MADRID (AP) ― Carles Puyol and Eric Abidal scored rare goals to rally Barcelona over defending champion Real Madrid 2-1 Wednesday night in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal.
Cristiano Ronaldo put Madrid ahead in the 11th minute on a counterattack with his 27th goal of the season, but Puyol tied it with a header off a corner kick in the 49th, his first goal since Oct. 16, 2010.
Abidal gave Barcelona control of the home-and-home, total-goals series in the 77th when he chested down Lionel Messi’s scooped pass inside the penalty area and flicked a left-footed shot under goalkeeper Iker Casillas. It was just his second goal for Barcelona, his first since Jan. 5, 2011.
The second leg is next Wednesday night at Barcelona, the ninth “clasico” between the rivals in nine months.
On a night when Messi played his 300th game for Barcelona, the Spanish, European and world champions beat Madrid for the ninth time in 13 games since Pep Guardiola took over as coach. Madrid’s lone win during that stretch was in April’s cup final.
Ronaldo’s goal, his fourth against Barcelona, came when he ran onto Pepe’s long pass and struck a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Jose Manuel Pinto, who starts in cup matches instead of Victor Valdes.
In Wednesday’s other quarterfinal, Fernando Llorente and Iker Muniain headed in goals to give Athletic Bilbao a 2-0 victory over Mallorca.
England
LONDON (AP) ― Birmingham knocked local rival Wolverhampton out of the FA Cup, winning 1-0 as Wade Elliott scored on a rebound in the 74th minute. His initial shot hit a post, and the first rebound attempt was blocked.
The League Championship club will visit Sheffield United in the fourth round. Last season, Birmingham lost on the final day of the season and was relegated, allowing Wolves to remain in the Premier League.
In Wednesday’s other third-round replay, Brighton beat Wrexham 5-4 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie in overtime.
Italy
MILAN (AP) ― Alexandre Pato scored in the 10th minute of overtime off a pass from Robinho but then left six minutes later with his latest muscle injury as AC Milan defeated Novara 2-1 and advanced to an Italian Cup quarterfinal against Lazio.
Milan had taken the lead on a long shot by 19-year-old forward Stephen El Shaarawy in the 24th minute, but Ivan Radovanovic tied it in the 88th with a low free kick.
Milan’s 38-year-old striker Filippo Inzaghi made his first start since Sept. 18, 2010, and was set up twice by El Sharaawy, but he couldn’t take advantage of his opportunities and was replaced by Pato in the 58th. Inzaghi missed most of last season following knee surgery.
Lazio beat Serie B’s Verona 3-2. The other quarterfinals are Juventus-Roma, Siena-Chievo Verona and Napoli against the winner of Thursday’s game between Inter Milan and Genoa.
