Marcelo's return

On the scoresheet, Karim Benzema's strike and an Andrés Guardado own-goal will go down as the difference in Tuesday’s Real Madrid-Valencia Copa del Rey match, but the biggest achievement on the night for Madrid was the return of Marcelo to the starting lineup.

The Brazilian was slotted in by Jose Mourinho's for the first time in three months since his injury while on international duty with Brazil. And immediately his presence was felt as he raced forward in attack from his left back position in his 45 minutes on the pitch. Mourinho wisely elected to substitute Marcelo after just a half of action, bringing on Fabio Coentrao in his place.

But the important fact for Madrid fans is that Marcelo is back. Against Valencia he breathed life into the Real Madrid attack on the left side, something that has been missing from Los Blancos during this rocky campaign that has seen the club say goodbye to their league title hopes.

Although there have been reports that the relationship between Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo is turned frosty, the return of Marcelo to the Madrid team will only help the hard-working Ronaldo who should benefit from the attacking and playmaking skills of the Brazilian. If Madrid are to make a run to the Champions League final, the link between Marcelo and Ronaldo will be imperative.

In his post-match press conference, Madrid assistant Aitor Karanka summed up the thoughts of many Madrid fans when he simply stated: "Everyone knows how important he is for the team".