Copa de Rey:Atletico Madrid 2, Seville 1

Atletico Madrid won the first leg of their Copa de Rey semifinal against Sevilla 2-1. It was a wild match to say the least as three players were sent off and all three goals were scored from the spot.

The win puts Atleti in a good spot as they head towards the second leg on February 27th. Sevilla does have an away goal at least, but will need a better performance if they hope to turn things around and make the final.

The first 30 minutes was fairly ugly soccer as both sides just sort of hammered away at each other. Things settled down as Sevilla finally began to sit back allowing Atletico to grab control of the play. Adrian and Diego Costa both came close for Atleti but nobody could break through in the first half.

Things started to go a bit crazy in the 49th minute when Sevilla's Emir Spahic went to ground trying to earn a foul coul and slapped the ball away inside the 18-yard box. Instead of winning his appeal, the referee showed him his second yellow card of the match, allow Diego Costa to put Atletico in front 1-0, beating Beto from the penalty spot.

Sevilla sat back even more down a man and were able to fight back in to the match in the 55th minute when Diego Godín blocked a shot from Álvaro Negredo with his hand, leading to the second penalty of the match. Atleti players weren't impressed with the call but the referee stood firm and Negredo pulled his team back to 1-1.

With 20 minutes left to play, it looked as if Sevilla might be on their way to a solid first leg result, but there was still more twists in the story.

In the 70th minute, defender Fernando Navarro went down in the box, appealing for a foul call against Cebolla Rodriguez. In the process, he handled Ivan Rakitic's errant shot, earning a penalty for Atleti and a yellow card for Navarro. Diego Costa again took the penalty and put Atletico up 2-1.

With five minutes left, Diego Costa was nearly free on goal before Navarro charged in to him, earning a red card and becoming the third player sent off in the match.

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Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona

In a clásico in which Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo did not score for once, the game's biggest moment came from a 19-year-old defender who was included in the side because of injury and suspension. Raphaël Varane, who started in the absence of Sergio Ramos and Pepe, capped a colossal performance with a second-half header that equalised Cesc Fábregas's opener and left the Copa del Rey semi-final poised at 1-1.Barcelona take an away goal; Madrid will feel that they too can get one in the second leg in a month's time.

With ten minutes remaining Varane leapt between Fábregas and Carles Puyol to connect with Mesut Ozil's long looping cross and leave Barcelona ruing the chances that they had missed – and the chances that Varane had denied them. Not least a first half goalline clearance. Madrid too could reflect on the opportunities that had evaded them in a game that always felt open, even when Barcelona began to take a grip in the second period.

"For a 19-year-old, you can't ask for more," said Madrid's assistant manager Aitor Karanka. "He's a kid who is progressing, who's sensible, and we're very happy with him. He was perfect tonight."

Fábregas got the opener just as the clock ticked up to 50 minutes. Messi had swung a pass towards Jordi Alba on the left. Jose Callejón intercepted but his clearance swung back in Messi's direction and he was quickly onto it. Whether loose control or assist, and it looked more like the former, the ball ran through perfectly to Fábregas, one-on-one with Diego López, and he curled the ball hard and low into the far corner.

It was the first time Barcelona had found themselves beyond the Madrid defence after a first half in which they had been effectively blunted, one in which, unusually, there were no goals. And that despite the fact that the first save came from a free-kick conceded after just 47 seconds, Gerard Piqué bringing down Ronaldo. José Manuel Pinto reached backwards to push the Portuguese's shot over.

Madrid had worked the chance as they would often: by pressing Barcelona and robbing, the pitch opening up before them. When Karim Benzema hit the side-netting and much of this arena cheered thinking the ball was in the net, the opportunity had similar origins. Ozil was a constant threat, always available and always bringing clarity to the counters. Even when Barcelona started to move the ball with greater fluidity – a series of slick passes on 12 minutes ushered in a period of keep ball with Andrés Iniesta at its heart – there was still a certain vulnerability about them. And Madrid knew it.

At the other end, Madrid were organised and, above all, fast. Barcelona found few spaces and those that did open quickly closed. Xabi Alonso and Sami Khedira protected the defence, Callejón and Ronaldo backed up the full-backs. Michael Essien outran Messi and twice Varane was swift across the turf from centre to right to suffocate danger. He also cleared one off the line from Xavi after a startling mistake from Ricardo Carvalho, whose weak back-pass gave Fábregas the ball seven or eight yards out.

The second half saw greater opportunities. Ronaldo, stretching, headed a bouncing ball wide from barely three yards and Piqué had to move quickly to clear by the same post soon afterwards. After taking the lead, though, it was Barcelona who created opportunities. Fábregas spun to put one shot over from eight yards, Pedro ran clean through only to dink wide from five yards, and López smothered Messi. When the Argentinian did beat the keeper, he was ruled out for offside – rightly this time.

Then there was Varane. Twice he made perfectly timed interceptions. Fábregas and Messi thought they were through; but as they prepared to shoot, the ball was gone, nicked away by the Frenchman. And when the moment came at the other end, he was decisive again.

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QPR 0, Manchester City 0

Roberto Mancini offered a shrug on the final whistle and only disappointment mumbled through a rueful smile post-match but, on the night the champions sanctioned the sale of Mario Balotelli to Milan, there was something troubling that Manchester City could muster only a goalless draw against the Premier League's bottom team. An opportunity to cut the gap to Manchester United has been passed up. The title defence feels rather fraught once again.

The leaders can re-establish a seven-point advantage by beating Southampton on Wednesday, which would feel deflating given City had won their previous four matches to suggest they were building up a head of steam. Instead, they are back where they have been too often, peering over a gap that yawned this wide on Boxing Day when they last lost. It was certainly untimely to run aground on Queens Park Rangers' rugged defence on the day Balotelli finally flew the nest. Mancini will not be replacing his £17m compatriot before the cut-off and he admitted the striker may be missed over the remaining 14 games. If it was risky retaining Mario, it may be perilous letting him go.

It should be noted that the departing 22-year-old had managed only one league goal all season and was hardly guaranteed to have illuminated City's display in rain-swept west London. Rather, the visitors lacked Yaya Touré – or perhaps more specifically the rampaging, irrepressible Touré from their title-winning season – who might have driven QPR's midfield into retreat and prised the hosts open had he not been in South Africa with Ivory Coast. Yet this was still no time for Mancini's forward line to draw a blank. Presentable chances were created, despite the home side's impressive huff and puff. None was converted.

The lack of bite may ultimately prove costly. Júlio César thwarted them in eye-catching fashion here, the Brazilian goalkeeper's instinctive block from David Silva's close-range shot as the contest lurched into its closing moments confirmation he would not be beaten. Less forgivable was Joleon Lescott's volley over the bar after César's weak punch, or Pablo Zabaleta's thumped header against the woodwork from Silva's delivery.

Edin Dzeko was flung on to offer a focal point but Clint Hill and Ryan Nelsen were in no mood to be bypassed. The New Zealand defender departed through a guard of honour assembled by his team-mates with this likely to have been his final game in English football with a job as head coach at Toronto in Major League Soccer calling. He will be sorely missed.

It was QPR who blunted City here, their endeavour epitomised by those seasoned centre-halves, the frenetic energy of Stéphane Mbia and Shaun Derry's scuttling in central midfield. It was hard to equate this side's committed display with the shambolic surrender mustered by a second-string at home to MK Dons in the FA Cup on Saturday, though the reality that Harry Redknapp named Rob Green and Brian Murphy on the bench offered a reminder that reinforcements are needed if a four-match unbeaten league run is to be extended into a charge for survival. Nothing quite says "But look how stretched we are, Mr Chairman" quite as effectively as a trio of goalkeepers in an 18-man match-day squad.

Redknapp is waiting on positive news from the owner, Tony Fernandes, over Christopher Samba at Anzhi Makhachkala or Rolando at Porto, Peter Odemwingie at West Bromwich Albion or Peter Crouch at Stoke. Yun Suk-young, the South Korea left-back, should complete his move from Chunnam Dragons on Wednesday. "We could do with getting three or four more," said the manager. "We could get none. And none would leave us in trouble. We need a central defender, that's for sure. The chairman asked me a week ago whether I'd be interested if he could get me Samba. I've left it wholly in his hands. He's working on several options but we're short."

What they lack in quality they made up for here in effort. This is a more robust QPR side now than was the case recently and, having established some defensive solidity, they could probe at times on the counter. Nelsen's fine tackle on Lescott at a City corner sparked their best chance, Adel Taarabt sprinting the length of the pitch in possession to draw a fine save from Joe Hart. Löic Rémy, too, was slippery and will have more profitable evenings than this. Norwich City's visit on Saturday is significant and the recent run of encouraging draws must be converted into a sequence of wins.

Redknapp described this as a bonus point, wary that City can "rip teams to pieces, home or away", but the game to come is "massive". Their gap to safety is only four points. City's to glory could revert to seven on Wednesday night.

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FC Porto kept pace by hammering Gil Vicente 5-0

Benfica continued its unbeaten run in the Portuguese Liga on Saturday by seeing off a tough test from third-place Braga in a 2-1 away win.

Benfica remains tied atop the league with FC Porto having won 11 of its last 12 games, and Saturday's win has to go down as one of the best of the season for the Lisbon club.

Braga had won four of its previous five matches, but the visitors got off to a quick start and went in front after five minutes through Eduardo Salvio.

Lima doubled the advantage in the 35th minute to give Benfica a two-goal cushion at halftime, but Braga responded through Pedro 13 minutes from time.

The hosts went in search of an equalizer but a red card given to Braga's Maximilian Haas in the 85th minute dealt a blow to any comeback hopes.

FC Porto kept pace on Monday by hammering Gil Vicente, 5-0, with the defending champions scoring twice in the opening 11 minutes before netting three more goals after the interval.

Beira Mar lost its third straight match on Friday as the club yielded three goals in the first 37 minutes of a 3-1 defeat to Academica, while Paolo Hurtado and Vitor scored two goals apiece in a 5-0 rout for Pacos Ferreira at last-place Moreirense.

Maritimo and Rio Ave traded first-half goals in a 1-1 draw, Nacional secured a 2-0 win at Setubal with goals from Mario Rondon and Daniel Candeias after halftime, Sporting Lisbon and Guimaraes finished 1-1 as Ricky van Wolfswinkel scored in the 56th minute to cancel out Xandao's own goal and Estoril earned a point against Olhanense after a pair of first-half penalty kicks from Vitoria helped the club to a 3-3 draw.

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Ronaldo hits hat-trick as Real Madrid thrash Getafe

Cristiano Ronaldo hit a hat-trick and Sergio Ramos got the other as Real Madrid beat Getafe 4-0 in their La Liga clash on Sunday.

All Real's goals came in the second-half but it still sees them trail arch-rivals Barcelona by 12 points while city neighbours Atletico are four points ahead of them with both sides still to play on Sunday.

Ronaldo took his total for the season to 21 and will come face-to-face with top-scorer Lionel Messi on Wednesday when Real and Barcelona meet in the Spanish Cup semi-final first leg.

Antonio Adan was called up to replace Iker Casillas in goal after the club captain fractured a bone in his hand in midweek in the Cup game against Valencia, although new signing Diego Lopez from Sevilla will be the likeliest long-term replacement for the Spanish captain.

Xabi Alonso was also on the bench, perhaps with the Barca tie in mind, and his absence was noticeable as the game began slowly and without rhythm on a cold morning in the Spanish capital.

Miguel Angel Moya had to be sharp in the Getafe goal to block a Ronaldo free-kick on eleven minutes and then again to stop a shot from the same player eleven minutes later.

The team from the industrial town on the outskirts of the capital were keeping the home sides chances to a minimum and started to cause a few problems themselves on the break.

Adan had to block a Pablo Sarabia shot and then a Diego Castro header before the half-hour mark.

Next it was Madrid's turn to quickly break and Mesut Ozil saw a shot blocked after clever play down the left.

However, despite dominating possession, the home side could only muster a further Luka Modric shot before the interval as a well marshalled Getafe defence stood firm.

Jose Mourinho changed things around at the break introducing Sami Khedira for defender Raul Albiol and the German made an immediate impression.

His shot was acrobatically saved by Moya on 53 minutes and the keeper reacted quickly to deny Fabio Coentrao from the rebound for a great double save.

From the resulting corner Moya's luck ran out when Ramos stabbed home after the keeper was challenged by Ricardo Carvalho, Moya protested the legality of Carvalho's jump and was booked for his efforts.

Gonzalo Higuain then headed over as the lead appeared to settle Madrid into a style of play with a more attacking edge.

The second came on 62 minutes after a sweeping counter-attack saw Ozil play Ronaldo into space on the left and the Portuguese finished crisply to double the lead.

Three minutes later and from the same counter-attacking play Ronaldo made it three, finishing off a Higuain cross with a simple header.

Ronaldo grabbed his hat-trick from the penalty spot on 72 minutes after Alberto Lopo had fouled Modric and a minute later he went off to a standing ovation.

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Rampant Wayne Rooney ensures soft landing for Manchester United after flying start

Despite the fact he scored at Old Trafford with a muscular header, this is not a night Aaron Hughes would want to relive.

He gave away the opening penalty, failed to close down Wayne Rooney for Manchester United’s second and deflected Javier Hernandez’s shot past his own keeper. All in all, not one for the grandchildren.

He need not dwell upon it – the third-minute penalty always seemed as if it would set United on their merry way through a tie that proved as one-sided at it seemed likely to be when it was selected for live broadcast.

United seemed determined to make a big thing of the FA Cup. As the teams lined up in the tunnel, the loudspeakers continually broadcast the fact that they had lifted the trophy more than any other club.

If they were measuring their history in years, this was a tie decided in the opening seconds. It took 39 for Wayne Rooney to force a corner and 72 for Hughes to handle as the Ulsterman rose to meet that kick in front of Chris Smalling.

Rooney’s miss in the third-round replay here against West Ham had made him the fourth Manchester United player to fail to convert a penalty this season. With Sir Alex Ferguson writing in the programme that: “We will really have to up our game in this area,” the pressure fell on Ryan Giggs, who struck his kick to Mark Schwarzer’s right and, although his goalkeeper’s glove touched the ball, it was not enough to stop it from hitting the back of the net.

Had Mark Clattenburg awarded another handball for what seemed a blatant offence by Damien Duff, the match might have been decided long before the interval.

John Arne Riise had his work cut out dealing with Nani and, increasingly as the tie wore on, a rampant Rooney. First, he failed to cut out a long diagonal ball that was meant for Nani, who had a clear sight of goal and might have wished he had shot harder.

Moments later, the boy from the Cape Verde Islands delivered a cross to Rooney, which he controlled and then shot, almost in the same movement, the ball striking Schwarzer’s body and rebounding against the underside of the crossbar before being scrambled away to temporary safety.

Within four minutes of the restart, the ball was in the Fulham net. Rooney had just seen a shot cleared off the line by Hughes when he cut inside the defender and shot between the two centre-halves and past Schwarzer. 

Then, as the Fulham defence attempted to clear a ball with the same degree of certainty as a kitten toying with a hand-grenade, Rooney crossed, the ball struck the back of a defender’s boot and Hernandez did the rest.

The Stretford End began singing the old song about Wembley. They may not reach that far but their place in the fifth round was now utterly secure.

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Borussia Dortmund roll past Nuremberg in the Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund have beaten visiting Nuremberg 3-0. The defending champions have scored eight goals and conceded none since the Bundesliga resumed following the winter break.

It was a dominant display for Borussia Dortmund on Friday, who soundly defeated their Bavarian opponents and were unlucky not to score a few more.

Jakub "Kuba" Blaszczykowski was the first to break the deadlock in the 18th minute after Timo Gebhart fouled him in the box. The Poland captain calmly placed his penalty into the bottom right corner of the net, and Dortmund were off the mark.

Just three minutes later, it was Blaszczykowski again. Mario Götze threaded a low cross between to Nuremberg defenders from the right wing, finding Kuba alone in the box to beat goalkeeper Raphael Schäfer for a second time.

Dortmund had several more chances to make it 3-0 against the visitors, most notably through Robert Lewandowski with just under five minutes to go in the first period of play. But the Polish striker's goal from close range was waved offside, and the half finished 2-0.

Dortmund continued to pile the pressure on Nuremberg in the second half, but too many times great passes – often from Götze – were met with inadequate finishing. As the clock ticked closer to 90, it looked as though the match might finish 2-0.

But in the 88th minute, a Felipe Santana long ball from the back bounced to Marco Reus on the right wing, the German international crossed to the center of the box and Lewandowski was there to send a powerful finish into the top right corner of the net.

The match finished 3-0, and Dortmund now have scored eight goals in their two games following the winter break and, despite at times looking shaky at the back without the injured Neven Subotic, conceded none. But despite their momentum, the two-time defending champions still have a ways to go if they want to catch Bayern Munich, who remain nine points clear at the top of the Bundesliga table.

It hasn't the beginning that newly-hired Nuremberg coach Michael Wiesinger would have liked. His side have picked up a solitary point from his first two league matches at the helm, and are assured to remain in 15th place through the weekend.

Bundesliga play resumes on Saturday, featuring regional rivalries between Hannover and Wolfsburg on Saturday and Hamburg against Werder Bremen in the "Nordderby." 

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