Third round, first leg

Match played on 6th January

The third round of the Spanish cup opened up with what was supposed to be the pick of the bunch, Atlético Madrid against Deportivo La Coruña. However it failed to live up to it's billing, and the 30,000 or so poor souls who paid record prices to see the match went home disappointed after the game ended 0-0. The two managers took differing approaches, Manzano playing his strongest available eleven whereas Irureta put out a team which included several reserve players, with Munúa, Pablo Amo, Amavisca and Munitis all starting the game and Djalminha and Jaime getting a rare run out after the break. The visitors were clearly looking to take a draw back to the Riazor, although they were always dangerous on the counterattack and Amavisca brought a good save out of Juanma in the opening minutes. Ibagaza tested Munúa soon afterwards, but from there on there were virtually no efforts on target until the last five minutes of the game. Amavisca came up against Juanma again as he tried to win it for the Galicians, and Fernando Torres finally got a shot on target only to see his effort stopped by the visiting keeper. When Jaime cleared Jorge's shot off the line and Djalminha put a free kick over the bar in the last minute it was all over. Depor had achieved their objective, and they will be hoping to finish things off in the second leg in Coruña in a week's time.

Matches played on 7th January

A depleted Real Madrid side drew 1-1 at second division Eibar in their first leg tie, not the best of results but probably enough for them to win through to the last eight in the return leg next Tuesday. Carlos Queiroz left all of his big name stars at home and put out a side packed with youngsters, with only Iker Casillas of his first choice players in the team. And the manager must have been glad that his Spanish number one was in the side as he produced a string of first class saves in the first quarter of the game to keep out the Basques, who themselves had made many changes from their normal line up. Madrid though took the lead in virtually their first attack, under 20 international Juanfran making space down the left to find Guti for him to shoot low past Basauri. However Cuevas headed a deserved equaliser for the home side from a corner on the stroke of half time, and the home side continued to dominate the match in the second half. Casillas was called into action again to make a spectacular one-handed save from Arregi after Rubén chested the ball into his path, and a long, dipping shot from Corredoira hit the bar with the keeper for once beaten. But Madrid held on to take another faltering step towards the last eight of the competition. With this luck they might just win it.

Valencia were the only ones of the top three to have any real problems in the end though, and they will have an uphill struggle in Pamplona next week after being held to a 2-2 draw by Osasuna. Angulo gave them the lead in the first half, and they seemed to be well in control until Curro Torres got himself sent off just before the break after picking up two yellow cards in succession, presumably for insulting referee Rubinos Pérez. For a few minutes the home side kept up the momentum, Baraja having a goal disallowed after the restart, and soon afterwards the midfielder made it two from the penalty spot when Rubinos ruled that Cruchaga had brought down Marchena in the area. But the visitors came back, and Webó got on the end of a wayward shot from Muñoz to narrow the gap, the referee waving away Valencia's protests for offside. And in the last minute substitute Aloisi picked up a pass from Muñoz and fired a shot on the turn past Palop to give his side a more than even chance of going through and repeating their cup run from last year, when they reached the semi-finals of the competition.

Celta Vigo threw a lifeline to their much questioned manager Miguel Angel Lotina when they came away from Málaga with a 0-1 win under their belts. Lotina put out a defensive side packed with reserves against a full strength opponent, but the two teams cancelled each other out in a dull first half. Gerardo's shot just wide of the post was the only threat to visiting keeper Pinto, although Salva did have a couple of penalty claims turned down by the referee. The only goal came ten minutes in to the second half, Vagner picking up the ball and crashing a long shot in off the crossbar past Calatayud. After that local manager Juande Ramos threw on striker Diego Alonso to try and get back in the game, but his side's only real chance of saving a draw came later on when a Duda free kick struck the post with Pinto beaten.

Two goals from forgotten striker Drulic helped Zaragoza to a 3-1 win over Betis, their first home victory since October. As with the other matches kicking off early on Wednesday, the goals didn't come until the second half, Drulic getting the first goal of the third round after 228 minutes of football when he beat the offside trap to shoot under the legs of Prats only three minutes after the restart. Betis had lined up with Alfonso making his first start after returning from a long ankle injury, but he was not getting any service from his colleagues and it was left to Joaquín to head an equaliser from a Luis Fernández cross a few minutes after Drulic's strike. With the clock ticking away Paco Flores threw on two forward looking players, Villa and Vellisca, and eight minutes from time it was Vellisca who thundered a shot into the top corner of the net to restore the lead. The visitors pushed forward, and Zaragoza took advantage to add a late third goal, Drulic popping up again in the last minute to take Villa's pass and beat Prats to give his side a two goal cushion to take to Sevilla next week. The result leaves Betis manager Víctor Fernández even deeper in trouble, and if his side don't beat Málaga at the weekend he could be on his way.

The other tie on Wednesday ended without goals, first division Valladolid holding second division Alavés without too many problems. Despite the result it was an open game, and either side could have scored before the interval. The home team were the first to test the waters, Angel (one of many replacements in Pepe Mel's side) going close, and the visitors replied with Oscar Sánchez and Makukula both bringing good saves out of Juan Pablo. Things quietened down in the second half though, although Bizzarri had to be at his best to tip a header from Vucko over the bar. However the home side's challenge effectively ended with twenty minutes still to go when the referee sent off local defender Ochoa for a rigorous second yellow card, and Valladolid should wrap things up next week in their Nuevo Zorrilla stadium.

Matches played on 8th January

Another disappointing result from Barcelona, who were beaten 1-0 by a second string Levante side despite putting out their best possible line up. Frank Rijkaard's team found themselves behind in the ninth minute after the referee awarded a rigorous penalty when Puyol held back Aganzo, Rivera converting the kick. The first division side didn't react until the second half, but when they did, reserve keeper Aizpurúa put in a brilliant performance to keep out Iniesta, Xavi, Saviola and substitute Sergio García amongst others. Márquez also hit the bar with a header as Barcelona piled on the pressure, but Levante could have increased their lead on the breakaway, Víctor Valdés saving well from Cuéllar and Ettien shooting just wide near the end.

Sevilla virtually ensured their presence in the quarter finals after coming from behind to bear Villarreal 1-3. Both sides put out strong line-ups, but the locals took the lead with a quarter of an hour on the clock when Belletti beat Esteban from the edge of the area. The Andalucians fought back in the second half though, with an inspired Baptista taking a return pass from Daniel Alves to make it all square four minutes in to the restart. Six minutes later the Brazilian midfielder returned the favour to his fellow countryman for him to shoot low past López Vallejo, and Baptista himself rounded things off with a third goal after Darío Silva set him up later on. Both sides ended with ten men after Casquero and then Coloccini were sent off in the final minutes.