Real beat third-tier Ponferradina in Copa
Real beat third-tier Ponferradina in Copa
Real Madrid shrugged off its weekend defeat by Barcelona to beat third-tier Ponferradina 2-0.

Barcelona: Real Madrid shrugged off its weekend defeat by Barcelona to beat third-tier Ponferradina 2-0 away in the fourth round of the Copa del Rey on Tuesday. Jose Callejon put the cup holders ahead in the 29th minute of the first leg match.

Callejon steered Sami Khedira's bouncing cross into the top right corner as the former Espanyol forward continues to make the most of his limited opportunities with his new club.

Madrid played with 10 men from the 69th after defender Raul Albiol collected a second booking, but Cristiano Ronaldo made the game safe five minutes later.

The Portugal forward— heavily criticized for his performance in Saturday's 3-1 league defeat by Barcelona — ran onto Gonzalo Higuain's pass and shot under the goalkeeper from the left side of the area for his 22nd goal in all competitions this season.

Despite the score and the steady rain, the 8,500 fans at Toralin Stadium celebrated the rare match against the nine-team European champion by doing a Mexican wave in the game's dying minutes.

"Saturday's match is in the past," Callejon said. "(Today) we completed our objective."

Elsewhere, Valencia, currently third in the league, drew 0-0 at third-division Cadiz.

Two more top flight clubs, Villarreal and Zaragoza, were both held to 1-1 draws at their respective third-tier opponents, Mirandes and Alcorcon.

Also, it was: Getafe 0, Malaga 1; Real Sociedad 4, Granada 1; Celta 0, Espanyol 0; Racing Santander 3, Rayo Vallecano 2; Mallorca 0, Sporting Gijon 1; Deportivo La Coruna 3, Levante 1; Almeria 1, Osasuna 3; Cordoba 1, Real Betis 0; and San Roque 0, Sevilla 1.

In previous first legs, 2009 champion Barcelona beat Hospitalet 1-0, Athletic Bilbao won 1-0 at Oviedo and Atletico Madrid lost 2-1 at third-tier Albacete.

The return legs will be played next week.

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