Valencia edges Sevilla 1-0 in Copa del Rey

BARCELONA, Spain (AP)—Jonas scored in the first
half to help Valencia beat Sevilla 1-0 on Thursday
in the opening leg of a round-of-16 matchup in
the Copa del Rey.
Jonas scored in the 33rd minute. The Brazilian
forward received a pass, cut back to his right
foot, and curled a shot around goalkeeper Andres
Palop from the left side of the area.
Valencia and Sevilla are the last Spanish teams to
have won domestic titles other than Barcelona
and Real Madrid. Valencia won the Copa in 2008
and Sevilla lifted the trophy in 2007 and 2010.
Earlier Thursday, a 10-man Espanyol became the
latest top-flight team to lose to a lower-division
opponent this week when second-tier Cordoba
scored two late goals in a 2-1 comeback win.
Sergio Garcia gave Espanyol the lead in the 38th
minute before goalkeeper Kiko Casilla was sent off
with a red card for fouling Cordoba striker Jose
Diaz in the area.
Substitute goalkeeper Cristian Alvarez blocked
Diaz’s resulting penalty in the 54th, but he could
do little to stop Borja Garcia’s long shot in the 81st
after it took a friendly deflection off a defender.
Cordoba pressed for the winner, which came 4
minutes later when Carlos Caballero volleyed in a
cross.