© EuroFootball.com
Wednesday night was a difficult one for three of the top Spanish League clubs in the fourth round of the Copa del Rey, but they managed to advance.
Having recently replaced their coach after winning the Copa del Rey 23 times, Bilbao Athletic had difficulties in their match against Hospitalet from the third division, but won the game 3-1. The hosts took the lead at the end of the first half after a defensive error by Athletic's defenders, but in the second half Athletic Bilbao scored three goals in just ten minutes and celebrated victory. Francisco Yeste and the young striker Fernando Llorente stood out in Bilbao's ranks, each scoring twice.
On the other hand, the other two La Liga clubs - Getafe from Madrid and Celta from Vigo - only proved their superiority in extra time.
Managed by Bernd Schuster, Getafe's players had to score two goals to equalize in their match against Lleida from the second division. Although the main time ended in a 2-2 draw, in extra time Serbia and Montenegro's national team striker Veljko Paunovič scored his third goal of the match, and Daniel Guiza added another, allowing Getafe to celebrate a 4-2 victory.
Vigo Celta, in fourth place in the Spanish championship, barely avoided a penalty shootout lottery. The main time against Baza from the third division ended in a 0-0 draw, and only a single goal from Borja allowed Celta to celebrate victory after extra time.
Another La Liga team Cadiz easily defeated Burgos 2-0, while Zamora became the only third division team to advance to the fourth round, defeating Eibar from the second division in a penalty shootout.
The two third round matches will be played on November 30, as Atletico Madrid and Zaragoza players are on international duty. These teams will respectively face Alcoyano and Xerez, the leaders of the second division.
The current cup holders Sevilla Betis and eight other teams, who are playing in the European competitions this year, will join the battle in the next round, which will take place in January.
Four top league teams - Mallorca, Malaga, Real Sociedad, and Racing Santander - were eliminated from the tournament after losing to lower division teams in the previous round.
Results from the third round:
Lleida 2 - 4 Madrid Getafe (after extra time)
Hospitalet 1 - 3 Athletic Bilbao
Burgos 0 - 2 Cadiz
Baza 0 - 1 Vigo Celta
Zamora 1 - 1 Eibar (Zamora advanced after a penalty shootout)
Remaining third round matches will be played on November 30:
Alcoyano - Madrid Atletico
Xerez - Zaragoza
