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Copa del Rey

Fourth round, first leg

For the first time at least in the recent history of the Spanish cup, the fourth round ties are taking place over an extended weekend. Six of those games were scheduled for Friday, a public holiday in Spain, Barcelona rounding off the evening with a 1-4 victory over second division B side Cartagena. After two defeats in a row Tata Martino was taking no chances, but despite putting out a strong line up they went behind when Fernando ran through to beat Pinto on the quarter hour mark. Goals by Pedro and Cesc Fàbregas turned the scoreline around before the break though, the first after Fàbregas put him through, and the second after connecting with Adriano's cross. And later in the second half Pedro ran on to an Alexis pass to dummy round the keeper for the third, and then fired a shot against the upright which youngster Dongou turned back in to the net.

No major surprises on the opening day, although Real Sociedad could only draw 1-1 at Algeciras. The Andalusians got off to a good start, Zubikarai having to make a couple of early saves and referee Ayza Gámez ruling out a strike for a non-existent offside. With Griezmann leading the attack though Real started to recover, and the French forward opened the scoring on the hour mark after running on to a through ball from Xabi Prieto to beat Christian. Alfaro headed a wayward shot from Parada inside the post to equalize though some five minutes later, and there were some nervous moments before the final whistle.

Wins for both Sevilla based sides, Betis kicking things off with a 1-2 victory at Lleida at lunchtime, a good start for new coach Juan Carlos Garrido in a match which was preceded by a tribute to Miki Roque, who played for both teams and who died a few months ago. Local keeper Pau Torres was sent off by referee Delgado Ferreira for a foul on Jorge Molina with only three minutes on the clock, and although his replacement Perales saved Molina's spot kick, Verdú converted a soft second penalty (which caused some friction with the local players) midway through the first half after Barreda handled in the area. Perales made some fine saves after that, but with half time approaching his attempted punch to clear a high ball only resulted in gifting a second goal to Molina. Pere Milla got one back after the restart though after Biel Medina played across a long free kick, and the Catalans felt themselves unlucky not to have a penalty themselves after Mata was felled in the area late on.

Later in the day Sevilla beat Racing Santander 0-1, the away goal giving the Andalusians a slight advantage going in to the second leg in ten days' time. Happenings off the pitch dominated the pre-match build up, Sevilla rocking after the high court confirmed a seven year jail sentence for club president José María del Nido for embezzlement of public funds, and the locals still embroiled in court cases trying to oust their fraudulent major shareholder Ali Syed, a situation which has seen them crashing down from the first to the regional divisions in two years. It was a Racing old boy who got the only goal, Jairo picking up Cristoforo's pass in the fifth minute to run on and beat Mario, and Rabello and Gameiro came close to a second before the break. However Coke was sent off after picking up two bookings in succession for protesting soon after the break, and young substitute Concha in particular could have equalized shortly before the final whistle.

The other two matches both involved first division teams, Valladolid and Rayo Vallecano drawing 0-0 on a freezing night in Pucela. The locals had the early chances, Cobeño saving an Ebert free kick and Manucho shooting wide, but after that Rayo were on top, Jaime closing down Nery Castillo and Gálvez firing a free kick just over the top. After the interval Jaime had to be at his best to keep out a couple of long shots from Saúl and Lass, and later on from Larrivey, but in the end both sides decided to leave the outcome for the return in Vallecas in a couple of weeks time.

An exciting local derby between Villarreal and Elche, the match swinging both ways before ending up 2-2. Giovani put Marcelino's side ahead midway through the first half, beating Toño with a shot on the turn after the keeper saved his first effort. But the visitors reacted after the restart with two goals in a five minute period around the hour mark, Pelegrín heading the first past Juan Carlos after a corner was played back in, and Boakye connecting with Cisma's cross to head the second inside the near post. However with the game already in injury time Aquino thrashed a shot in to the top corner of the net after Uche chested back a long cross to set up a fascinating second leg. (06.12.13)

Defending champions Atlético Madrid got their new cup campaign under way with a 0-4 victory at Sant Andreu on Saturday afternoon. Raúl García opened the scoring early on after connecting with a Filipe Luis centre, and Manquillo crossed in for Arda Turan to add a second with only twenty minutes gone. Ten minutes in to the second half Turan got his second of the day with a shot on the turn after a couple of slick back-heel passes between Adrián and Raúl García, but the Barcelona based side came close to a goal themselves, Carroza heading against the bar and Aranzubia having to keep out a couple of efforts soon afterwards. Although the game was won, Simeone still decided to bring on Diego Costa and David Villa (much to the delight of the packed ground), and the two combined for Villa to slide in the fourth with five minutes to go.

Last year's defeated finalists Real Madrid had more problems though in their opening tie, a 0-0 draw at modest Olimpic Xativa leaving them with work to do in the second leg in the Bernabeu in ten days' time. Ronaldo was still injured and Bale was out with flu, and Ancelotti put out a young line-up, with Morata and Jesé leading the attack. However this was the biggest game in the history of the Valencia based side, and having not let a goal in for seven games in a row in the second division B, they were not going to be overawed by their opponents. Only a Casemiro header and a long shot by Di María caused any problems for Francis and his defence before the break, and after the restart Isco went close a couple of times before being substituted. Nobody doubts that Madrid will wrap things up in the return leg, but this was a great night for Xativa.

So far only one of the lower ranked sides has won their first leg match though, second division leaders Recreativo beating Levante 1-0 thanks to a last minute goal by Ruyman. Joaquín Caparrós's side had lost their last four games in the league, and they only managed a couple of long efforts by Sergio Pinto and Simao before Pedro López finally tested Rubén with ten minutes to go. Araújo, Ezequiel and Arana all brought good saves out of Keylor Navas either side of half time, but the match appeared to be heading for a goal-less draw before Ruyman got on the end of a wide Alvaro Antón free kick to head home the winner in the 90th minute.

Getafe had some difficulty as well before they finally came back from behind to draw 1-1 at Girona. Timor gave the Catalans the lead on the quarter hour mark, beating Codina with a well struck free kick, and the ex Osasuna midfielder came close to a second a few minutes later. Alexis had a header cleared at the other end though, and with seven minutes to go to the break local keeper Palatsi could only push out a Gavilán cross as far as Ciprian Marica, who fired an acrobatic over-head kick back in to the net. Marica shot just wide early in the second half with the keeper beaten, but Codina had to be on his toes later on to keep out Chando and Bordas. All to play for still though, with the added incentive of a fifth round tie against Barcelona for the winners.

One all-first division tie on Saturday, Celta winning 1-0 against Athletic Bilbao to give themselves the edge going in to the return match at the new San Mamés stadium. Both coaches put out their strongest line-ups, only giving a run out to second choice keepers Sergio Alvarez and Herrerín, and both were given several opportunities to make a stake for a place in their respective sides. Sergio in particular had to save from Herrera, Muniain and San José before the break, and his opposite number responded with stops from Nolito, Santi Mina and Alex López. With twenty minutes to go though Gurpegui sliced his clearance, and after Mina and Herrerín clashed in the chase for the rebound, the ball fell kindly for the young striker to roll a shot in to the empty net. (07.12.13)

No big surprises in the cup this weekend, although three of the second division B teams did manage to draw against first division opposition, including Nàstic, who held Valencia to a 0-0 scoreline on Sunday. The Catalans were unlucky not to win in the end though, Rocha firing a free kick against the woodwork and Lago Junior having a shot cleared off the line by Mathieu with the keeper beaten. The best chances for the Ches were a long shot by Bernat before the break which Tomeu turned around the post, and miss by Ricardo Costa when free in front of goal after the break. Djukic's team ended with ten men when Jonas picked up a second booking near the end, and the Brazilian forward made matters worse by insulting the fourth official as he left the pitch.

Espanyol could only draw 2-2 at second division Jaén as well, Stuani saving the day late on with a header from Torje's corner. There were chances at both ends before David López gave the visitors the lead on the stroke of half time with a volley after the ball fell to him following another corner. However Sidnei headed a Jozabed cross past his own keeper Germán some twenty minutes in to the second half to level the scores, and Jozabed himself made it two soon afterwards with a shot which deflected in off Víctor Sánchez after Víctor Curto's cross came back off the post.

Earlier in the day Alcorcón's hopes of another giant-killing run in the cup appear to be over after they were beaten 0-2 by Granada. Neither side created too many clear cut chances until the half hour mark, when Ighalo put the visitors in front with a header from Fran Rico's free kick. Soon after the restart Javito hit the bar with Karnezis beaten after substitute Dani Pacheco set him up, but Ighalo missed a couple of scoring opportunities before he ran through on a quick breakaway to round Serrán and beat Dani Giménez for a second time with ten minutes to go.

A couple of hours later Almería also put a foot and a half in the next round after they won 1-3 at Las Palmas. The Canary Islanders have been going through a mini-crisis recently, especially since losing the derby game against Tenerife, and they found themselves three down with less than half an hour gone, Oscar Díaz beating the offside to connect with a Raúl García cross for the opener with fifteen minutes gone. Aleix Vidal took advantage of some slack defending to run through and beat Barbosa for the second soon afterwards, and Oscar Díaz got the third from the penalty spot after Hernán fouled Azeez in the area. The visitors were left with ten men when Christian picked up a second yellow card on the hour mark, but although Nauzet got one back after finding a gap in the defensive wall with a free kick, any hopes of a comeback ended when the midfielder got himself sent off for kicking out at Rafita.

A thrilling match to round off the weekend between first division sides Málaga and Osasuna, the visitors fighting back from three goals down to draw 3-3 in the end. The first two goals came in the first half from dead ball kicks, Sergio Sánchez heading in a corner, and Antunes beating Riesgo with a well struck free kick. When Juanmi controlled Tissone's long pass before scoring a third just two minutes in to the second half it appeared to be all over, but in the next quarter of an hour Roberto Torres beat Willy Caballero with a long shot which took a wicked deflection off a defender, and then crossed in for Omwu to head a second. Soon afterwards visiting midfielder Raoul Loe was sent off for a second bookable offence, but with twelve minutes to go Armenteros fired a shot on the turn in to the net after Caballero saved his first effort to make it all square, and numbers were evened up when Camacho was shown a straight red card for a tackle from behind on Loties. (08.12.13)