Karim Benzema's stoppage time strike helped Real Madrid set a new Spanish record of 40 games unbeaten on Thursday, in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Sevilla that saw Los Blancos reach the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.
Madrid's 3-0 lead from the first leg was enough to see them progress but for large periods of Thursday's game in Seville it seemed like their streak was doomed to end at 39, matching Barcelona's record.
Madrid left back Marcelo claimed his team weren't focused on maintaining their record, saying: "We weren't thinking about the run, we go game to game, the team gave everything in the fight until the end and so we continue like this."
Asked if his side feared they may be eliminated, he replied: "We had no doubt in any moment, we had to have patience. Sevilla are a great team and we knew the game would be like this because the result from the first leg didn't mean anything."
Sevilla made a fast start to the game and took the lead in the 10th minute with an own goal from Danilo, who headed Pablo Sarabia's cross into his own net.
Mariano nearly levelled for Madrid when he closed down on goalkeeper David Soria but the ball deflected wide of the target.
At the other end, Wissam Ben Yedder was harshly adjudged to be offside when through on goal and forced Kiko Casilla into a good save after being fed by Angel Correa.
Toni Kroos came close just before the interval with a strike that whistled inches wide of the post.
Sevilla's new signing Stevan Jovetic made his first appearance for the club when he was brought on for the injured Correa.
In the 49th minute Madrid hit back with a sensational goal from Marco Asensio, who moved the ball from deep in his own half down the left wing before slotting past Soria.
The 20-year-old dribbled 70 metres with eight touches in 11 seconds to score one of the goals of the season.
The hosts hit back instantly, with Jovetic netting on his debut after Sergio Escudero crossed from the left.
Jovetic should have added his second but was denied by Casilla, before Vicente Iborra prodded home to extend Sevilla's lead to 3-1 and give them belief they could win the tie.
However Sergio Ramos scored a Panenka penalty to quell the hosts' comeback hopes, after Matias Kranevitter pushed Casemiro.
And then in the final minute Benzema broke into the penalty area, past Sevilla's tired defenders, and fired home to earn the draw and give Madrid their place in the history books.
"They deserved more maybe," Zidane said of the Andalusians. "But after our first goal we relaxed a little. In general we deserved to progress."
The teams meet again on Sunday in La Liga at the same venue as Sevilla take their third shot at Madrid's unbeaten record in a fortnight.
Elsewhere, Eibar progressed after drawing 0-0 with Osasuna and Celta Vigo beat Valencia 2-1 to reach Friday's draw along with Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Real Sociedad, Alcorcon and Alaves.
By Rik Sharma, dpa
