BARCELONA — Neymar scored his sixth goal in seven days to cap Barcelona's 3-0 win over Cartagena Tuesday as it advanced in the Copa del Rey on a 7-1 aggregate score. With the round-of-32 matchup practically decided after Barcelona's 4-1 victory in the first leg, the match lacked pace at the start and Cartagena's Diego Segura almost snatched a goal for the third-division side when he curled a free kick off the upright in the 28th minute. But three minutes later Pedro Rodriguez scored his third goal of the series before Cristian Tello's deflected shot sneaked inside the post in the 68th. Neymar rose over his marker to head home Andres Iniesta's cross in the 88th and record his first goal in the competition. The Brazil striker scored a hat trick against Celtic last week and he netted twice against Villarreal over the weekend. Barcelona captain Carles Puyol played his first game at Camp Nou in nine months after being sidelined by injuries. Barcelona will next face Getafe after it brushed aside second-division Girona 4-1 to go through 5-2 on aggregate. Barcelona first travels to Madrid to play Getafe Sunday in the Spanish league before they meet twice more in the cup in January. Getafe cruised to the win at home on goals by Pablo Sarabia, Adrian Colunga, Angel Lafita and Lisandro Lopez. Also, Osasuna eliminated Malaga on away goals after a 1-1 draw, earning the Pamplona-based side a possible meeting with Real Madrid in the round of 16. Osasuna, which had rallied from a three-goal deficit to draw 3-3 in the first leg, went ahead through Malaga defender Weligton's own goal seconds into the match. Malaga forward Eliseu Pereira leveled with a long strike in the 61st, but Bernd Schuster's team fell one goal short. Madrid hosts third-division Xativa Olimpic Wednesday after being held to a 0-0 draw in their first game. Villarreal forward Jeremy Perbet curled the ball in off the post in the 58th to claim a 1-0 win at Elche, sending his team through 3-2 on aggregate. Levante routed Recreativo Huelva 4-0 at home to easily overturn its 1-0 first-leg loss.Simao Mate headed in Levante's first goal four minutes in, with Ruben Garcia, Andreas Ivanschitz and David Barral following suit against the second-division opponent. Defending champion Atletico Madrid hosts Sant Andreu Wednesday after winning their first game 4-0. EU opens state aid probe into Spanish football The European Union has opened legal proceedings into whether Real Madrid, Barcelona and five other Spanish clubs get an unfair edge from illegal state aid. EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said Wednesday that clubs should use sound financial management rather than live “at the expense of the taxpayer.” Almunia's office must make sure businesses across the 28-country EU face a level playing field. The probe is intended to see if teams have been relying on illegal aid. Beyond the top two teams, the probe centers on Valencia, Hercules, Elche, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna. — Agencies
