MADRID — Two goals by David Villa Wednesday eased Barcelona into the fifth round of the Copa del Rey with a 3-1 home win against Alaves to advance 4-1 on aggregate. Alaves took the lead in the 17th minute when Borja Viguera deftly headed Miquel “Miki” Martinez's long-range cross into the net. Adriano equalized in the 35th by beating goalkeeper Sergio Herrera. Christian Tello was felled in the 56th, earning a free kick that Villa converted for his 300th professional goal. Four minutes later, he added another from an assist by Tello. Sevilla beat Espanyol 3-0 to advance 6-1 on aggregate. On Monday, Espanyol fired Mauricio Pochettino after four years in charge as coach. His replacement, Javier Aguirre, wasn't present to oversee the match. Lyon beats Marseille Bafetimbi Gomis scored a hat trick as Lyon thrashed Marseille 4-1 to climb above Paris Saint-Germain to the top of the French league Wednesday. Steed Malbranque was the other scorer for the visitors before Loic Remy grabbed a 77th-minute consolation for Marseille, which had Rod Fanni dismissed late on. Also, Montpellier and Lille progressed to the semifinals of the French League Cup by beating Nice 3-2 and Bastia 3-0, respectively. St. Etienne advanced to the last four Tuesday by beating PSG on penalties. Bilbao wins Europa match Fernando Llorente and Gaizka Toquero scored in either half Wednesday to give Athletic Bilbao a 2-0 victory over Hapoel Kiryat Shmona in a Europa League game that was postponed last week because of security reasons. The win lifted Bilbao out of last place in Group I, past the Israeli club, but neither team has a chance of advancing to the knockout round. Llorente scored the opener in the 34th minute, slotting in the rebound after Toquero's close-range effort from a corner was blocked. Toquero then netted the second in the 76th when a free kick by Ibai Gomez was deflected into his path and he sent a shot past goalkeeper Daniel Amos. — Agencies
