FC Barcelona's Messi (C) scores a penalty against Atletico's goalkeeper Jan Oblak during their quarterfinal Copa del Rey match at the Camp Nou Stadium in Barcelona Wednesday. — AP BARCELONA — Lionel Messi finished off his own missed penalty with five minutes left to give Barcelona a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal Wednesday. Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak blocked Messi initial spot kick, but he couldn't recover in time to stop Messi from rushing forward to slam home the rebound and ignite the Camp Nou. Messi was set up to get the winner after Juanfran Torres fouled Sergio Busquets in the area. “I still see the tie as 50-50, and we will go into the second leg aiming for a win,” Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said. The return leg at the Vicente Calderon will be next Wednesday, with the winner of this series advancing to meet either Villarreal or Getafe. Villarreal beat Getafe 1-0 after midfielder Bruno Soriano also scored with five minutes to play when he curled home a free kick. Elsewhere, Athletic Bilbao drew 0-0 at Malaga. The winner of that contest will move on to face Sevilla or Espanyol. Barcelona provided a flash of what it does best just four minutes after kickoff, when Messi and Dani Alves worked a mesmerizing one-two before Luis Suarez laid the off for Neymar to draw a one-handed save from Oblak. Diego Simeone's side then imposed a slower pace and got what it wanted: A number of set pieces that it usually excels at executing. But Barcelona's improvement in defense— it has conceded a league-low nine goals — was evident when Atletico failed to convert its five corner kicks into shots on goal, leaving it with Antoine Griezmann's header over the top in the 35th minute for its only clear chance of the night. Townsend gives Spurs edge over Sheffield Tottenham Hotspur needed a 73rd-minute penalty from Andros Townsend to secure a slender 1-0 advantage over third tier Sheffield United after the home leg of their League Cup semifinal Wednesday. It had looked like being a frustrating evening for the Premier League side and four-time winner, whose labored efforts to break down their lower league opponent came to nothing for most of the encounter. Yet a blatant handball from Jay McEveley gave the host the chance to finally break the deadlock and Townsend walloped home from the spot to give it a lead heading into next week's second leg at Bramall Lane. The winner faces either Liverpool or Chelsea, who drew 1-1 Tuesday, in the final at Wembley. Fiorentina, Inter win In Milan, Mario Gomez scored twice as Fiorentina cruised into the quarterfinals of the Italian Cup with a 3-1 victory over Atalanta Wednesday, while Inter Milan also progressed after beating nine-man Sampdoria 2-0. PSG, Monaco, Saint-Etienne progress Monaco remained on course for four trophies with a 2-0 defeat of fellow top-flight side Evian Wednesday, while goals from Edinson Cavani and Javier Pastore gave Paris Saint-Germain a 2-1 win over Bordeaux in the French Cup. There was no upset for the big clubs as Saint-Etienne wasted a two-goal lead but still advanced to the last 16 after overcoming second-tier Tours 5-3 in extra time. — Agencies
