© EuroFootball.com
The only goal by Brazil's Robinho in the second leg of the King's Cup (Copa del Rey) allowed Madrid's "Real" to celebrate victory against cup holders Seville's "Betis" and advance to the semi-finals of the tournament. This was also successfully achieved by Barcelona's "Espanyol" on Wednesday, while the match between "Deportivo" and "Valencia" was interrupted due to an incident with the referee.
The second leg match between "Valencia" and La Coruna's "Deportivo" in Valencia had to be halted just a few minutes after Spain's national team forward David Villa had equalized the score for the hosts. An object thrown from the stands hit the assistant referee's head which led the main referee, Carlos Megia Davila, to stop the match.
Now the Spanish Football Federation will decide whether the match will be replayed, continued, or other measures will be taken.
Meanwhile, in the match between "Real" and Seville's "Betis" in Madrid, the hosts took the initiative from the start of the match. Early in the first half, opponents cleared a ball struck by Sergio Ramos from the goal line, and a few minutes later "Betis" goalkeeper Antonio Doblas deflected a shot from Real's newcomer Antonio Cassano with his leg.
"Betis" only found their rhythm at the end of the first half and created several dangerous chances: striker Dani had a particularly dangerous header, and later goalkeeper Iker Casillas excellently saved a shot from Joaquin.
However, "Real" scored the only goal of the match - with two minutes left in the first half, during a fast attack Z. Zidane passed the ball to D. Beckham, who then passed it to Brazilian Robinho. Celebrating his 22nd birthday that day, the striker overcame the defender and calmly placed the ball in the far top corner of the goal.
Since "Real" had won the first leg of the quarter-finals 1-0, the Royal Club progressed to the semi-finals with a total score of 2-0.
In the other quarter-final second leg matches played on Wednesday, Barcelona's "Espanyol" defeated their opponents "Cadiz" 2-0 once again, advancing to the semi-finals with an overall score of 4-0. Both goals on Wednesday were scored by Jofre.
The fans of "Espanyol" were further delighted by the fact that this victory practically secured a spot in the UEFA Cup for the mid-table team in the Spanish championship, as it is almost certain that "Real", "Valencia", or "Deportivo" will take places in the championship which automatically qualify for European tournaments, and that Barcelona will not overcome the "Zaragoza" team.
The only remaining quarter-final pair had their first match postponed until Thursday. The match between "Barcelona" and "Zaragoza" was postponed due to an incident with Madrid's "Atletico" in the round of sixteen where almost all players of the Spanish capital club got food poisoned.
