Sweden’s John Guidetti on Thursday struck twice as RC Celta de Vigo all but ended Cadiz’s Copa del Rey lifeline with a 3-0 win in the first leg of their last-16 tie.
Guidetti scored twice for Celta on either side of a Jonathan “Jonny” Castro goal.
Cadiz had advanced to the round of 16 after previous opponent Real Madrid was disqualified for fielding an ineligible player, but the third-tier team will have to overcome a 3-0 home defeat to Celta Vigo to go any further.
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However, their chances of reaching the quarter-finals look bleak, as former Manchester City and Celtic striker Guidetti opened and rounded off the scoring with sharp finishes from close range either side of Jonny’s deflected second just after halftime.
UD Las Palmas also look well set for the last eight thanks to Jeronimo “Momo” Figueroa’s stoppage time winner to edge a five-goal thriller 3-2 at nine-man Sociedad Deportiva Eibar.
Momo curled the ball just inside the post to grab the win, after Las Palmas had erased two one-goal deficits en route to their first away victory of the season.
With the match level at 2-2 after Aythami Artiles and Wakaso Mubarak canceled out goals from Izet Hajrovic and Saul Berjon, Eibar’s Izet Hajrovic and substitute Gonzalo Escalante both earned straight red cards for violent tackles in the last 10 minutes to turn the match decisively in Las Palmas’ favor.
The game was heading for a draw when Eibar’s aggressive tackling cost them dearly.
“We went out there a bit cold, but we were able to come back,” Artiles said.
“The two expulsions helped us a lot,” he added.
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