Atletico, Sevilla scrape through in King's Cup
Atletico Madrid secured a 1-1 draw at Deportivo Coruna on Thursday to edge into the King's Cup quarter-finals on the away goals rule.
Atletico Madrid secured a 1-1 draw at Deportivo Coruna on Thursday to edge into the King's Cup quarter-finals on the away goals rule.
After a goalless draw in the first leg in the capital Atletico went 1-0 up in their heavyweight battle thanks to a Veljko Paunovic strike 20 minutes into the second half.
Deportivo hit back five minutes from time with a Diego Tristan chip but a 1-1 draw was enough to send Atletico through.
They were joined in the last eight by Sevilla, who also made it through by the slimmest of margins after surviving a scare against Villarreal.
Sevilla, leading 3-1 after the away leg, looked comfortable enough for the first 45 minutes of the return but an own goal from Juan Luis Fernandez Redondo just after the break brought the visitors back into the tie.
Jose Mari scored a second with a cross-shot 15 minutes from time after Roger had set up the chance with a quick free kick.
That brought the aggregate score back to 3-3 but the three goals Sevilla scored in the first leg away from home were enough to put them through.
Atletico and Sevilla complete a strong quarter-final line-up also featuring Real Madrid, Celta Vigo, Real Zaragoza, Barcelona and league leaders Valencia.
Alaves will be the only second division side in Friday's draw after claiming an away-goals win over Valladolid on Wednesday.
Deportivo and Atletico, third and fourth in the league standings, took up on Wednesday where they had left off in a drab first game in Madrid, with neither side looking especially interested in winning the tie.
Diego Simeone missed a decent chance for Atletico at the far post after half an hour but otherwise there was little of note in the first half.
Deportivo pressed in the second half, with Albert Luque forcing a good save with a long-range shot and then going close with a cross that was cleared off the line by Matias Lequi.
Atletico then got their crucial away goal with a counter-attack, Lequi advancing down the left and crossing for Paunovic to rifle in.
Tristan's fine finish gave Deportivo hope of a comeback but Atletico held on for their narrow win.