Fourth round, second leg

Fourteen first division sides qualified for the next round of the cup on Wednesday night, although it was not plain sailing for many of them. Real Madrid left it until injury time before beating second division B side Alicante 2-1, Guti lobbing keeper Ricardo from outside of the area to avoid an embarrassing 30 minutes of extra time. Schuster had once again put out his second string line up, and Soldado and Higuaín went close before Higuaín set up Robben to open the scoring on the half hour mark. Further efforts from Soldado and Robben went begging, but Dudek had to make a couple of saves either side of half time, and Borja headed the equaliser after the break. Gago rattled the woodwork and substitute Saviola missed a couple more chances, but there were some nervous moments before Guti saved the day.

Barcelona had virtually sewn up their tie with 2B side Alcoyano after a three goal victory in the first leg. And within ten minutes they laid to rest any doubt with two more from Ezquerro, the first after Deco's shot was blocked and the second after Bojan set him up. Bojan went close a few times and even hit the bar in the second half, but with the rain falling and four B team players on the park, the visitors got one back with a Perona penalty after Ezquerro handled in the area. And in the last minute substitute Arnau beat keeper Oier Olazábal again to make it 2-2, much to the delight of the visitors and the disappointment of Frank Rijkaard and the local fans.

Defending champions Sevilla were the closest of the lot to be eliminated though, two goals in the last three minutes giving them an incredible 4-3 win over minnows Denia. Despite a 1-1 result from the first leg, the Andalusians appeared to be cruising when Luis Fabiano converted an Alves pass and then Fazio chested in a Jesús Navas cross early on. But José Jaime got one back after the restart, and when Gregory got a second and then Migue converted a penalty after Fazio fouled José Jaime, Sevilla needed two goals to avoid being knocked out. It seemed an impossible task, but Chevantón equalised once again with two minutes left, and Kanouté converted an injury time penalty after Maresca was fouled to keep his side in the cup.

No such problems though for Sevilla's city neighbours Betis (who they meet at the weekend), Paco Chaparro's side running out 3-0 winners against Elche. Xisco opened the scoring early on after latching on to a loose ball in the area, but Casto had to make a couple of saves before Mark González connected with a Sobis cross to make it two on the hour mark. After that they were cruising, and González set up Edu for him to score the third later on.

Villarreal were pretty sure of going through after their first leg 2-4 victory against the second division's bottom side Las Palmas, but they fell behind before eventually winning 2-1. Sergio Suárez pegged one back for the Canary Islanders after running on to a long ball from Ruyman in the tenth minute, and it was only when Pellegrini brought on Marcos Senna and Guille Franco in the second half that they turned things around. Soon afterwards Rossi headed home Josemi's cross to equalise, and with the game already in injury time Franco took advantage of a tired defence to get the winner.

Atlético Madrid had a late scare before going through 3-2 on aggregate against Granada 74. Javier Aguirre rested most of his first choice players, and Falcón had a couple of saves to make before they got their act together. After a series of chances Mista finally put the locals ahead after Forlán and Reyes combined to set him up with a quarter of an hour to go. But in the second minute of injury time Aranda made it 1-1 on the night with a well struck free kick, and Atlético held on knowing that one more goal would have taken the game into extra time.

Recreativo too could only draw 1-1 against Xerez, the Huelva based side going through on the strength of their single goal first leg victory. The early sending off of Beto left them at a disadvantage though, and when Antoñito ran through to beat Barbosa with half an hour on the clock the second division side were on top. Their joy only lasted a minute or so though before Martins equalised from the penalty spot after Miki Roqué felled Marquitos, and although Antoñito and Mendoza went close either side of half time, the locals held on for a draw.

A more comfortable passage for Racing Santander, The Cantabrians winning 2-0 against a Málaga side who had their minds more on promotion than the cup. Young striker Iván Bolado opened the scoring following a corner on the quarter hour mark, but the visitors should have levelled the scores just five minutes later when Peragón fired a penalty wide of the mark after César Navas had brought down Iván Rosado. Before the break Racing increased the lead when Carpintero turned a shot from Sergio Sánchez past his own keeper, and it could have been more had Oscar Serrano not missed an easy chance after the restart.

Getafe had no problems seeing off 2B side Burgos a 4-1 victory adding to their one goal win from the first leg. Michael Laudrup's side went ahead eight minutes before the break when keeper Campaña couldn't hold on to Mario Cotelo's shot, Uche making sure but referee Iturralde González finally ruling that the ball had already crossed the line before he touched it. Three minutes after the restart Braulio won himself a penalty, and although he fired his kick against the post, Cotelo collected the rebound and crossed in for De la Red to head home his side's second. Uche got a third from the penalty spot after Andrés had fouled Gavilán, and soon afterwards Iturralde awarded a third penalty, this time to the visitors for a foul on Bayón, which Nacho Garrido converted. And later on new signing Gavilán celebrated his return to the club, chipping a shot over the keeper for his side's fourth.

Valladolid will also be in Friday's draw after they beat Murcia 2-3. Ogbeche connected with Capdevila's pass to open the scoring in the tenth minute, but the locals had several chances before Richi equalised after Ochoa headed on a De Lucas corner close to half time. Camacho headed in another Capdevila cross soon early in the second half though, and Estoyanoff wrapped up the tie with a third away goal on a quick breakaway with an hour gone. Iñigo did get one back after that, but it was too little too late.

Two more all first division games, with Mallorca overturning a two goal first leg deficit to beat Osasuna 4-0. The visitors defended well in the first half, and only Trejo caused any problems for Elía. But Nunes headed against the woodwork after the restart, and Arango finally beat the keeper with a well struck free kick midway through the second half. Soon afterwards Güiza levelled the tie with a chip over the head of Elía, and David Navarro scrambled a third in off Kike Sola following a corner a few minutes later. Osasuna threw everything forward looking for an away goal, but Portillo brought down Jonás in the area in the last minute, and Güiza drilled home the spot kick to take his side through.

The match between Deportivo and Espanyol went into extra time with scores level at 1-1, but a strike from Tamudo with six minutes to go gave the Catalans a 1-2 victory. Luis García turned in a cross from Valdo to put the visitors ahead in the sixteenth minute, but Coloccini brought a good save out of Lafuente and Bodipo headed against the crossbar. Filipe Luis cleared off the line from Riera, but on the hour mark a shot from Lafita hit Lola on the hand inside the area, and Sergio converted the resulting spot kick to take the game into extra time. Filipe Luis hit the post again, but a few minutes later Tamudo got ahead of his marker to head a long De la Peña pass down past Munúa.

Valencia and Athletic Bilbao were the last two to kick off, and both won their respective matches against lower division opposition. Valencia beat 2B side Real Unión 3-0 to take some pressure off Ronald Koeman. The coach himself was giving orders to Bakero from the stands due to a one match ban, and he put out an unusual line up, with striker Arizmendi at right back and two youngsters in the team. Baraja, Vicente and Zigic all missed chances before the break, and it wasn't until midway through the second half, with Villa, Silva and Fernandes now on the park, that Zigic headed them into the lead from Moretti's cross. After that Joaquín added two more, both from passes by Marchena, to ensure the Chés a place in the last sixteen.

Athletic Bilbao won 2-0 against Hércules, the Basque side also leaving it late before scoring their goals. Aduríz hit the post early on, but César fired a scissors kick against the bar later in the first half. Gabilondo also headed against the bar soon after the interval, and with twenty minutes to go David López finally beat ex Athletic keeper Unai Alba with a free kick. And in the ninetieth minute the locals were awarded a penalty when Del Horno was fouled, and Aduríz drove home the kick to round things off. (02.01.08)

The fifth round will be all first division for the first time in almost 40 years after Zaragoza and Levante won through their respective ties on Thursday. Zaragoza only made it in the second minute of injury time though after beating 2B side Pontevedra 3-1. Already a goal behind from the first leg, an Igor penalty on the quarter hour mark after Ayala fouled Turiel meant they needed three to win. However Diego Milito won himself a penalty which he himself converted early in the second half, and a second goal from Oliveira soon afterwards put them on track. And with Víctor Fernández already packing his bags, Sergio García got on the end of Gabi's cross to head the third right at the end. The game ended in turmoil, with Diego Milito getting a red card for a hard tackle and players brawling, but Zaragoza were through.

Levante also waited until virtually the last kick of the match to draw 1-1 at Almería and go through 3-2 on aggregate. The first chance of the game fell to Kalu Uche for the locals, but the visitors went close two or three times later in the first half, Geijo in particular hitting the post. It seemed to be heading for a scoreless draw though until Pulido headed Corona's corner past Kujovic in the first minute of injury time. But with the home fans still celebrating, Alvaro drove a shot past Diego Alves at the second attempt to give the Valencia based side a bit of relief from their troubles in the league. (03.01.07)