On the morning of January 8th, Beijing time, the last match of the third round of the Copa del Rey ended. The Segunda División team Edens faced off against the La Liga powerhouse Valencia at home. In this match, Valencia players López and Canos assisted each other to score, helping the team defeat their opponents 2-0 away from home and become the last team to advance to the round of 16 in the Copa del Rey. Real Madrid 5-0, Barcelona 4-0, the Copa del Rey round of 16 is born! The 2.93 million minnows make a fortune: win against 2 La Liga teams.
Valencia is fighting for relegation in La Liga this season. In the past six rounds of La Liga matches, Valencia has not tasted victory, having just lost to Real Madrid in the previous league match. Currently, Valencia ranks second-to-last in the La Liga standings, tied on points with bottom-placed Valladolid, four points behind the relegation zone, making their relegation situation extremely severe. Valencia refused to be upset in the Copa del Rey matches, winning three consecutive rounds against lower-tier league teams to reach the round of 16.
In this round of the Copa del Rey, both Real Madrid and Barcelona achieved big victories. Among them, Real Madrid faced off against the Segunda División B team Minera Sports away from home, sweeping their opponents with a five-goal advantage thanks to Gurel's brace and goals from Valverde, Camavinga, and Modric. Barcelona, on the other hand, easily defeated the Segunda División B team Bastarre in an away match, with Lewandowski scoring twice, Torres contributing one goal and two assists, and García finding the net.
One of the top three teams in Spain, Atlético de Madrid, also successfully advanced, defeating the Segunda División A team Marbella 1-0 away from home, with Griezmann scoring the goal. Chinese overseas forward Du Yuezheng received a valuable substitute appearance opportunity in the 84th minute. In the round of 16 of this season's Copa del Rey, there are a total of 12 La Liga teams, including Valencia, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid, as well as Getafe, Rayo Vallecano, Real Betis, Osasuna, Athletic Bilbao, Leganés, Real Sociedad, and Celta Vigo. Among them, Athletic Bilbao, coached by Valverde, is the defending champion.
Two Segunda División teams continue to remain in the Copa del Rey, including Almería and Elche. The Segunda División A team Orense is still in the Copa del Rey, and the Segunda División B is the only seed, being the Pontevedra team. As a fourth-tier Spanish league team, Pontevedra's entire squad is valued at only 2.93 million euros. This season, under the leadership of coach Iglesias, they have been in great form, leading the standings and undefeated in their last 14 matches in all competitions. In the Copa del Rey, Pontevedra defeated the fifth-placed team in the Segunda División, Levante, 4-1, the fifth-placed team in La Liga, Villarreal, 1-0, and the sixth-placed team in La Liga, Mallorca, 3-0. Mallorca was also the runner-up in last season's Copa del Rey.
The total value of Shandong Taishan's players is 18.86 million euros, and Pontevedra's progress in the Copa del Rey has surprised fans. If they draw against Real Madrid, Barcelona, or Atlético in the next round, it will be even more profitable.