RCD Espanyol’s Felipe Caicedo came off the bench and netted two late goals to secure a 2-0 win at home to 10-man Valencia on Tuesday that sent the Barcelona-based club through to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals 3-2 on aggregate.
Valencia won last week’s last-16, first leg 2-1 at their Estadio Mestalla, but were dealt a blow in the 14th minute of the return when defender Shkodran Mustafi was shown a straight red card for hauling back Sergio Garcia when the Espanyol captain was through on goal.
The visitors held out against sustained waves of attacks from los Periquitos until the 80th minute, when Caicedo outjumped goalkeeper Yoel and nodded into the empty net.
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The powerful Ecuador forward made it 2-0 a minute from time when he controlled the ball in the penalty area and lashed a low shot into the net.
The victory for the 2006 winners set up a likely last-eight clash against Sevilla, who started with a 2-1 lead over Granada when they hosted their Andalusian rivals yesterday.
“It was a perfect night for all Espanyol fans,” Garcia told reporters.
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“The players showed they want to give some joy to the supporters and that we take this competition seriously,” the former Spain international added. “The sending off was a key moment, but that does not detract from our achievement. We played a great match.”
Valencia’s exit from the competition they have won seven times, most recently in 2008, came a day after coach Nuno extended his contract until June 2018 and it effectively ended their hopes of silverware this season.
The club failed to qualify for European soccer last term, but hopes are high they can revive past glories in coming years following a recent takeover by Singapore billionaire Peter Lim.
“Obviously it’s a day of pain and sadness,” Nuno told a news conference.
“It’s very tough when you are a man down, but this team has shown that it recovers after a bad result and we have to give our fans some joy on Saturday,” the Portuguese said of their La Liga tie at home to UD Almeria.
Malaga joined Espanyol in the last eight despite throwing away a 2-0 lead and losing 3-2 at Levante UD, with their 2-0 victory in the first leg securing a 4-3 aggregate success for the Qatar-owned club.
Levante substitute David Barral scored twice for the home side to level the match before he earned a second yellow card and was sent off in the 89th minute when he handled the ball into the net in search of a hat-trick.
Los Boquerones, who have never reached the tournament final, will probably meet Athletic Bilbao in the last eight.
The Basque club’s tally of 23 Copa triumphs is only bettered by Barcelona’s 26 and they were to host RC Celta de Vigo yesterday after winning the first leg in Galicia 4-2.
The Catalan club hold a 5-0 advantage over Elche heading into the second leg.
Atletico Madrid have a 2-0 lead over holders Real Madrid ahead of their second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu today, with the winners almost certain to play Barca in the quarters.
This season’s edition of the Copa is the first since the 1969-1970 contest that has seen only top-flight sides reach the last 16.
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