Sevilla and Espanyol reach Copa del Rey quarterfinals

Sevilla's Nicolas Pareja clenches his fist as he celebrates with Samir Nasri. (Laurent Cipriani/AP)

BARCELONA, Spain — Sevilla beat Cadiz 2-1 to reach the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey on Thursday, while Espanyol overturned a first-leg deficit to eliminate Levante.

Sevilla’s 4-1 victory on aggregate took some of the pressure off new coach Vincenzo Montella following Sevilla’s painful 5-3 home loss to crosstown rival Real Betis in his Spanish league debut on Saturday.

Wissam Ben Yedder scored from a rebound after a shot by Joaquin Correa to give Sevilla the lead in the 32nd minute. Correa then headed in from a corner taken by Pablo Sarabia in the 54th.

Alvaro Garcia got second-division Cadiz’s consolation goal in the 86th, leading to jeers from Sevilla’s home fans for the team’s shaky finish to the match.

"It was a complicated match. We are all suffering from the derby loss," Correa said. "We are sad, but we will get through this together."

Cadiz’s David Barral also hit the woodwork early in the game.

——

ESPANYOL COMEBACK

Goals by forwards Leo Baptistao and Gerard Moreno helped Espanyol to a 2-0 victory at Levante, sending the Barcelona-based team through 3-2 on aggregate.

Moreno set up Baptistao in the 14th minute, before scoring his goal in the 34th.

——

BARCELONA-CELTA VIGO

Barcelona hosts Celta Vigo later with the contest poised after a 1-1 first-leg draw in Vigo.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.