Copa del Rey wrap: Real, Atletico set up derby date

Real Madrid will meet city rivals Atletico in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals after both sides progressed on Thursday.

The two Madrid sides will face each other after Real defeated Levante 8-2 on aggregate, while Atletico had to work harder to progress, edging Espanyol 2-1 over two legs.

After thumping Levante 8-0 in the first leg, Real boss Jose Mourinho took the opportunity to rest the likes of Iker Casillas and Xabi Alonso, while Cristiano Ronaldo missed the match through illness.

Mourinho would nevertheless be disappointed by his side’s display as Levante won 2-0 at home thanks to a penalty from Xisco and a strike from Sergio.

After a 1-0 first-leg victory, Atletico looked to have sealed their progression when Sergio Aguero, who signed a two-year contract extension with the club this week, opened the scoring after 25 minutes.

Espanyol continued to attack in search of a goal that would renew their hopes but Fernandez Luis Garcia’s strike proved to be mere consolation.

In other matches, Real Betis booked a quarter-final match-up with Barcelona after a 3-1 away win over Getafe sealed a 4-3 aggregate result.

Villarreal scored four second-half goals to defeat Valencia 4-2 on aggregate in a remarkable turnaround.

Heading into the match trailing 2-0 after the first leg, Villarreal put in a scintillating second-half display in front of their home faithful as Santi Cazorla and Giuseppe Rossi netted after the interval.

Marco Ruben gave Villarreal the lead just after the hour mark before Rossi completed the turnaround with his second.

Elsewhere, Almeria recorded a thrilling 4-3 away win over Real Mallorca.

After the first leg ended 0-0, Almeria stormed to a 4-0 half-time lead courtesy of doubles from Pablo Piatti and Jose Ortiz.

A Fernando Cavenaghi brace and a Michael Pereira goal set up a tense finale, but the visitors held on to book a quarter-final clash with Deportivo La Coruna.