Gareth Bale Powers Real Madrid to Easy Win vs. Numancia in Copa del Rey Leg 1

Real Madrid have one boot in the quarter-finals of this season's Copa del Rey after they defeated 10-man Numancia 3-0 in the first leg of their round-of-16 encounter on Thursday.

Gareth Bale made his first start for Real since September and marked the occasion with a successfully converted first-half penalty. Isco came off the bench to net a spot-kick of his own before Borja Mayoral added a third in injury time.

Los Blancos will travel to Celta Vigo in La Liga on Sunday before they return to the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu for the second leg of their clash against Numancia next Wednesday.

Zidane made widespread changes to his lineup for the trip to Segunda Division outfit Numancia, with Kiko Casilla in goal and a batch of younger stars starting, such as Jesus Vallejo, Theo Hernandez and Marcos Llorente.

Dani Ceballos also lined up in midfield alongside Lucas Vazquez and the more experienced Bale up ahead, leading the front line with 20-year-old Mayoral as the spearhead.

It was therefore to be expected that Real may not possess the same lustre they would had their regular starters been present, clearly lacking in some quality as they mounted possession but with little end product.

That changed around the course of the 35-minute mark, however, when Numancia's Carlos Gutierrez was adjudged to have committed a foul in the box. AFP's Kieran Canningdetailed the landscape of the match as Bale stepped up to fire Real ahead.

CESAR MANSO/Getty Images

Spanish daily Marca backed up those allusions to inefficiency and reported that while Real had 71 percent of possession at the break, they had managed to fire only one shot on target in 45 minutes—that being Bale's spot-kick.

Marco Asensio and Vazquez—who have each earned valuable first-team minutes this season—endeavoured to produce magic that could give Real a more handsome lead, but Numancia were tough to break down.

The visiting team's job was made slightly easier, however, when Pape Maly Diamanka lunged in on Nacho Fernandez and met his calf with his studs. ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan agreed the sending off was a just one.

A more fervent challenge might have been expected on level terms, but Real's task was made far simpler with a man advantage, and that allowed their younger ranks to see out the scoreline under less of a burden.

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

Numancia midfielder Inigo Perez almost flipped the script when he attempted to lob Real goalkeeper Casilla from range, but his lofted attempt crashed down off the crossbar from the halfway line, the hosts still trailing by one.

That was until late substitute Isco added a second penalty for the guests—Gutierrez again being the offender in the box—before Mayoral marked a rare first-team start with a headed goal, despite being quiet for the vast majority of the game.

A late spurt of goals for Real might help paper over the cracks somewhat, but there was little fighting the notion that this was a lacklustre display from Los Blancos, albeit with a weakened setup from the manager.

Nevertheless, their delayed spike in energy makes the job of securing a Copa del Rey quarter-final place that much easier, meaning the manager can afford to divert more resources toward Sunday's must-win game against Celta.