Valencia CF beat Granada CF 3-0 on the night to comfortably go through to the next round of the Copa del Rey, winning 7-0 on aggregate following a 4-0 first leg triumph.
History repeating itself for Granada
In the first leg, Granada had plenty of chances to score and were punished ruthlessly by Valencia.
Granada found themselves in familiar territory during the first-half of the second leg, with an abundance of chances that came from dominating possession and closing down the Valencia players when they were on the ball.
Not only did Granada find themselves up against a resilient Mathew Ryan, but they also squandered chances in front of goal.
The first real chance for Granada came when Fran Rico laid a free-kick off to Ruben Rochina who then smashed the ball into a barrage of oncoming Valencia players, the corner that followed was whipped in well by Rochina and it was captain Diego Mainz that connected with the ball, unfortunately for him, it whistled just beyond the post.
The next big chance for Granada came when their Moroccan striker Youssef El-Arabi found himself charging at the Valencia goal, however, he opted for power over accuracy and smashed the ball straight at Ryan.
Isaac Success was next to cause Los Che all kinds of problems when he powered a shot towards the far post, but once again, Valencia’s Australian goalkeeper was there to deny the Nigerian with a stunning save.
The best chance of the half for the home side came when Success was running down the left flank and he cut the ball back toward the edge of the box, the pass found Rochina who hit the ball wonderfully first time, but saw his effort come crashing off the post.
Valencia’s first real chance came in the 38th minute when the hero of the first leg, Alvaro Negredo, spotted Granada goalkeeper Ivan Kelava was off his line, the Spanish striker tried his luck from the half way line, but his effort drifted wide of the post.
The deadlock was broken just before half-time when a Pablo Piatti corner was met powerfully by Wilfried Zahibo who headed the ball past Kelava to extend Valencia’s lead to 5-0 on aggregate.
Super sub Paco Alcacer seals the win
The second half was a huge difference compared to the first where chances are concerned. Valencia kept the home side quiet throughout the majority of the final 45 minutes.
The first big opportunity came when Piatti had a freekick on the edge of the box in the 56th minute, the Argentine managed to get the ball over the wall, but not under the bar.
A few minutes later, Success, who had been giving Ruben Vezo all kinds of problems during the first half, felt he had been fouled inside the box, but his protests were waved away by referee Javier Estrada Fernandez.
In the moments that followed, Paco Alcacer replaced Negredo and found himself on the score sheet seconds later when Danilo Barbosa played a wonderful lofted pass over the Granada defence. The young Spanish striker, controlled the ball and slotted it beyond Kelava.
Rochina had a great chance to pull a goal back for Granada in the 78th minute when he collected the ball on the edge of Valencia’s box. He tried the curl the ball into the top corner, but instead curled the ball into the crowd.
Another Valencia substitute won a penalty for the away side, when Neuton fouled Zakaria Bakkali inside the box. Piatti stepped up to take the penalty and placed into the corner.
3-0 on the night, 7-0 on aggregate, a comfortable win for Gary Neville’s side, who booked their place in the last eight of the Copa del Rey.