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Valencia oust Levante; Barca next

Comment: 0 January 27th, 2012

Valencia CF attacker Pablo Piatti scored a double to help beat Levante UD 3-0 and advance to the Copa del Rey semi-finals where they will meet Spanish giants Barcelona. The quarter-final match-up ended a 7-1 aggregate win for Valencia.

Spanish striker Aritz Aduriz scored the opener for the 2008 Cup winners with a strike on the right side of the goalkeeper’s box. Piatti was the provider as he raced on the right side and pulled back the ball in perfect time for Aduriz to make contact. The ball went underneath Levante skipper Sergio Ballesteros before going past goalkeeper Gustavo Munúa on the 25^th minute.

After five minutes, Piatti turned to the goal-scorer as he raced to catch a through ball from Juan Bernat on the right side of the pitch. No defender came close as he clinically finished with a left-footed strike – doubling the lead and ending the half with a 2-0 lead for the visitors.

The second half was much of the same for Levante as they failed to find the net with long shots that lacked the necessary precision. Probably sealing their hopes was the sending off of midfielder Oscar Serrano after receiving his second yellow card of the night with 20 minutes left in the match.

The Europa League contenders made the result definitive on the 85^th with another superb strike from Piatti. The Argentine was on the top left of the pitch as he lobbed a pass for Aduriz, who made contact with a beautiful header but was masterfully blocked by Munúa.

Unfortunately, the ball bounced to the waiting Piatti who cocked a left-footed blast that darted to the goal.

With the victory, Valencia will lock horns Wednesday with last year’s runners-up Barcelona. The Catalans dispatched bitter rivals Real Madrid in their quarter-final tie by winning 4-3 on aggregate after a 2-1 win at the Santiago Bernabéu and a 2-2 draw at Camp Nou.

The other semi-final match-up is between 23-times Cup winner Athletic Bilbao and Segunda B outfit Mirandes – who have taken out top-flight Villareal, Racing Santander and Espanyol.

Mirandes, who will play host next Tuesday, are only the second third-tier team to reach the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey.

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