Capel keeps Sevilla dream alive
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Article summary
Diego Capel earned holders Sevilla FC a draw against FC Barcelona in the first leg of their Spanish Cup last-16 tie as RCD Espanyol made it 17 games unbeaten.
Article body
Spanish Cup holders Sevilla FC will go into the second leg of their last-16 tie against FC Barcelona with everything to play for after Diego Capel scored his first goal for the club in a 1-1 draw at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium on Wednesday.
Honours even
Sevilla had found themselves behind 24 minutes into the contest against their fellow UEFA Champions League hopefuls after Thierry Henry latched on to a Rafael Márquez pass and swept the ball into the net. However, just a minute before the break 19-year-old Capel equalised when he drove in a half-volley from a deep corner. Meanwhile, RCD Espanyol extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 17 matches with a 1-1 draw at Athletic Club Bilbao. The visitors looked all set for victory following Jonathan Soriano's 68th-minute strike, only for Athletic to equalise ten minutes later through Markel Susaeta.
Contrasting fortunes
In Wednesday's other matches, Getafe CF outclassed Primera División strugglers Levante UD 3-0 at home courtesy of goals from Juan Albín, Francisco Casquero and Pablo Hernández, while fellow European contenders Villarreal CF lost 1-0 at RC Recreativo de Huelva. Valencia CF came away from Real Betis Balompié with a 2-1 success thanks to an early double from Joaquin Caparrós, although both sides finished with ten men following the second-half dismissals of Valencia's Javier Arizmendi (52) and Betis' Leandro Somoza (68). Finally, Real Zaragoza were held 0-0 by Real Racing Club Santander.
