Watch: James Rodriguez turns Sevilla turnover into Real Madrid goal
With his name swirling around the rumor mill, James Rodriguez took advantage of some rare playing time with Real Madrid and turned in a fantastic goal in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
Real Madrid pressure forced a Sevilla turnover, and James pounced before immediately rifling a low, 20-yard blast inside the left post to give a Cristiano Ronaldo-less Real the lead in the first leg of the round-of-16 encounter. James added a goal on a penalty kick just before halftime, sending Real on its way by extending its lead to 3-0 following a goal by Raphael Varane.
Despite more pressure in the second half, Real Madrid settled for the 3-0 win on the anniversary of Zinedine Zidane taking the reins as manager. The win did extend Real Madrid's unbeaten streak in all competitions to 38 games, one shy of Barcelona's record for Spanish clubs.
James has played in just eight league matches for Real Madrid this season (four starts) and has been tipped as a likely outgoing transfer, despite his father's recent remarks that he'd be staying at the Bernabeu.
Elsewhere in Copa del Rey action on Wednesday, Alcorcon and Cordoba played to a scoreless draw in their first leg, while Real Sociedad topped Villarreal 3-1, with Mexican forward Carlos Vela scoring in the home victory.
