Deportivo ease through

Holders Deportivo Coruna breezed their way into the last eight of the King's Cup with a 4-1 win over third division Alicante at the Riazor on Wednesday.

RESULTS: Copa del Rey action

The win gave the Galicians a comfortable 5-2 aggregate victory over the Mediterranean side who never really threatened to repeat their impressive performance of the first leg.

The shock of the round came from Murcia who claimed a 2-1 victory at first division Alaves.

The second division side, who thrashed Las Palmas 6-1 at the weekend to move into second place in the table, booked their place in the quarters thanks to second half strikes from David Karanka and Josep Setvalls.

First division basement club Recreativo Huelva also produced an upset when a late strike from Raul Molina allowed them to overturn high-flying Real Betis with a 1-0 aggregate victory.

Real Mallorca forward Carlos grabbed a first half hat-trick in his side's 4-1 thrashing of Valladolid in the other all-first division tie.

Cup experts Atletico Madrid, who ended Deportivo's 10-match unbeaten run in the league with a fine 3-1 victory at the Calderon on Sunday, flattered to deceive with 3-0 win over Bernd Schuster's Xerez.

Xerez, who failed to convert a second-half penalty, had the better of the play for much of the match, but Atletico made the most of some impressive finishing.

Former AC Milan striker Javi Moreno ended his recent goal drought with two well-taken individual goals and midfielder Carlos Aguilera weighed in with a powerful header.

Last year's losing finalists Real Madrid moved safely through to the last eight on Tuesday with a 7-5 aggregate victory over second division Terrassa after their 4-2 win at the Bernabeu.

Osasuna, who completed a 5-1 aggregate win over third division Real Union de Irun, and Sevilla who eased to a 5-2 aggregate victory over second division Numancia, will join the European champions in the hat for Friday's draw.

EARLY LEAD

Deportivo grabbed an early lead against Alicante when Paraguayan international Robert Acuna drilled in from 20 metres out after fellow midfielder Victor had headed a neat pass into his path on five minutes.

Alicante rallied briefly when midfielder Manolo Perez hit a spectacular individual strike form 30 metres out just after the half-hour mark.

But Depor hit back on the stroke of halftime with a coolly taken strike from winger Jose Emilio Amavisca who slotted home with the outside of his foot after Acuna had helped him to beat the offside trap with a neat, chipped pass.

Tristan added a third when he cracked home a 58th minute penalty after Albert Luque was barged off the ball by defender Cristian Green.

Fellow striker Luque wrapped up a comfortable 4-1 win when he scored with a precise curling shot after he latched on to a fine pass from Brazilian midfielder Mauro Silva seven minutes from time.