Top flight teams slide at Spanish Copa del Rey

Spanish La Liga clubs withered Thursday in the remaining matches in the first leg of the third round of the Spanish Copa del Rey knockout competition. Athletic Bilbao kicked off the day with a 0-0 draw away to local third tier (Segunda B) side Eibar in a tough match on a muddy pitch. Valladolid will take a narrow 1-0 lead to play Betis in a fortnight thanks to a single Aberto Bueno goal, which arrived eight minutes before halftime. Getafe enjoyed a comfortable 4-0 win away to Ponferadina with a side made up mainly of fringe players, while Sporting Gijon will take a 1-0 lead to Pamplona after the second division side earned a 1-0 win against the side currently bottom of the La Liga thanks to a 15th-minute Sangoy goal. Real Sociedad were another top flight side to lose away from home and their dreadful form on the road continued thanks to a 2-0 defeat in Cordoba with Patino and Rennella scoring for the home side. Another lower league side to perform well were Melilla, who defeated a Levante side packed with substitutes 1-0. While Sevilla defeated Espanyol 3-1 in a clash between two La Liga sides. Once again both coaches decided to rest key players ahead of their weekend league matches. Federico Fazio, Cala and Alvaro Negredo, who netted a last-minute penalty, scored for the home side, while Christian Alfonso's goal means a 2-0 home win in two weeks will give Espanyol a place in the next round. Tuesday and Wednesday had seen Barcelona win 3-0 away to Alaves, while Real Madrid won 4-1 away to Alcoyano and Atletico Madrid triumphed 3-0 in Jaen to virtually assure their progress into the last 16.