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Fourth round, first leg

For the first time, the fourth round midweek cup ties extended into Friday, with three first-leg games in the evening. Getafe are well on the way to a place in the last sixteen after they beat Eibar 3-0, although it was not until substitutes Pedro León and Alvaro Vázquez came on a quarter of an hour in to the second half that they got the goals (the former had only just been allowed back after being left out of the squad under “financial fair-play rules, and the latter returning after a two month injury lay off). León almost immediately crossed in for Sarabia to open the scoring, and a few minutes later Vázquez made it two with a back-heel flick on the near post from Sarabia’s centre. Soon after wards León produced another run down the centre which ended with him laying the ball back for Sarabia to score his second of the evening, and local keeper Codina made late saves from Dani García and Lekic to maintain the three goal advantage. Elsewhere Levante struggled against Albacete, although they fought back in the end for a 1-1 draw. The Manchegans had only just climbed off the bottom of the second division after winning their last two games, and they took the lead in the sixth minute when Moutinho turned the ball back in to the net after Jesús could only push out a cross from Keko. Moutinho came close to a second a few minutes later, but with half an hour gone the visitors had a chance to equalize when Noguerol brought down Xumetra in the area. Diego Rivas saved the resulting penalty kick from Rafael Martins however, and it was not until midway through the second half that El Adoua equalized with a header from Gavilán’s wide free kick.

The best was saved for last however as Almería won 3-4 at managerless Betis in a seven goal thriller later in the evening. Mané and Teerasil Dangda put the visitors two up in only five minutes, the first a low shot after a Quique González corner was played back to him, and the second after running on to an Iván Sánchez through ball. When Quique headed in the third on the half hour mark after an Edgar free kick was headed on, some fans started to leave the ground, and Edgar appeared to have wrapped things up when he headed in a Wellington Silva cross with only an hour on the clock. However Betis came back with three goals in the last ten minutes, Rubén Castro getting the first of those from a Lolo Reyes cross to make him the club’s all time record scorer. Dani Romera had a fifth goal ruled out at the other end for what the referee ruled to be a previous foul, and in the last five minutes Perquis and Jorge Molina added two more from Dani Pacheco corners to keep alive the Andalusians’ chances of qualifying for the next round. (05.12.14)

Three more cup ties on Thursday, with second division B side Oviedo holding Real Sociedad to a 0-0 draw in their first leg match. Both coaches made changes to their line-ups, and chances were few and far between in a tense first half. After the restart veteran keeper Esteban had to make important saves from Chory Castro and Hervías, Señé shot wide in reply and Omgba felt he should have had a penalty when brought down by Callens, and later on Finnbogason (who has yet to score since joining Real in the summer) also failed to convert a couple of chances. The winner of that match will play the winner of the tie between Cádiz and Villarreal in the next round, the first division team having the edge over their smaller opponents after a 1-2 victory in Andalusia. Marcelino’s team raced in to a two goal lead in the first twenty minutes, Gerard Moreno picking up an assist from youngster Naranjo to run through and beat Ricky Alonso, and then passing across for under 21 international Nahuel to score the second. However Arregi got one back for the second division B side following a corner at the start of the second half, and the visitors had to hold on for the last few minutes with nine men after Adrián Marín was red carded for a second bookable offence, and Isra Puerto went off injured with all three changes made.

Later in the evening Valencia came back from a goal down to beat Rayo Vallecano 1-2 in one of the four ties between first division opposition. Alex Moreno took advantage of a rare start to open the scoring for the locals shortly before the break, beating Yoel with a shot on the turn after Orban could only deflect a corner in to his path. The visiting keeper was called upon after the interval to keep out Nacho and Moreno, and Cobeño had little work to do until he was tested by Javi Fuego a few minutes later. However with twenty minutes to go Cobeño spilled the ball when he came out to collect a seemingly harmless long clearance by Mustafi, and Paco Alcácer reacted quicker than anyone to pick up the rebound and turn a shot in to the net. That was a big blow for Paco Jémez’s side, and a quarter of an hour later Filipe Augusto won the ball in midfield and poked a pass through for Rodrigo De Paúl to beat the keeper with an angled shot. First blood to the Ches, and with no European distractions and the big three on the other side of the draw, they must fancy their chances for a shot at the title this season. (04.12.14)

Atlético Madrid won 0-3 at L’Hospitalet on Wednesday to virtually ensure a meeting with city rivals Real Madrid in the next round. The Catalans resisted for a long time on a rainy artificial pitch, although Oliver had to save from Cerci early on, and Raúl Jiménez headed against the bar before the break. Simeone brought on Griezmann in the second half, the French forward hitting the bar with a cross and José María Giménez having a strike ruled out for offside. Midway through the second half though Griezmann got on the end of a Jesús Gámez cross to head the opener, and Gabi made it two from the penalty spot after Agustín pulled down Cerci in the area. Visiting keeper Oblak hardly had a save to make, and Jiménez had another goal ruled out for the positional offside of Cerci before Cristian Rodríguez completed the scoring in injury time with a spectacular strike from outside of the area.

As luck would have it, the big three are all in the same quarter of the draw this year, and if Barcelona win through the next two rounds they will meet one of the two Madrid teams in the quarter finals. They are well on the way to the last sixteen already though after a 0-4 victory at Huesca, despite the absence of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suárez in the line-up. With a quarter of an hour gone though they were already two up, Rakitic getting the first with an impressive free kick, and Iniesta curling home the second after latching on to Rakitic’s square pass. Rakitic rattled the post again with another free kick, and Munir missed a couple of chances, but shortly before half time Pedro scored a third after cutting in from the left to squeeze a long shot inside the near post. With twenty minutes to go Rafinha got his name on the scoresheet with another shot from outside of the area which took a deflection off a defender, but the locals battled on bravely, and Ter Stegen had a couple of saves to make before the refreee blew the final whistle.

As reported elsewhere, Sevilla are already through after hammering Sabadell over two legs, and their opponents in the next round will be the winners of the tie between two of their regional rivals, Granada and Córdoba. Granada have the edge so far though after a 1-0 win, curiously their goal being scored by Jhon Córdoba (!) after connecting with a headed pass from Success midway through the first half, the first they have scored at home in over three months. Only an effort early in the second half from Ekeng caused any problems for Oier, but Ekeng himself was sent off for a second bookable offence with twenty minutes to go. Elsewhere Deportivo drew 1-1 against Málaga, a game which was preceded by a minute’s silence for the family of the “ultra” supporter who was killed in a violent street battle in Madrid on Sunday. Camacho headed the visitors in front in the tenth minute from a Luis Alberto free kick, but Toché saved a draw for the Galicians when he poked a shot past Ochoa after Diakité headed the ball on following a corner with a quarter of an hour to go. The two teams meet in the league this weekend as well. (03.12.14)

The Spanish cup returned this week, with first division teams entering the competition as usual at the fourth round stage. Once again the six survivors from the lower regional divisions have been seeded to play clubs who are competing in Europe this year, and Alcoyano were close to pulling off the first surprise when they drew 1-1 with Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday evening. The locals went ahead when Ferrón deflected an Alfaro shot past Herrerín on the half hour mark, and after the restart Ferrón hit the post, and Alfaro and Perona both wasted good chances. With Beñat and Aduríz on the park however, Ibai Gómez almost squeezed a shot past Zabal and Laporte hooked another effort wide, and in the second minute of injury time Viguera picked up a high ball and curled a shot in to the far bottom corner of the net to save face for Valverde’s side. Meanwhile Celta have an uphill battle in the return leg two weeks’ time after they lost 2-1 at Las Palmas. Hernán opened the scoring for the Canary Islanders midway through the first half after picking up a rebound before beating Rubén Blanco, and Culio should have increased the lead after the interval when he fired a penalty against the crossbar after Sergi Gómez tripped Hernán in the area. With ten minutes to go Marcelo Silva did make it two with a header from a corner, but four minutes later Santi Mina got one back with a twice taken penalty after Raúl Lizoain brought down Orellana.

Espanyol though are well on the way to a place in the next round after they beat Alavés 0-2, their first win away from home in over eight months. Lanzarote fired a good chance straight at keeper Goitia early on, but with ten minutes to go to the break Stuani picked up a Víctor Alvarez centre to fire a low shot past the keeper. After the break Juamna struck a long shot just wide and Sangalli brought a first save out of Pau López, but with the game coming to an end Stuani got on the end of a Lanzarote free kick to head his second of the evening. Elsewhere the tie between Valladolid and Elche is in the balance after a 0-0 draw in Pucela. The locals had the better chances, Peña hitting the top of the bar early on and Tyton having to save from Bergdich, Jorge Hernández and Guille Andrés. However the scoreline remained unmoved, and everything will be decided in a fortnight’s time, with a fixture against Barcelona (assuming they get through) for the winner. (02.12.14)