Thierry Henry scored and Victor Valdes made a handful of goal-saving stops to earn FC Barcelona a 1-1 draw on Wednesday at Sevilla in the first leg of their fifth-round Copa del Rey match.
The France striker controlled Rafael Marquez's long ball before slotting it under goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis in the 24th minute for his first goal since returning from a lower back injury.
Diego Capel latched onto a corner and beat Valdes in the 44th, salvaging a draw for the defending champion.
Barcelona capitalized on their early possession with Henry's goal, but Sevilla appeared more dangerous despite the absence of Mali internationals Frederic Kanoute and Seydou Keita, and Ivory Coast striker Arouna Kone -- away on African Cup of Nations duty.
After Ernesto Chevanton headed high from close range, Valdes pushed Daniel Alves' swirling free kick over the bar to close the first half.
The Barcelona goalkeeper was even better in the second half, making a reflex save to thwart another Chevanton header in the 52nd before stretching to tip Luis Fabiano's free kick wide in the 61st.
invisible
Although Samuel Eto'o played after being allowed by Cameroon to remain, the striker was largely invisible without Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho or Deco alongside to provide service as the Catalans failed to test De Sanctis.
Substitute Alexander Kerzhakov beat Valdes with a header in the 85th only for it to land wide.
Earler, Joaquin Sanchez headed home in the fifth and 12th minute to hand Valencia an away-goal advantage with a 2-1 win at Real Betis.
Juan Manuel Mata scored an own-goal to put Betis on the scoreboard in the 48th.
sixth round
The winner will move on to play Atletico Madrid or Valladolid -- who met yesterday, while Real Madrid faced Mallorca.
Getafe -- last year's finalists -- moved closer to a place in the quarter-finals with a 3-0 win over Levante.
Juan Angel Albin scored from long range in the 36th before Marco Gasquero and Pablo Hernandez added a pair two minutes apart late in the second half to secure the victory.
At the Sam Mames, Markel Susaeta salvaged a 1-1 draw for Athletic Bilbao against Espanyol with a bouncing shot in the 77th. Jonathan Soriano had given Espanyol the lead eight minutes earlier after poking Luis Garcia's long ball out of the air and over goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia.
Ezquiel Garay converted a penalty in the 74th as Racing Santander rallied for a 1-1 draw at Zaragoza, which had led on Ricardo Oliveira's free kick in the 22nd.
Jose Martin Caceres' header in the second minute was enough to guide Recreativo Huelva over Villarreal 1-0.
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