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Spanish champion "Barcelona" experienced failure in the first leg of the quarter-final of the Spanish Cup (Copa del Rey), as they had to recognize the superiority of the "Zaragoza" club at home, while "Getafe" and "Deportivo" achieved convincing victories at their own stadiums.
"Zaragoza" had previously eliminated the Catalan club from the tournament last year and in 2004, when the club won the trophy itself. This time, in a tough match at the "Nou Camp" stadium, the only and winning goal for the visitors was scored by former Real Madrid player Carlos Diogo with a precise header from a corner kick in the 78th minute.
Bernd Schuster's coached "Getafe" took a serious step towards the semi-finals by crushing Osasuna from Pamplona 3-0. The goals started with a header from Daniel Guiza after a corner kick, followed by another header by defender Alexis in the 38th minute, and Latvian Maris Verpakovskis added the third goal after a serious mistake by the visiting goalkeeper Ricardo.
A bit tougher was the victory of La Coruna's "Deportivo" against the lower league team "Valladolid", who even had the lead thanks to Vladimiro Manchev's goal in the first half. However, after the break, precise shots from Pablo Alvarez and Alberto Rivera allowed "Deportivo" to take the lead, and at the very end of the match, Joanas Verdu and Juanma scored again.
On Thursday, in the most intriguing quarter-final clash, the derby of the two Seville clubs will take place between "Sevilla" and "Betis".
Results of Wednesday's quarter-final matches:
"Getafe" 3 - 0 "Osasuna" 11' [1 - 0] Daniel Guiza 38' [2 - 0] Alexis 62' [3 - 0] Maris Verpakovskis
"Deportivo" 4 - 1 "Valladolid" 21' [0 - 1] Vladimir Manchev 53' [1 - 1] Pablo Alvarez 67' [2 - 1] Alberto Rivera 89' [3 - 1] Joan Verdu 90' [4 - 1] Juanma 90' Alberto Lopo ("Deportivo") sent off
"Barcelona" 0 - 1 "Zaragoza" 78' [0 - 1] Carlos Diogo
