Real Madrid's Pepe from Portugal (L) looks down at Barcelona's Lionel Messi a moment before stamping on his hand as Jose Maria Callejon (C) protests to the referee after receiving a yellow card for his foul on Messi during their Spanish King's Cup quarterfinal first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid Wednesday. — AP MADRID – A stamp by Real Madrid's Pepe on Lionel Messi's hand had Jose Mourinho on the back foot after a 2-1 at home loss to Barcelona in the King's Cup quarterfinal first leg Wednesday. The Portugal international was seen to nudge into Messi when the World Player of the Year was on the floor after a tackle, then stood on his hand as he walked past around 20 minutes from the end of the game. When asked about Pepe during the post match news conference, Real coach Mourinho first said he had not seen the incident. “Obviously if it is intentional, it is punishable,” Mourinho said. However, Barcelona got the better of archrival Real Madrid as Eric Abidal scored a rare goal. Abidal chested down Lionel Messi's scooped pass inside the area before flicking a left-footed shot under goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the 77th minute for just his second goal with the Catalan club. Just as it did in a 3-1 loss last month, Madrid started well with Cristiano Ronaldo giving the hosts the lead after 11 minutes from a quick counter. But Madrid's aggressive defense gave in after Pepe was booked in the 17th, and Barcelona equalized in the 49th when Carles Puyol ran into the area untouched to head in Xavi Hernandez's corner. The win continued Barcelona's recent domination of Madrid, as the defending league champion picked up their ninth victory in 13 games since Pep Guardiola took over as coach. Madrid's lone win in that stretch came in last year's cup final in April, and the two are now even with 86 victories each in the all-time series. “Sooner or later this has to end. There's no way you can continue such a streak in such an important (stadium),” Guardiola said after marking his 41st birthday with a fifth coaching victory at the Santiago Bernabeu. Earlier at the San Mames stadium, Fernando Llorente and Iker Muniain headed in goals either side of halftime to give Athletic Bilbao a 2-0 victory over Mallorca in the first leg of their series. AC Milan in quarters Alexandre Pato scored in extra time to give AC Milan a 2-1 win over Novara and put his team into the Italian Cup quarterfinals Wednesday. Milan's 38-year-old striker Filippo Inzaghi made his first start in 16 months and was set up twice by El Sharaawy, but he couldn't take advantage of his opportunities and was replaced by Pato in the 58th. In the quarterfinals, Milan will face Lazio, which edged Serie B side Verona 3-2. Birmingham beats Wolves Birmingham knocked local rival Wolverhampton Wanderers out of the FA Cup Wednesday after midfielder Wade Elliott scored a second-half winner for a 1-0 victory against the Premier League team in a third-round replay. In Wednesday's other match, Brighton advanced by beating Wrexham 5-4 in a penalty shootout after the game ended 1-1 following extra time.
