Barcelona beaten, but will face Almeria in Spanish cup semis

Jan 19, 2011, 23:07 GMT

Madrid - Barcelona progressed into the semi-finals of the Spanish King's Cup on Wednesday despite a surprise 3-1 defeat away to second division Betis.

Barca went into the semis on a 6-3 aggregate because they hammered Betis 5-0 in last week's first leg.

Betis are top of the second division and on the road back to La Liga, after two years' absence. They took the game more seriously than Barca and were 2-0 up after just seven minutes, thanks to two quickfire goals from Jorge Molina.

FIFA World Player Lionel Messi dampened the hopes of a miracle in Sevilla by scoring for Barca. But Arzu made it 3-1 for Betis just before the interval, to the delight of the fans in the old Benito Villamarin stadium.

Barca took the heat out of the second half with their slick passing game, but they failed to create many clear chances. In the 53rd minute they were given a penalty for handball by Iriney, but Messi put the spot-kick over the crossbar after slipping on his run-up.

In the semi-finals, which begin on January 26, Barca will face unfancied Almeria, who earlier on Wednesday won 3-2 win away to Deportivo Coruna.

Almeria, the surprise package of the competition, went through on a 4-2 aggregate since they won last week's home leg 1-0. They are bottom of La Liga, but went to La Coruna in good heart after Sunday's 1-1 draw at home to Real Madrid.

Early goals from Miguel Corona and Albert Crusat stunned Riazor and left Almeria in the driving seat.

Pablo Alvarez and Adrian made it 2-2 for Deportivo, but Henok Goitom restored Almeria's lead from the penalty spot, which left the hosts needing three more goals - an impossible task for them.

Holders Sevilla cruised into the semi-finals on Tuesday, overcoming Villarreal on a 6-3 aggregate. They will meet either Real or Atletico Madrid in the semis.

Real beat Atletico 3-1 in the first leg. The second leg will take place at Atletico's Estadio Calderon on Thursday.

Atletico will go into the big game without injured star striker Sergio Aguero. Real, for their part, are in a crisis because of the future of coach Jose Mourinho, who is locked in a bitter feud with Jorge Valdano, the club's general director.

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