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Copa del Rey

Fourth round, second leg

Cup "tweets"

Drama in the Sardinero stadium on Tuesday night, where Córdoba knocked out Racing Santander thanks to a controversial penalty in the last minute of extra time. A first half strike from Iván Bolado and a second half Kennedy free kick cancelled out Córdoba's two goal lead from the first leg, and when Edu Bedía scored again for the Cantabrians from another free kick in the first half of extra time it appeared that the first division side were going through. However with a minute to go referee Delgado Ferreiro decided that Cristian had handled deliberately in the area, and Jorge Luque drove home the resulting spot kick for a 3-1 win on the night.

Espanyol also go through to the last sixteen despite drawing 1-1 with Valladolid, the two goal victory in the Nuevo Zorrilla stadium enough for them to qualify. It could have been different had Calle not fired a soft penalty straight at Cristian Alvarez after Forlín blocked the ball with his arm in the tenth minute, but once again Valladolid were left with ten men after Jofre was shown a red card, and soon afterwards substitute Osvaldo put the Catalans ahead. Barragán did get one back with a second penalty after Didac handled in the area with a quarter of an hour still to go, but the result was never in doubt. (09.11.10)

No real surprises on Wednesday night in the cup, with all the big teams making it through. A 75,000 crowd turned up at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium to see Real Madrid beat Murcia 5-1, a relief after their elimination at the hands of lower ranked sides in the last two seasons. With only three minutes gone Granero opened the scoring, and Higuaín scored the second with an angled shot on the stroke of half time. By this time Mourinho was watching the game from the stands after he was sent off for insulting the referee, but he saw half time substitute Cristiano Ronaldo make it three from Di María's pass with a quarter of an hour to go. Arbeloa was sent off for a second bookable offence and Pedro got one back for the visitors from the penalty spot, and Benzema replied with another penalty before Xabi Alonso finished things off with a free kick which deflected in off a defender.

Not quite as many at the Nou Camp, but still there were 39,000 fans watching Barcelona beat Ceuta by the same scoreline. Nolito took less than two minutes to score his first goal for the senior side, and Milito crashed home a second five minutes later before limping off with an injury. The North Africans were left with ten men when Victor Moreno was sent off for giving away a penalty on Bojan, but the young striker fired his spot kick at the post. Soon afterwards Guzmán got one back for the visitors on a breakaway, but after the restart Pedro restored the two goal cushion. He was then replaced by Messi, who set up Bojan to finally score his first of the season, then added his own name to the scoresheet after that.

In contrast to the big crowds at the big two, only 5,000 turned up to see Atlético Madrid draw 1-1 with Universidad Las Palmas. And many of them wished they hadn't bothered after the second division B team gave their side the run-around. The Canary Islanders went ahead in the 18th minute when Aridane beat the advancing Joel, and although there was little danger that they could overturn the 0-5 result from the first leg, there was some concern when Diego Costa was sent off for elbowing an opponent shortly before half time. Fran Mérdia saved the day though with an impressive equalising goal with twenty minutes to go.

Sevilla sailed through to the last sixteen with a 6-1 victory over Real Unión, even though the visitors went ahead through Eneko Romo with ten minutes on the clock. Alfaro equalised though five minutes later from the penalty spot after Subiza blocked Cigarini's shot with his arm, and youngsters Rodri and Bernardo added two more before the break. And in the second half Cigarini, José Carlos and Acosta added three more to make it a 10-1 aggregate scoreline overall.

Athletic Bilbao were taking no chances against Alcorcón, and Caparrós put out a strong line up against last season's giant killers. David López and Aurtenetxe both went close before Gabilondo picked up a David López assist to open the scoring with just under half an hour gone. But the visitors went close a couple of times after the break before Orbaíz finally made sure with a lob over keeper Raúl Moreno in injury time.

Villarreal were also a bit concerned as they took on a Poli Ejido side who had knocked them out of the cup a couple of seasons ago, and although Juan Carlos Garrido put out a much changed formation he kept his big guns on the bench just in case. The 1-1 result from the first leg gave the first division team a slight advantage, and with just over a quarter of an hour on the clock Jefferson Montero fired a shot in to the top corner of the net to put them ahead in the tie. There were some nervous moments though before Altidore finally wrapped things up, turning in Marco Rubén's square pass for his second goal in as many games.

Only one surprise on Wednesday, second division Betis beating Zaragoza 1-2 to go through to the last sixteen on the away goal rule. Although the Andalusians are top of their division and Zaragoza are bottom of theirs, Gabi's penalty in the first leg seemed to have sealed it for the Maños. But Contini turned Rubén Castro's cross past his own keeper in the eleventh minute, and although Jarosik headed the equaliser from Boutahar's centre a few minutes later, Castro scored what was to prove the winner after Arzu set him up before half time.

Levante only just scraped through though, a first leg 2-3 win at Xerez just enough to edge it despite a 1-2 defeat in the City of Valencia stadium in the return match. The visitors went ahead with an Antoñito penalty after Xisco Nadal pulled back Capdevila midway through the first half. However Caicedo scored what was to be the important goal on the stroke of half time, and Antoñito's header from Oscar Díaz's cross on the hour mark was not enough to turn the tie in his side's favour.

Two all-first-division ties on Wednesday, with Deportivo making it through to the next round after beating Osasuna 2-1. All the goals came after the break, with Riki putting the Galicians in front with a header from Ze Castro's cross soon after the restart. The visitors were left with ten men when Sergio picked up a second caution soon afterwards, but even so Lekic beat Manu to equalise a few minutes later. If the scoreline had remained unmoved the game would have gone in to extra time, but just two minutes later Lassad restored the lead after he was set up by veteran midfield general Valerón.

Almería had beaten Real Sociedad 2-3 in the first leg, and this time they won again by 2-1 to save the head of coach Lillo for a little while longer. Goitom turned his marker to beat Zubikarai and open the scoring in the twentieth minute, and Ulloa got on the end of a corner in the first minute after the restart to make it two, his fourth goal against the Basque side this season. Agirretxe pulled one back five minutes later from Griezmann's centre, but it was not enough to change the result. (10.11.10)

The last four games of the fourth round of the cup took place on Thursday, with no real surprises. Getafe had problems with the only remaining third division side Portugalete though, a 0-0 draw only seeing them through on the away goal rule after a 1-1 draw in the first leg. Marcano, Colunga (twice) and Mané all hit the woodwork for Michel's side, but the result was in doubt right until the final whistle. There was more bad news for the coach as well, Arizmendi rushed to hospital after fainting at half time. First reports are that he had a thrombosis in the brain, although he is reportedly out of danger.

Málaga's new coach Pellegrini brought his side luck if nothing else, a last minute headed goal from Sebas Fernández giving them a 3-2 victory over Hércules. Up to that point the visitors were ahead on the away goal rule, with goals from Edinho and then Abel Aguilar cancelling out strikes from Eilseu and Portillo. Aguilar got himself sent off soon after equalising after picking up a second booking midway through the second half.

Valencia easily saw off Logroñés, Isco scoring twice on his debut in a comfortable 4-1 victory. The visitors did score first though, Osado beating Guaita in the second minute, but Isco levelled the scores midway through the first half with a shot on the turn. Before half time Vicente and Isco had added two more, and Feghouli wrapped things up with his first goal for his new side with five minutes to go

Mallorca went through against Sporting Gijón, two early goals from Nsue enough to give them a 2-2 draw on the night and a 5-3 aggregate victory. Bilic got one back from the penalty spot after Kevin handled in the area, and youngster Juan Muñiz equalised in the second half with a shot from outside of the area. But although Jorge hit the bar twice after that, the tie was already over. All that meant that 14 of the 16 teams in next Thursday's draw will be from the first division, with only Betis and Córdoba making it through from the lower ranks. (11.11.10)