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Copa del Rey

Fourth round, second leg

The second legs of the fourth round take place this week, with six ties on Tuesday evening and the rest over the next two days. Barcelona cruised in to the next round with a 3-0 victory over second division B side Cartagena, adding to their 1-4 win from the first leg. The visitors held their own though for the first half an hour, and Segura even managed to hit the post with an angled free kick. Pedro turned in Montoya's pass though to open the scoring, and midway through the second half Tello got the second with a shot which took a deflection off Mariano. It was not enough for Tata Martino though, and he brought on Iniesta, Alexis and Jordi Alba for the last few minutes, Iniesta running through to set up Neymar to head the third near the end.

Barça's rival in the fifth round will be Getafe, who gave Girona no chance of building on the first leg draw after they beat the Catalans 4-1. Sarabia headed the first from Gavilán's return pass in only the second minute, and just three minutes later Colunga converted a penalty after keeper Palatsi tripped Lafita in the area. Lafita himself made it three later in the first half with an angled shot from the edge of the area, and although Jandro converted a second penalty after Borja brought down Felipe Sanchón on the hour mark, Lisandro López wrapped things up soon afterwards when he got on the end of Sarabia's cross to turn a shot past Palatsi once again.

One second division side at least will be in the last sixteen though, old giant-killers Alcorcón cancelling out a two goal first leg deficit to beat Granada 0-2 and then win 4-5 on penalties. With the first half coming to a close Héctor Verdés headed in a corner, and eight minutes before the end of the second half Nagore drove in a long shot which Karnezis couldn't stop from entering the net. After another half an hour of extra time it all went to the shoot out, Piti firing one penalty against the post and Karnezis saving another from Rubén Sanz before Murillo put the last kick wide.

Recreativo came in to their match at Levante with a one goal lead from the first leg, but they were comprehensively dumped out of the competition after a 4-0 defeat. Simao levelled the tie with a header from a corner in the fourth minute, and a quarter of an hour later keeper Rubén gifted the ball to Ivanschitz, who passed back in for Rubén García to make it two. Ivanschitz himself got the third soon after the restart with a long shot which went through the hands of the unfortunate keeper, and four minutes later youngster Camarasa finished off the Andalusians with a low volley after Barral's shot came back off the crossbar. Recre's Alvaro Vega was sent off for a second bookable offence later on.

Two all-first division ties on Tuesday, both with everything to play for after ending all square in the first legs. Villarreal were up against it after their first leg against Elche ended 2-2, the two away goals meaning that they really needed a win in the Martínez Valero stadium, but in the end they won through 0-1 to set up a fifth round tie with Real Sociedad or Algeciras. Perbet got the only goal with just under an hour gone, beating Toño with an angled shot from the edge of the area after picking up a pass from Moi Gómez. And although Javi Márquez went close with a couple of free kicks, the visitors held on until the final whistle.

Elsewhere Osasuna knocked out Málaga on the away goal rule after their return match ended 1-1. The Pamplona based side went ahead when Weligton deflected Cejudo's cross over Kameni and in to his own net in the first minute. And although Eliseu levelled the scores on the hour mark with a speculative shot past Riesgo from outside of the area, it was not enough to overturn the 3-3 result from the previous leg. Olimpic Xativa permitting, Osasuna's opponents in the next round should be Real Madrid, who they managed to draw 2-2 with last weekend. (17.12.13)

The first big surprise of the fourth round came on Wednesday evening, second division B side Racing Santander beating Sevilla 0-2 to qualify for the last sixteen. A goal down from the first leg, Miguélez levelled the tie from the penalty spot after M'Bia was sent off for a foul on Sanz early in the second half. Visiting keeper Dani Sotres kept out several efforts from the locals, and with extra time and a possible penalty shoot-out looming, Koné scored a last minute winner after Javi Varas could only push out Iñaki's header to take the Cantabrians through.

Racing's opponents in the last sixteen will be Almería, who themselves qualified 3-1 on aggregate against Las Palmas after a 0-0 draw in the Mediterráneo stadium. With the tie virtually decided after the first leg, both coaches put out much changed line-ups, and chances were few and far between. If anything though the Canary Islanders had the better of the game, Ustari saving from Momo in the first half and substitute Chrisantus missing an easy chance soon after coming on, but otherwise not a lot to talk about.

Sevilla's neighbours Betis had problems as well against Lleida despite going two goals up early on. Paulao headed the first from a Salva Sevilla corner and fellow defender Amaya fired home a second in the tenth minute, and with Sevilla hitting the post and Juanfran having an effort cleared off the line it looked like being a comfortable night for the Andalusians. However Sara let in a soft Monforte free kick before the break and Mata made it 2-2 just a few minutes after the restart, and there were some nervous moments for the locals before the final whistle. Betis will play either Celta or Athletic Bilbao, although one more away goal and the Catalans would have qualified in their place.

Real Madrid cruised through without too much effort after beating Olimpic Xativa 2-0. Carlo Ancelotti put out a similar young side to a starting line-up which could only draw 0-0 in the first leg, but this time they had things wrapped up within the first half hour. Illarramendi opened the scoring after Di María and Jesé combined to set him up on with fifteen minutes gone, his first goal in professional football and the first that the Valencia based team had let in for ten games. And a quarter of an hour later Di María got the second from the penalty spot after Kike Alcázar handled in the area. The visitors resisted after that though, and Ancelotti thought his players could have done a lot better.

Atlético Madrid also put in an under-par performance against Sant Andreu, even though they ran out 2-1 winners in the end thanks to an injury time winner from Toby Alderweireld. The Catalans had virtually no chance after losing 0-4 ten days ago, but Carroza gave them an early lead after Aranzubia could only push an Ibon free kick on to the post. Adrián missed a penalty soon afterwards after the otherwise excellent Morales brought him down, and the locals missed several chances before youngster Héctor made it all square just a couple of minutes after making his first team debut. With the game in injury time though Alderweireld headed the winner from Gabi's free kick to at least keep his team's pride intact.

Real Sociedad had few difficulties though against Algeciras, albeit that the Andalusians resisted until late in the first half, when Javi Ros put the locals ahead with a shot in to the top corner of the net. Andujar could have squared the tie before the break when his shot hit the post, but the Basque side scored three goals in a ten minute period midway through the second half, Seferovic getting on the end of a José Angel cross for the first, Griezmann scoring the second after Rubén Pardo put him through, and Carlos Vela making it 4-0 with a header wide of keeper Romero with a quarter of an hour to go. (18.12.13)

The last of the second round cup ties took place on Thursday, with four more first division clubs making it through to the last sixteen. Manager-less Valencia only just squeezed through 1-0 on aggregate though against second division B side Nàstic, Paco Alcácer getting the only goal of the tie shortly before half time. Visiting keeper Tomeu Nadal saved a Postiga penalty late on, and the Catalans were in with a chance of overturning the scoreline right up until the final whistle. Valencia play Atlético Madrid in the next round.

Nàstic's regional neighbours Espanyol are through to a meeting with Alcorcón after they beat Jaén 2-0. Stuani's late equalizer ten days ago had given the Catalans the advantage, and they went in front in the twelfth minute when Simao beat Toni García with a shot from the edge of the area. Abraham hit the post after that and the visiting keeper made a string of saves to keep his team in it, but Sidnei wrapped things up with a second goal near the end.

Meanwhile Rayo Vallecano will face Levante after they came from behind to beat Valladolid 3-1. Javi Guerra opened the scoring for the visitors midway through the first half after Cobeño blocked a shot from Sastre, and although Adrián González headed the equalizer from Arbilla's cross five minutes later, the away goal still gave Juan Ignacio Martínez's side the advantage. Guerra got himself sent off early in the second half for a retaliatory kick at Gálvez, but it was not until the last five minutes that a second Adrián header and a strike by Bueno took the locals through.

Athletic Bilbao will visit Betis after they overturned a one goal first leg deficit thanks to a 4-0 victory over Celta. Muniain won the ball off Krohn-Dehli and ran on to open the scoring in the twentieth minute, and Susaeta made it two from an Ibai Gómez cross shortly before the break. The Galicians had Hugo Mallo sent off after he picked up two bookings either side of half time, but an away goal would still have taken them through. However with ten minutes to go Muniain beat the offside trap to score his second of the night before setting up Aduríz for the fourth, helping the Basque team keep up their unbeaten record in the new San Mamés stadium. (19.12.13)