Madrid, Jan 16, 2025, IANS

Madrid, Jan 16 (IANS) FC Barcelona assured their place in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey with a thumping 5-1 win at home to Real Betis. Barca built on their 5-2 triumph over Real Madrid in the Spanish Supercup on Sunday with another dominant display in a match they controlled almost from start to finish. Gavi showed he is back to his best with Barca's opening goal in just the third minute after a move involving Pedri and Dani Olmo, and Jules Kounde doubled the lead with a powerful shot from a tight angle after an excellent assist from Lamine Yamal in the 27th minute, reports Xinhua. Betis suffered an injury setback with Aitor Ruibal replaced with an ankle injury early in the first half, while Kounde had a second goal on the stroke of halftime ruled out for a tight offside. Yamal had another goal ruled out for offside early in the second half, but it didn't matter as Raphinha and Ferran Torres added Barca's third and fourth goals soon afterwards. Yamal made it 5-0 for Barca moments before making way for Pablo Torre, and although Barca loanee Vitor Roque scored a penalty for Betis with six minutes left to play, the result was never in doubt. Atletico Madrid also cruised into the last eight with a 4-0 win away to second-division Elche. Alexander Sorloth opened the scoring in the eighth minute after controlling a poor clearance and scoring with a right-foot shot. The Norwegian doubled Atletico's lead from the penalty spot in the 29th minute after Samuel Lino was brought down in the Elche area. Any chance Elche had of a second-half recovery was ended in the 50th minute when Nicolas Fernandez was sent off after seeing his second yellow card, and Rodrigo Riquelme further assured the win with Atletico's third goal just after the hour, with Julian Alvarez making it 4-0 with 15 minutes left on the clock. Leganes reached the quarterfinals of the tournament after coming back from 2-1 down to win 3-2 away to second-division leaders Almeria. Adria Altimira put Leganes ahead in the 33rd minute, but Luis Suarez scored an excellent goal to level five minutes later. The home side went ahead through Lazaro seven minutes into the second half and looked likely to claim another top-flight scalp until Miguel de la Fuente scored from the penalty spot in the 76th minute, with Diego Garcia scoring the winner for Leganes four minutes from time. Pontevedra's brave cup run ended with a 1-0 defeat at home to Getafe, with Alvaro Rodriguez scoring the only goal against the fourth-tier team in the second minute. Alvaro was sent off just before halftime for using his elbow on a defender and Getafe looked to sit deep against a side three divisions below them for the second half. The visitors ended with nine men after Diego Rico was sent off deep in injury time, but held on for a narrow win.