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Italy's national team striker scored a debut goal in the first leg to secure a narrow victory for Real Madrid against the holders of the Spanish King's Cup, Sevilla's Betis footballers in the first quarter-final match of the tournament on Wednesday.
Experts emphasize that Betis looked better until the Italian's goal, but they failed to shine in the rather bland match.
Former Roma striker appeared on the field in the 61st minute, replacing Roberto Soldado. Shortly after, a goal was almost scored against Real - Capi's head shot was deflected from the goal by the newly added Brazilian player, Cicinho.
Four minutes later, after a Guti penalty kick, the ball landed above the penalty area and, attempting an unsuccessful save by goalkeeper Toni Doblas, the ball fell straight to A. Cassano, who easily sent the ball into the goal.
In the other Wednesday matches, Espanyol beat Cadiz 2-0 as Walter Pandiani and Fredson scored in the second half to take an important step towards the semi-finals. In the postponed quarterfinal match, Zaragoza managed to withstand the resilient Atletico Madrid players and secure a 2-2 draw, which was enough for them to advance to the semi-finals, where they will face Barcelona.
On Thursday, Deportivo will host Valencia in another quarter-final match in La Coruna.
The second leg matches and the first quarter-final match between Barcelona and Zaragoza will take place next week.
Quarterfinal results:
Sevilla 0 - 1 Real Madrid
65` [0 - 1] Antonio Cassano
0 - 2 Barcelona's Espanyol
51` [0 - 1] Walter Pandiani
89` [0 - 2] Fredson
Quarterfinal results:
2 - 2 Madrid
