that result almost paled into insignificance.
For many, a trip to thirteen-time European Champions Real Madrid Bernabeu is an evening filled with intimidation and a realisation of just how small you are.
However, not for Huesca. Any signs of awe and respect for their vastly superior opponents were quickly banished as on loan Watford striker Cucho Hernández burst through to stun the Real faithful to give Huesca the unlikeliest of leads.
Zinedine Zidane was clearly infuriated on the side-lines, after all, who the hell are these guys and what are they doing ripping the home side apart within three minutes?
It took Real a further 22 minutes to find a way through thanks to Isco’s equaliser and then everyone expected the floodgates to open, except Huesca.
Francisco’s men doggedly ploughed on knowing a draw would be one hell of a result and went into the break in a 1-1 tie.
Seventeen minutes after the break and the entire Bernabeu breathed a sigh of relief as Ceballos put the home side in front and it was deemed job done.
Except nobody told Huesca.
On they toiled and in the 74th minute Xabier Etxeita found space to level the tie 2-2 and send Zidane into a rage.
With the clock ticking down, it looked like Huesca would hold on for a point only for Karim Benzema to snatch a late winner for the hosts and finally end the visitors fight.
Huesca may well go down this season but performances like the one against Real Madrid and Sevilla has meant no matter what happens this season, the minnows from Aragon will be winners regardless.