3rd-division club Alcoyano upsets Madrid in Copa del Rey

Third-division club Alcoyano came from behind to eliminate Real Madrid 2-1 in the round of 32 of the Copa de Rey on Wednesday.

The small club from eastern Spain scored in the 80th minute to force extra time and again in the 115th to make it to the last 16.

Alcoyano had gone a man down because of a red card just minutes before Juanan Casanova scored the winner from close range after a quick counterattack.

Based in eastern Spanish city of Alcoy, the small club of Alcoyano made it to the Copa quarterfinals in 1946. It has played four seasons in the first division, but not since 1950-51.

Madrid was seeking its first Copa title since 2014, which was the last time it reached the final. It was eliminated by Zaragoza in the round of 16 last season. It hadn't been eliminated in the round of 32 since it lost to Cádiz in 2015-16.

Crosstown rival Atlético Madrid had already been eliminated by a third-division club in the second round, losing to Cornellà, which will host Barcelona on Thursday.

Playing without some regular starters, Madrid controlled possession from the start but couldn’t open the scoring until Éder Militão headed in a cross by Marcelo in the final minute of the first half.

Madrid continued to struggle to create scoring opportunities and the hosts eventually found the equalizer with a close-range shot by José Solbes after a corner kick.

Alcoyano threatened again before the end of regulation and in extra time, but it went a man down in the 109th minte when Ramón López was sent off with a second yellow card for a hard tackle on Casemiro.

The winner by Casanova came after a missed chance by Madrid off a corner kick.

Alcoyano goalkeeper José Juan Figueras, 41, had to make a couple of key saves to keep Madrid from recovering.

The game was played at the 5,000-capacity El Collao Stadium, which was without fans because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier, Real Sociedad eliminated third-division club Córdoba 2-0 with a pair of second-half goals by William José, the Brazilian forward who was expected to seal a move to English club Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Last season's Copa final between Sociedad and Basque Country rival Athletic Bilbao has yet to be played after being postponed indefinitely because of the coronavirus pandemic.

SPANISH LEAGUE

In the Spanish league, Villarreal regained fourth place after drawing 2-2 with seventh-place Granada at home.

The visitors took the lead Roberto Soldado in the 21st before Villarreal rallied with goals by Rubén Peña in the 29th and Moi Gómez in the 65th. Kenedy equalized for Granada in the 75th and Villarreal striker Paco Alcácer missed a chance to score the winner by missing a penalty in stoppage time.

Villarreal had won four consecutive games in all competitions.

Real Betis defeated Celta Vigo 2-1 with a pair of goals by Sergio Canales. Celta took the lead through Santi Mina in the 15th but Canales helped the hosts rally with goals in the 25th and 44th minutes.

It was the fourth loss in a row for Celta in all competitions. It dropped to 11th place in the league standings, while Betis moved to eighth.

Getafe defeated last-place Huesca 1-0 with a 69th-minute winner by Mauro Arambarri. It was the second consecutive win for Getafe, which sits 10th in the 20-team standings.

Image credits: AP