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Real Madrid fights to upend Valencia

Valencia's Jorge Lopez, right, vies with Real Madrid's French Zinedine Zidane during their match in Mestalla stadium in Valencia, Wednesday. Real Madrid won 2-1. PHOTO: AFP

Substitute Zinedine Zidane scored in injury time Wednesday as Real Madrid downed Valencia 2-1 in the second leg of the Copa del Rey's quarterfinals and advanced to the semifinals 5-1 on aggregate.

Star striker Raul Gonzalez also scored as Madrid eliminated one of its biggest rivals and boosted its chances of lifting the trophy for the first time since 1993.

Substitute Xisco Munoz scored for Valencia midway through the second half.

In other games, second-division Alaves also reached the last four despite losing to Celta de Vigo 1-0. Alaves won 4-3 on aggregate.

Sevilla progressed after beating Atletico de Madrid 2-1. Sevilla, which has won the Copa del Rey three times but not since 1948, won 6-1 overall.

On Thursday, Zaragoza hosts FC Barcelona. Zaragoza leads 1-0.

The draw for the semifinals will be made on Friday. The games will be played over the next two weeks.

Valencia's chances of overcoming its 3-0 deficit from the first leg appeared to be boosted by the absences of suspended David Beckham and injured Roberto Carlos. Zidane, who has just recovered from a thigh injury, and goalkeeper Iker Casillas were also left on the bench.

Tunisian forward Mohamed Jeidi, right, pushes past DRC player Marcel Mbayo in Rades during their African Nations Cup match, Wednesday. PHOTO: AFP

But Madrid quickly killed off any hopes of a Valencia revival when Raul strode onto Ronaldo's defense-splitting pass in the 14th minute and slotted the ball past goalkeeper Andres Palop.

The goal left Valencia requiring five goals to advance, even though Rafa Benitez's team continued to battle gamely for the rest of the half.

Tempers flared in the 40th minute following a wild tackle by Valencia defender David Navarro on Luis Figo. Navarro appeared fortunate to only receive a yellow card.

The game continued its intensity after the interval even though both coaches made substitutions with their eye on the teams' weekend games in the Spanish league, where Madrid leads Valencia in the standings by two points.

Valencia leveled in the 74th minute when substitute Xisco nodded home after a header by striker Miguel Angel "Mista" Ferrer rebounded off the crossbar.

Zidane, who had replaced Raul in the 70th minute, earned Madrid victory just before the final whistle when his free kick bounced off Valencia midfielder Miguel Angel Angulo and into the net.

Alaves, which is in sixth place in the second division, added Celta to its previous first-division victims this season -- Real Sociedad and Valladolid.

African Cup

Striker Santos continued his sterling performance at the African Cup of Nations on Wednesday, scoring two goals and assisting on a third to help Tunisia beat Congo 3-0 and lead it into the quarterfinals.

Guinea could have joined the Carthage Eagles with a win over Rwanda but only managed a 1-1 draw with the outsider after wasting numerous chances and conceding a last-gasp equalizer.

After two games in Group A, Tunisia leads with six points. Guinea has four and Rwanda has one, while Congo has been eliminated with zero points. Tunisia plays Guinea and Rwanda is up against Congo in the final round of group matches on Sunday.

"Only victories count these days. It is a big satisfaction to go through," Tunisia coach Roger Lemerre said. "Today was our day."

Tunisia struggled in the first half, but was helped when Congo striker Lomana Lualua was sent off for a controversial foul. Hatem Trabelsi of Ajax came off the bench in the second half, and his pace on the right and well-timed crosses led to the first two goals.

Brazilian-born Santos, who scored the decider in the 2-1 win over Rwanda, collected a Trabelsi cross that Papy-Shumu Lukata failed to clear and easily slotted home in the 55th minute to give his adopted country a 1-0 lead.

In the 66th minute, Santos connected on another Trabelsi cross with a spectacular airborne volley. It went straight to Najeh Braham, who headed home.

To cap off a sterling night, Santos, who only recently got Tunisian citizenship, scored Tunisia's third goal, making him the tournament's top scorer.

Guinea was only seconds away from qualifying for the last eight when Rwanda equalized on a scrappy goal.

"We put everything in question again in injury time. We should not have," Guinea's French coach Michel Dussuyer said.

Titi Camara broke through the Rwandan defense in the 49th minute, collected a pass and beat goalkeeper Ramadhani Nkunzingoma with a left-footed drive from 10 meters to put Guinea up 1-0.

Earlier, Titi Camara blasted a free kick onto the post and wasted several chances. Teammate Souleymane Youla beat the whole Rwanda defense but his shot only hit the post.

With only seconds remaining, a last gasp corner was dropped by goalkeeper Kemoko Camara, and Karim Kamanzi, who plays in the second division of the Belgian league, pounced on it and slotted the ball home.

Dutch league

Feyenoord Rotterdam moved into third place in the Dutch league after beating NEC Nijmegen 2-1 on a snowy Wednesday night, overcoming an early deficit with goals from Dirk Kuijt and Thomas Buffel.

Feyenoord passed AZ Alkmaar, which drew 0-0 with Willem II Tilburg, in the standings.

Second-place PSV Eindhoven easily beat lowly FC Zwolle 5-1, pulling even on points with league leader Ajax, which had its match at sixth-place SC Heerenveen postponed due to snow.

Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink scored two goals for PSV while Jurgan Colin, John de Jong and Johann Vonlanthen added one each. Andre De Ridder got the lone goal for Zwolle.

The slippery field in Nijmegen made for poor technique on both sides, with a steady stream of missed passes, slips, falls, and a handful of collisions.

The hosts scored first in the 22nd minute on a breakaway by Polish forward Andresj Niedzielan, who Nijmegen purchased over the winter break for a reported transfer fee of

Niedzielan chipped the fluorescent red ball easily over Feyenoord goalkeeper Patrick Lodewijk and into the net.

In the 46th, Kuijt intercepted a wide shot from Robin van Persie and stuffed it home.

Buffel put Feyenoord ahead in the 57th, making space just inside the goal box and knocking the ball cleanly through two defenders and into the upper right corner.

English premier league

The English Premier League on Wednesday voted in favor of introducing a winter break.

The two-year experiment, which would begin next season, would stop play in the league for two weeks in January -- as long as a balanced schedule can be agreed upon.

The break would be reviewed after the second season.

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson had urged the midseason break because he believes it will benefit the national team.

Eriksson argued for the break at a dinner in London where he spoke to Premier League chairmen and chief executives.
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