Fifth round, first leg

With European competitions on hold for the winter break, the Copa del Rey returned this week. One match was brought forward to Tuesday, Atlético Madrid and Osasuna leaving everything for the second leg after drawing 1-1 in the Vicente Calderón stadium. Webó got on the end of a pass from Miguel Flaño to put the visitors ahead shortly before the break, and they seemed to be on track for a win when Pablo was sent off for a hard tackle on the Cameroonian striker soon after the restart. But Fernando Torres produced a moment of magic, controlling the ball and firing a shot over Ricardo from wide on the left to keep his side's hopes of qualifying alive. (09.01.07)

Six more matches on Wednesday, the most surprising result being a 0-0 draw between first division league leaders Sevilla and second division B side Rayo Vallecano. Chevantón came close to giving the Andalusians the lead when he hit the bar with a first half free kick, but Mauri felt he should have had a penalty at the other end a few minutes before the final whistle, and Cobeño did well to keep out an effort from Diego Torres a minute later. The game was almost stopped though when residents of flats overlooking the Vallecas ground threw oranges and potatoes down at the visiting keeper!

Barcelona have one foot in the quarter finals after beating Alavés 0-2. Saviola got both of the goals in the second half, the first after picking up a return pass from Giuly, and the second after Márquez headed on a corner. Earlier in the first half Xavi, Saviola and Ezquerro all went close, and Motta hit the bar in the final minute. It was a bad start for new coach Fabri, and his president Dmitri Piterman once again had to be protected by the local police from the angry home fans.

Zaragoza also recorded a comfortable victory, beating second division Málaga 0-3. Sergio García started things off in the twelfth minute, running on to beat Goitia after Lafita touched on a long pass. And the striker added a second just a couple of minutes after the restart, picking up a cross from Ewerthon and beating his marker before shooting wide of the keeper just seconds after a penalty appeal was turned down at the other end. It was a killer blow, and Oscar González rounded things off with a third goal later on, beating the keeper with a low shot inside the near post.

Only one of the lower division sides has a real chance of going through to the last eight though, second division leaders Valladolid beating Villarreal 2-1 to make it seventeen games in a row without defeat. Losada put the home side in front after Asier squared the ball across midway through the first half, and although José Marí equalised a minute later with a header from a Marcos corner, Llorente restored the lead when he turned in Asier's cross after the restart. Guille Franco got himself sent off near the end, and Oscar Sánchez hit the post for the locals in the dying minutes.

A good result for Deportivo, a 1-2 win over Mallorca giving them a big advantage for the second leg. All the goals came in the second half, Adrián opening the scoring for the visitors after Moyà could only push a long cross in to his path. Taborda headed the second on the hour mark from a long Manuel Pablo cross, and Maxi López got one back for the locals in injury time, controlling the ball in the area and forcing a shot past Aouate. It was a fifth defeat in a row for the Islanders, and the home fans whistled their players off at the end.

Valencia are also well placed after a last second 1-1 draw at Getafe in the last match of the evening. The kick off was delayed by half an hour due to a power cut, but within two minutes Bernd Schuster's side took the lead when Paunovic got ahead of Butelle to head home a David Cortés cross. The introduction of David Villa and Baraja in the second half changed things though, and with the game coming to an end Villa set up David Silva for him to fire a shot past Luis García into the top corner of the net. (10.01.07)

Betis and Real Madrid drew 0-0 in the last match on Thursday evening. Wagner had the best chances either side of half time, putting the first effort over the bar after Xisco set him up, and missing the target on the second attempt following an indirect free kick. But in the end the tie ended without goals, the third game in a row that Madrid failed to score. Events were overshadowed though by news of the possible discards in Capello's squad, and in particular by David Beckham's announcement that he would nbe leaving in the summer to play for Los Angeles Galaxy. (11.01.07)