Barca, Atletico and Betis into quarter finals of Copa del Rey

 　　MADRID, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona had few problems in booking their place in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey on Thursday night.

　　Following a 2-0 first leg win away to Cordoba the reigning¹ Cup holders² were always favorites to progress to the next round and in front of their own fans they didn't disappoint.

　　Although Leo Messi was on the subs' bench and coach Tito Vilanova in New York seeking a second opinion on his cancer treatment, the side led by Vilanova's assistant Jordi Roura made short work of Cordoba.

　　David Villa³ scored two goals to lend weight to his argument for more minutes, while midfielder Thiago Alcantara also scored twice and Alexis Sanchez will have done his confidence no harm with a goal that gave Barca a 7-0 aggregate⁴ win against the second division side.

　　The negative news was an apparent⁵ muscle injury suffered by Villa that forced him out of the game with 13 minutes remaining.

　　Betis also qualified⁶ with Ruben Castro's 85th minute goal giving them a 1-0 win on the night and a 2-1 aggregate triumph against second division Las Palmas as the underdogs made Betis battle every inch of the way for their place in the last eight.

　　Earlier in the day, Atletico Madrid made good their 3-0 first leg advantage in their return leg in Getafe following a dull 0-0 draw. The result was never in doubt after the home side were reduced to 10 men in the first half when Rafa horribly challenged on Atletico striker Radamel Falcao. Both sides seemed content to save their strength for this weekend's league games.

　　Wednesday night saw Real Madrid, Zaragoza and Sevilla qualify⁷, while Malaga and Valencia qualified on Tuesday. The full quarter- final draw isMalaga vs.BarcelonaReal Madrid vs. ValenciaSevilla vs. ZaragozaAtletico Madrid vs. BetisThe first leg of the ties will be played next week with the second leg a week later.

1 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

2 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

3 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

4 aggregate   

adj.总计的，集合的；n.总数；v.合计；集合

参考例句：

• The football team had a low goal aggregate last season.这支足球队上个赛季的进球总数很少。
• The money collected will aggregate a thousand dollars.进帐总额将达一千美元。

5 apparent   

adj.表面上的，貌似真实的，显然的，明明白白的

参考例句：

• The apparent truth was really a lie.表面上看似实话，实际上是个谎言。
• His guilt is apparent to all.他的罪恶尽人皆知。

6 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

7 qualify   

vt.取得资格，有资格，限定，描述；vi.取得资格，有资格

参考例句：

• I won't qualify until next year.我明年才具备资格。
• You must qualify yourself for the post.你必须使自己具备担任这一工作的资格。