Copa del Rey : Real Sociedad, Sevilla book quarterfinal places

San Sebastian : Real Sociedad were the first team into the draw for the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey knockout competition in Spain after beating Mallorca 1-0.

Roberto Navarro continued his goalscoring form in the Cup when he put Real Sociedad ahead in the fifth minute after a pass from Martin Zubimendi and the home side controlled the first half from start to finish, with a Mallorca side packed with fringe players unable to manage one shot in the first 45 minutes, on Tuesday night, reports Xinhua news agency.

The match was played in the pouring rain, which didn’t help flowing football and the second half saw little in the way of chances, with Clement Grenier at least having a shot for the visitors, even if it was directly at home keeper Alex Remiro.

The home side were considerably below their best and lost full back Andoni Gorosabal with a twisted ankle midway through the second half, but despite surrendering possession far too easily on too many occasions, they still had more than enough to move into the last eight.

In the second game played on Tuesday, Sevilla rode their luck away to second division Alaves, with Ivan Rakitic’s powerful header deciding a game that helped Sevilla forget their league problems, although they didn’t play well in Vitoria.

The remaining matches will be played on Wednesday and Thursday, with Real Madrid’s visit to an in-form Villarreal and Barcelona’s trip to third-tier survivors Ceuta, the highlights of the round. The draw for the quarterfinals will be made on Friday.