FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid Advance to Copa del Rey Quarterfinals

Madrid, Jan 16 (NationPress) FC Barcelona secured their spot in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey with a commanding 5-1 victory at home against Real Betis.

Following their 5-2 success over Real Madrid in the Spanish Supercup on Sunday, Barca delivered another impressive performance, dominating the match from the outset.

Gavi marked his return to form with the opening goal just three minutes into the match, following a well-coordinated play involving Pedri and Dani Olmo. Jules Kounde then extended the lead with a powerful effort from a tight angle after an excellent setup from Lamine Yamal in the 27th minute, as reported by Xinhua.

Betis faced an early setback when Aitor Ruibal was forced to leave the field due to an ankle injury. Kounde had another goal disallowed for a marginal offside just before halftime.

Yamal had a second goal ruled out for offside early in the second half, but it did not hinder Barca's momentum as Raphinha and Ferran Torres quickly added the third and fourth goals.

Yamal capped off the scoring for Barca at 5-0 before being substituted for Pablo Torre. Although Barca loanee Vitor Roque converted a penalty for Betis with six minutes remaining, the outcome was never in jeopardy.

Atletico Madrid also advanced to the quarterfinals with a resounding 4-0 victory against second-tier Elche.

Alexander Sorloth initiated the scoreline in the eighth minute, capitalizing on a poor clearance to net a right-footed shot.

The Norwegian striker doubled Atletico's advantage from the penalty spot in the 29th minute after Samuel Lino was fouled in the Elche box.

Elche's hopes of a second-half comeback were dashed in the 50th minute when Nicolas Fernandez received his second yellow card. Rodrigo Riquelme solidified the win with Atletico's third goal shortly after the hour mark, and Julian Alvarez capped the scoring at 4-0 with 15 minutes to spare.

Leganes also secured a place in the quarterfinals after overcoming a 2-1 deficit to win 3-2 against second-division leaders Almeria.

Adria Altimira put Leganes ahead in the 33rd minute, but Luis Suarez equalized with a remarkable goal five minutes later.

Almeria took the lead through Lazaro early in the second half, looking set to advance until Miguel de la Fuente scored from the penalty spot in the 76th minute, with Diego Garcia netting the winner for Leganes four minutes before the end.

Pontevedra's valiant cup journey concluded with a narrow 1-0 defeat to Getafe, where Alvaro Rodriguez scored the sole goal just two minutes into the match.

Alvaro received a red card just before halftime for an elbow on a defender, and Getafe opted to defend deep against a team three divisions lower in the second half.

The visitors finished the match with nine men after Diego Rico was sent off in injury time, but managed to hold on for a slender victory.