Real counts damage of expensive victory

Real Madrid marched into the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey after a convincing display in the return leg against Valencia. José Mourinho's side booked its place in the last four and now awaits the winner of the Málaga-Barcelona game, which will be played on Thursday night, with the prospect of two more 'El Clásico' encounters on the horizon.

Injury to Iker Casillas in the 17th minute, after the goalkeeper received an accidental knock from teammate Álvaro Arbeloa, did not seem to affect the visitors, who went ahead after 44 minutes through Karim Benzema. The Frenchman latched onto a through-ball from Xabi Alonso, after a slip by Ricardo Costa, to fire home.

Real was then reduced to ten men when Fabio Coentrao was sent off for a second bookable offence at the start of the second half. The home side drew level when Tino Costa's crossed free-kick went through a crowd of players and crept into the net past Antonio Adán.

The equaliser came in the 52nd minute and gave the Mestalla Faithful hope with more than 30 minutes left on the clock. However, Valencia failed to cause Real a serious threat, despite its numerical advantage. In the closing stages of the match, Ángel Di María was also shown the red card, meaning 'Los Blancos' had to see out the last few minutes with just nine men.