Real Madrid, Barca and Athletic reach last 16 of Copa del Rey
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Real Madrid reached the last 16 of the Copa del Rey for the first time in three years after a 5-1 win at home to third tier side Murcia.
Following the 0-0 draw in Murcia last week, Madrid were obliged to win and took an early lead thanks to Esteban Granero and followed it up with another from Gonzalo Higuain, who scored while Sergio Ramos was clearly offside.
Cristiano Ronaldo added a third with 15 minutes remaining and although scored a penalty for Murcia shortly afterwards Karim Benzema added a fourth from Madrid after 85 minutes.
Madrid’s penalty was also debatable after De Maria appeared to dive in the Murcia area. Xabi Alonso added a fifth on a day when Madrid also saw Alvaro Arbeloa and coach Jose Mourinho sent off by referee Parados Romero.
Betis produced a shock by winning 2-1 in Zaragoza and qualifying for the next round on away goals.
Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Almeria all qualified, with Sevilla winning 6-1 at home to Real Union and Almeria defeating Real Sociedad 2-1.
Villarreal also qualified 3-1 on aggregate, beating Poli Ejido 2-0 in the El Madrigal Stadium, while Levante lost at home 2-1 to Xerez but qualified thanks to their 3-2 win in Andalusia a week ago.
Deportivo la Coruna also qualified with a 2-1 home win over Osasuna to take a 3-2 aggregate triumph.
FC Barcelona had few problems making the last 16 after their 2-0 win in Ceuta last week.
Pep Guardiola’s side opened the scoring after just two minutes thanks to B team striker Nolito, while Gabi Milito put the tie effectively out of reach with a left foot shot after 8 minutes.
Guzman pulled a goal back for Ceuta, but Pedro added Barca’s third five minutes into the second half, Bojan and Messi added further goals to make it 5-1 on the night and 7-1 on aggregate.
Finally Athletic Club Bilbao defeated Alcorcon 2-0 to also qualify for the last 16.
Tuesday night saw Crodoba knock Racing Santander out of the Copa, while Espanyol qualified against Valladolid.
