Bilbao rallies for comeback win over Villarreal in Copa del Rey
BARCELONA, Spain --
Athletic Bilbao scored three times in the second half to erase a two-goal deficit and beat Villarreal 3-2 in the first leg of the round of 16 in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
Gary Neville also got his first win as Valencia coach over a topflight team after Alvaro Negredo scored a hat trick in a 4-0 rout of Granada, while Sevilla took a commanding 2-0 lead from its victory at Real Betis in a one-sided Seville derby.
Villarreal scored twice on counterattacks, finished off by Leo Baptistao and Samuel Garcia, to build its halftime lead at Bilbao's San Mames Stadium. But Benat Etxebarria set up Inaki Williams to pull one back, and striker Aritz Aduriz soon leveled.
Defender Aymeric Laporte completed the comeback when he slid to stab home Etxebarria's free kick in the 81st.
Villarreal will be without defender Mario Gaspar for next week's return leg after he was sent off for a second quick booking with three minutes to play.
"It's a deceptive result," said Aduriz, who scored his 22nd goal in 30 games across all competitions. "It looks like we won, but it is going to be very tough to make it hold up at their ground."
Negredo put Valencia on its way with a goal in the seventh, and he converted two second-half penalties after Rodrigo Moreno doubled the advantage over visiting Granada.
Valencia is still without a win through four Spanish league matches under Neville, and had previously beaten only a third-division team in the cup since the former Manchester United player took charge.
Sevilla midfielder Michael Krohn-Dehli dribbled past two Betis players before scoring his solo effort in the 14th, followed by Grzegorz Krychowiak adding another shortly after halftime when Betis' hesitant defenders failed to clear the ball.
Sevilla's Ever Banega hit the woodwork twice before Ruben Castro missed a penalty kick for Betis with eight minutes left to further deflate the home fans.
Elsewhere, Deportivo La Coruna needed defender Alberto Lopo to head in a late equalizer to take away an away-goal advantage from its 1-1 draw at second-division club Mirandes.
Atletico Madrid also visited crosstown rival Rayo Vallecano.
