Valencia to kick off cup defence against Pontevedra

Valencia will begin their defence of the Copa Del Rey with a trip to Galicia to face Segunda B side Pontevedra in the 3rd round. The Galician club have exceeded all expectation so far in reaching the 3rd round of the competition, beginning their campaign in December with an extremely tough tie away at Racing Santander. Pontevedra took the lead just 3 minutes in through Charles before being pegged back in the first half. With neither side able to forge a winner, the game went into extra time, where youngster Raúl Diz grabbed the winner to take the visitors through to the second round.

The Pontevedriña were rewarded as they hosted La Liga side Huesca in the second round, and once again started brilliantly, Santi giving them the lead 13 minutes in. Jorge Fernández then had the chance to give the club one foot in the third round as they were awarded a penalty with 3 quarters of the game gone, but he saw his effort saved by Andrés Fernández before the home side were then punished further as Sandro grabbed an equaliser for the top tier side. The game again went into extra time, with Eneko Zabaleta once again allowing the home fans to dream before former Everton man Sandro once again broke their hearts with a second equaliser. Not to be disheartened, the hosts took a lead for the third time, this time former Real Sociedad youngster Oier Calvillo grabbing the goal, before holding on to set up a memorable third round tie against the current holders.

Valencia, who face Barcelona on Sunday in the Spanish Super Cup final after progressing against Atlético in Saudi Arabia 2 nights ago, will be looking to make a strong defence of the cup, which they lifted 18 months ago with an impressive victory against Barcelona in Sevilla, the latest final having been postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning the Valencian side will keep their name on the trophy for a little while longer, with Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao not set to decide the current champions until April.