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Copa del Rey, fifth round, second leg

Barcelona completed the formalities on Thursday evening, a 5-0 victory over second division Córdoba adding to their 0-2 win from the first leg. With Messi left on the bench and Xavi, Iniesta and Piqué all rested, it was left to their replacements to do the job. With only half an hour gone though they were already three up, Thiago starting things off with a low shot past Saizar after picking up a pass over the top from Alex Song. A couple of minutes later Villa picked up Thiago's pass on the by-line and ghosted past his marker before squeezing a shot between the keeper and the near post, and five minutes later "El Guaje" got his second of the night with an angled shot in off the far post after Sergi Roberto laid the ball back. Soon afterwards Thiago hit the post, and ten minutes after the restart Alexis headed the fourth from Thiago's corner, a much needed goal for the Chilean striker. Messi was expected to come on for the last half hour or so, but an injury to Sergi Roberto left the fans disappointed, and Villa also limped off later on after all substitutions had been made, leaving his side with ten men. By then though Alexis was providing the entertainment, and a minute after he fell over his own feet with the goal at his mercy, he deflected in the fifth after Saizar could only turn Tello's shot in to his path.

Barça meet Málaga in the next round, and the fourth quarter final will be between Atlético Madrid and Betis after both won through their respective ties. Atlético went in to their second leg match at neighbours Getafe with a three goal lead, and they comfortably held on for a 0-0 draw on the night. Simeone's side were the better for most of the ninety minutes, with Arda Turan and Cristian Rodríguez going early on, and Diego Costa failing to convert two or three chances after the restart. The locals were left with ten men for the last hour when Rafa was sent off for a high kick on Falcao, and the closest they came to scoring was when Courtois had to keep out a back header from his own defender Miranda before the break.

Betis had more problems though against second division Las Palmas, and the result was in doubt until Rubén Castro made it 1-0 against his old side near the end. Despite the 1-1 result from the first leg, Pepe Mel put out a much changed line-up, and Pozuelo, Vadillo and Molina all went close in the opening minutes. Thievy fired a shot just wide at the other end before the break, but after the restart the locals once more had the better chances, Molina and Beñat just failing to hit the target and Vadillo hitting the bar. Crisantus and Vitolo gave the local fans a fright though later on, but with five minutes to go Castro intercepted a bad back pass and ran on to fire a shot under Barbosa. Even so a goal by the Canary Islanders would have taken the game in to extra time, and Hernán came very close when he headed a corner just over the top in the dying minutes. (10.01.13)

Real Madrid overturned a 2-1 first leg defeat, beating Celta 4-0 on Wednesday night to set up a quarter final meeting with Valencia. Cristiano Ronaldo scored two early on, the first in only the second minute with a long shot after picking up Arbeloa's throw-in which curled wide of Sergio, and the second midway through the first half after running on to Modric's through ball. A goal by the visitors would have taken the game to extra time though, and a red card after the break for Sergio Ramos for a second bookable offence opened the door for the Galicians. Casillas made good saves from Krohn-Dehli and Augusto though, and with the game coming to an end Ronaldo ran through to complete his hat-trick and then set up Khedira to complete the scoring a minute later.

Elsewhere Sevilla and Zaragoza will meet each other in the next round after both won through their respective ties. Sevilla lost 1-2 to Mallorca in the first match of the evening, although with a 5-0 lead from their first leg the result was never in doubt. Manu del Moral opened the scoring for the locals in the twentieth minute after Cala played on a low Javi Hervás corner, and Perotti and Babá tested Calatayud later in the first half. However just six minutes after the restart youngster Brandon Tomas turned a shot past Palop after Hemed played on a cross, and four minutes later Alfaro gave the visitors the lead after Cala could only head up a long ball into the area.

Zaragoza also made it through to the last eight after a 2-0 victory against Levante later in the day. Already a goal up from the first leg, Manolo Jiménez's side dominated the opening minutes, with Aranda in particular heading a good chance wide. A few minutes later Keylor Navas could only push out a long effort from the striker, Víctor Rodríguez heading the rebound towards goal, and Zuculini getting the final touch (possibly from an offside position) before it crossed the line. With just under an hour on the clock Héctor Rodas was sent off for a hard tackle on Víctor, and the resulting free kick was only cleared as for as Paco Montañés, who fired an angled shot back past the keeper to put the result beyond Levante's reach. (09.01.13)

A close shave again for Málaga, but in the end Pellegrini's side go through to a possible quarter final meeting with Barcelona after a flattering 4-1 win over second division B side Eibar. A 1-1 first leg result left the tie marginally in the balance of the Andalusians, but a strike in the twelfth minute by Arroyo after Kameni could only block a long shot by Arruabarrena gave the Basque team the edge. However Buonanotte levelled the tie with a quarter of an hour to go after Saviola set him up, and the Italian forward crossed in for Seba Fernández to score a second just a couple of minutes later. Another away goal would still have taken the visitors through, but Portillo headed in Monreal's cross to make it three, and after Guille Roldán was sent off for a hard tackle on Buonanotte, it was Buonanotte himself who wrapped things up in injury time with a long shot from outside of the area.

Later in the evening Valencia built on their two goal first leg lead against Osasuna to secure themselves a place in the next round against the winner of the tie between Real Madrid and Celta, a last minute 2-1 victory enough to see them through. The visitors put up a good fight though, Guaita having to save from Llorente and Lolo going close before Tino Costa opened the scoring with a well struck free kick on the half hour mark. Llorente equalized three minutes later after controlling a long pass from Nano and running on to beat the local keeper, and the ex Villarreal and Real Sociedad striker came close to a second after the restart. Valverde turned to Soldado however, and after failing to convert a couple of chances, the Spanish international forward combined with Banega to finish off his old team in injury time. (08.01.13)