Third round, second leg

Matches played on 18th January

Another round of Spanish cup matches this week, with eight second leg ties taking place over the next three days. We already have the first surprise of the week though, second division B side Gramanet beating fellow Catalans Lleida 2-1 on aggregate to make it through to the last eight for the first time in their history. Defending a 2-0 lead from the first leg, the underdogs held on until shortly before half time, when Santos beat Morales after Oscar García's pass was deflected into his path. The goal sparked off some ugly scenes between the two sides as a visiting player was lying injured on the ground when the locals scored, but things quietened down after that and the two teams got on with football. Brothers Aaron (Gramanet) and Nakor (Lleida) Bueno were on opposite sides, and both could have scored within a minute of each other. The best chances fell to the locals later on, Morales saving from Oscar García and a Santos header from Stankovic's cross being blocked by a defender. But Eduardo had to be at his best to save from Aaron on a quick breakaway, and even when the visitors were left with ten men after Xavi Gracia was sent off for a second bookable offence Lleida couldn't score, Crusat having a penalty appeal turned down and Santos firing over the top of the bar.

Sevilla are also into the quarter finals in their centenary year after beating Recreativo Huelva 2-1. Caparrós's side also had a two goal advantage from the first leg, but for a few minutes they were up against it when Notario had to save from Manu Del Moral and then Coira, and then when referee Rodríguez Santiago awarded a penalty after Pablo Ruiz fouled Xavi Jiménez on the half hour mark. Notario saved Manu's first kick, but Rodríguez ordered a retake which the keeper also saved, this time from Jiménez. However the ball fell kindly to the striker, who fired it back into the net. Pablo Ruiz levelled the scores though a quarter of an hour in to the second half with a header after Darío Silva flicked on a free kick, and Aranda wrapped things up with an individualist goal twenty minutes from the end. Sevilla's Martí was sent off in the final minutes, but by then it was all over.

Matches played on 19th January

Real Madrid are out of the cup! The league's most successful side in European and domestic league competitions have not won the domestic king's cup in twelve years, and they will have to wait a little longer after they were knocked out by second division Valladolid. Despite a scoreless draw from the first leg, Luxemburgo decided to rest most of his top names, giving a first start to new signings Gravesen and Portillo. But the visitors (who themselves put out a weakened side) almost went ahead when a Sousa free kick crashed off the bar early on, and although Owen and Portillo both tested Lledó, the new coach decided to bring on Ronaldo, Raúl and Zidane at the break. Michael Owen appeared to have settled it when he latched on to Raúl's through ball to beat Lledó midway through the second half, but the visitors got the vital away goal a few minutes later when Xavi Moré shot through Raúl Bravo's legs to take the scoreline to 1-1 and give Sergio Kresic's side a place in Friday's quarter final draw.

Athletic Bilbao had no such problems dealing with lowly Lanzarote, and they recovered from the 2-1 defeat in the first leg to thrash their opponents 6-0 in the San Mamés stadium. The hero of the night was youth international Fernando Llorente, who scored a hat-trick in only his second game for the first team to stake a claim for a place in Ernesto Valverde's squad. The youngster opened the scoring midway through the first half when he headed on Iraola's cross, and then set up Etxeberría for a second later on before completing his hat-trick with two almost identical headed goals after the restart, the first from Iraola's cross and the second from Etxeberría's. Ezquerro added a fifth with a similar header, again from Iraola's cross from the right wing, and Orbaiz crashed a long shot into the roof of the net later on for the final result.

Numancia also made it through to the quarter finals, although they had to resort to a penalty shoot out after their 1-0 win against Elche cancelled out the first leg result. The Soria based side only had one real effort at goal in the first half, Miguel Angel Nuñez hesitating and allowing keeper Caballero to recover, and Máximo Hernández made three changes early in the first half to revitalize his side. With twenty minutes to go half time substitute Miguel López got the only goal with a deflected shot to level the tie, and Miguel and Lee Chun Soo both hit the woodwork as they pushed forward looking for the winner. The game went into extra time though, and although Miguel hit the bar again, the visitors held on for the penalty shoot out. Numancia converted all their five kicks though, and Alvaro Nuñez saved one from Nino to give his side a 5-3 win.

An exciting match at Getafe, where Osasuna came out victors despite a 3-2 result on the night. Craioveanu gave the locals side hope of cancelling out the two goal advantage from the first leg with a spectacular volley early on, but Muñoz levelled the scores on the half hour mark. The Madrid based side bounced back though under the inspiration of Craioveanu, the Romanian striker setting up Kome to restore the lead before the break and then giving a return pass to Mario Cotelo after the restart for him to score and third and take the hosts to within a goal of victory. But Muñoz got a second for the visitors from Moha's cross a quarter of an hour from the end put an end to their aspirations.

Not much to talk about though at Betis, where the first division side were held to a 0-0 draw by second division B club Mirandés, but still made it through to the quarter finals for the first time since the 1997/1998 season thanks to a 1-3 result from the first leg. With the tie virtually decided, the ground was almost empty, and Serra Ferrer used the occasion to give a run out to some of his second string players. But all they could manage was a shot against the post in the second half by Alfonso, and visiting keeper Tito did the rest with stops from Pablo Niño, Fernando and Alfonso later on.

Match played on 20th January

Atlético Madrid completed the formalities in the last match on Thursday, beating second division B side Lorca 2-0 to join the other seven clubs in the quarter final line up. Despite a two goal advantage from the first leg, César Ferrando wasn't taking any chances and put out a strong side. But even Fernando Torres couldn't find the way to goal, and Salva came on to replace him on the hour mark. Cuéllar had to make saves from Sergio Francisco and Alexandre as the visitors tried to catch their opponents out on the counter-attack, but youngster Braulio finally made the break-through, opening the scoring after substitute Salva set him up, and then adding a second goal near the end after combining with Colsa.