Athletic Club, Villarreal, Espanyol join Barca in Cup semis

Madrid, Jan 30: Villarreal will face FC Barcelo in the semifil of the King’s Cup knockout competition after beating Getafe 2–0 on aggregate in the quarterfils while Athletic Club Bilbao and Espanyol will square off in the other tie.

A goal from Gerard Moreno 11 minutes from time gave Villarreal a 1–0 win Thursday night on the back of their 1–0 win in the first leg, reports Xinhua.

It left Getafe needing to score three goals in just over 10 minutes and provoked an exodus of the home fans from the stands, while giving Villarreal their first ever appearance in a King’s Cup semis.

Villarreal will face FC Barcelo who Wednesday night defeated Atletico Madrid 3–2 and 4–2 in aggregate to book their place in the semis.

The other semifil will be between Athletic Club Bilbao and Espanyol, although both sides enjoyed different fortunes on the night.

Athletic beat Malaga 1–0 thanks to a goal from Aritz Aduriz in the second half at the San Mames Stadium on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Espanyol qualified despite a 0–1 defeat away to Sevilla by virtue of their 3–1 home win last week. IANS