Espanyol and FC Barcelona produced a dull 0-0 draw in the first leg of their Kings Cup quarter-final in the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona on Wednesday night.
The appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as new Espanyol coach on Tuesday added extra spice to the game as the city's two teams went head to head for a place in the last four of Spain's knockout competition.
However, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola saw the game as the chance to give minutes to some of his fringe players such as Alexander Hleb and Bojan Krkic.
The result was a game where flowing football was largely absent and clear-cut scoring chances virtually non-existent.
Barcelona lost central defender Rafael Marquez through injury 10 minutes into?the first half where Espanyol had the better chances, although they only drew one save from Barcelona keeper Pinto.
Barcelona stepped up the pace in the second period, but although Guardiola introduced regulars Xavi Hernandez and Leo Messi, his side never really looked like scoring.
The 0-0 final score leaves Barcelona as favorites to qualify from next week's return leg in the Camp Nou, but should Espanyol score an away goal, a surprise cannot be ruled out.
Espanyol meanwhile will take heart from a spirited performance that should boost their morale for the battle to avoid relegation to the Second Division.
The other quarter-final played on Wednesday pitted the last two cup winners against each other as Valencia entertained Sevilla in their Mestalla stadium.
In contrast to the Barcelona derby, the two teams produced 90 minutes of thrilling Cup football as Valencia scored two late goals to win 3-2.
The home side took an early lead through top scorer David Villa, but after Villa limped off midway through the first half, Sevilla grew in confidence.
Brazilians Luis Fabiano and Adriano, the latter from a clear offside position, scored in the second half to put the visitors 2-1 ahead and it looked as if Sevilla had one foot in the semi-finals.
However, Valencia dug deep and in the last 10 minutes goals from Ruben Baraja and Juan Mata gave them a nail-biting win.
A single goal in next week's return leg would be enough to qualify Sevilla, but if that game is as exciting as this, there can be no clear favorite.
The remaining quarter-finals between Athletic Club Bilbao and Sporting Gijon and between Mallorca and Betis are to be played on Thursday.
(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2009)
