Barcelona dealt Real Madrid another body blow when it survived a stirring fightback from its archrival to draw 2-2 in an action-packed King's Cup quarterfinal second leg Wednesday and send the holder out 4-3 on aggregate. After Barca won last week's first leg in Madrid 2-1, Real came out swinging and probably had the better of the opening exchanges before Lionel Messi released substitute Pedro to open the scoring for the home side in the 43rd minute in front of almost 100,000 spectators at a raucous Nou Camp. Fullback Daniel Alves looked to have settled the tie when he blasted a spectacular second in first-half added time, running on to a loose ball and sending a thunderous drive past Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas into the top corner. Barca appeared to be in total control and it dominated possession at the start of the second half but Real rallied and mounted a rousing late fightback that left them needing just one more goal to advance. Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored the extra-time winner when Real beat Barca 1-0 in last year's Cup final, sped on to Mesut Ozil's pass and finished past Jose Manuel Pinto just over 20 minutes from time and Barca was reeling when substitute Karim Benzema leveled four minutes later. Both sides had chances in the frenetic final stages before Real center back Sergio Ramos was sent off for a second yellow card and Barca then ran down the clock to set up a semifinal against Valencia or Levante. “The players played a good game,” a subdued Real boss Jose Mourinho told a news conference full of curt answers. Real had played well in the first half and did not deserve to be two behind at the break, he said, adding that he had told his players he wanted more of the same in the second period. On the other side of the draw, Athletic Bilbao set up a last-four clash against third-tier Mirandes when a howler by home goalkeeper Juan Jesus Calatayud gifted it a 1-0 win at Real Mallorca for a 3-0 aggregate success. Liverpool in League Cup final Craig Bellamy's second-half equalizer against his former club sent Liverpool into the League Cup final Wednesday as the Reds rallied twice for a 2-2 draw against Manchester City to put it through on aggregate. The result means Liverpool, which held a 1-0 lead from the first leg, will play a cup final at Wembley for the first time in 16 years when it takes on Cardiff next month after holding off the Premier League leader at Anfield. Nigel de Jong put City ahead with a spectacular long-range strike in the 31st, but Gerrard equalized with a penalty nine minutes later. After Joe Hart made a string of saves to keep City in the game, the visitors again went in front through Edin Dzeko's easy tap-in from close range in the 67th. But Bellamy's low shot from inside the area gave Liverpool the draw it needed to reach Wembley. Napoli dumps Inter Edinson Cavani scored twice to dump defending champion Inter Milan out of the Italian Cup Wednesday as Napoli won 2-0 to progress to a semifinal against Siena. Cavani converted a penalty in the 50th minute after being tripped by Thiago Motta in what could very well be the Brazilian's last game for Inter. The Uruguayan sealed the result in the stoppage time. Napoli will meet Siena after the Serie A struggler reached the semifinals for the first time by winning 1-0 at Chievo Verona despite having a player sent off. Mattia Destro scored in the 54th minute. Paolo Grossi was dismissed six minutes later.
