SEVILLE, Spain – Real Betis ended Barcelona's team-record unbeaten streak at 28 games with a 3-1 victory Wednesday night that didn't stop the Blaugrana from advancing to the Spanish King's Cup semifinals on 6-3 aggregate.
Having won the first leg 5-0 at home last week, Barcelona started just three regulars: forward Lionel Messi, midfielder Xavi Hernandez and defender Gerard Pique.
Betis, the second-division leader, built a 2-0 lead on goals by Jorge Molina in the second and seventh minutes. It was the first time Barcelona had trailed in a match since Oct. 16, when it rallied for a 2-1 league victory over Valencia.
Messi, the two-time FIFA player of the year, closed the gap in the 38th minute with his 32nd goal of the season, but Arturo "Arzu" Garcia made it 3-1 in first-half injury time.
Messi had a chance to pull Barcelona within a goal again in the 54th minute but sent his penalty kick over the crossbar.
A day after coach Pep Guardiola's 40th birthday, Barcelona fell to 25-2-6 in all competitions this season, with its only other loss 2-0 at home to Hercules in the league on Sept. 11.
In the semifinals, Barcelona plays Almeria — a team it defeated 8-0 in the league this season. The other semifinal has defending champion Sevilla playing Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid, which trails 3-1 going into Thursday's second leg.
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LEEDS, England (AP) — Samir Nasri, Bacary Sagna and Robin van Persie scored to lead Arsenal over second-tier Leeds 3-1 in a third-round FA Cup replay on Wednesday night.
Leeds, which forced the replay with a 1-1 tie in London on Jan. 8, got a goal from former Arsenal trainee Bradley Johnson on a 25-yard shot that beat goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny just before halftime.
Arsenal will host Huddesfield in the fourth round on Jan. 30.
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MILAN (AP) — Samuel Eto'o, Diego Milito and Cristian Chivu scored in the first half as Inter Milan beat Cesena 3-2 in Serie A and improved to 5-0 under new coach Leonardo.
Eto'o's goal was his 24th in 28 games for Inter this season and his 12th in the league.
After Inter took a 2-0 lead, Erjon Bogdani and Emanuele Giaccherini tied it. Chivu then scored just before halftime.
Inter (10-4-5), surging since coach Rafa Benitez was fired, moved into fourth place with 35 points, six behind first-place AC Milan (12-3-5).
In the Italian Cup, Roma beat city rival Lazio 2-1 on Marco Boriello's penalty kick and Simplicio's goal to reach the quarterfinals. Hernanes converted a penalty kick for Lazio.
Sampdoria advanced by defeating Udinese 5-4 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 tie. Federico Marcheda put Sampdoria ahead with his first goal since Manchester United loaned him. After Mauricio Isla and German Denis put Udinese ahead, Giampaolo Pazzini tied it with a penalty kick.
Angelo Da Costa saved Isla's penalty kick before Fernando Tissone scored the winner for Sampdoria.
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FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Kaiserslautern and Nuremberg completed the field for the German Cup quarterfinals by winning matches that were postponed last month.
Srdjan Lakic scored three goals in an 11-minute span as Kaiserslautern rallied to win 4-1 at third-division club Koblenz. Timmy Simons scored twice for Nuremberg in a 2-0 victory at third-division Kickers Offensbach.
Nuremberg advanced to a Jan. 25 match at Schalke. Kaiserslautern will travel to second-division MSV Duisburg a day later.
The other two quarterfinals, also on Jan. 26, have second-division Alemannia Aachen hosting defending champion Bayern Munich, and Hoffenheim playing at second division Energie Cottbus.
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PARIS (AP) — Lille beat Nancy 3-0 as Gervinho scored twice and Eden Hazard had one goal, with all the scoring in the second half.
Lille (10-2-8) has 38 points and opened a four-point lead over Paris-Saint Germain, Rennes and Lyon (all 9-4-7).
In the League Cup, Andre-Pierre Gignac and Brandao to help defending champion Marseille beat Auxerre 2-0 to reach the final against Montpellier on April 23 at Stade de France.
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AMSTERDAM (AP) — American defender Oguchi Onyewu made his debut for the Dutch club Twente in a 5-0 league win over Heracles Almelo.
Onyewu was loaned to the Eredivisie champion for the rest of the season on Jan. 11 by AC Milan, where he failed to make a single appearance this season. He played his first club match since Sept. 30, 2009, when he entered as a 60th-minute substitute against Zurich in the Champions League.
Former Belgium goalkeeper Michel Preud'homme, Onyewu's former coach at Belgian club Standard Liege, coaches Twente, which moved within a point of first-place PSV Eindhoven.
Onyewu, who made his international debut for the United States in 2004 and played at the last two World Cups, was chosen ahead of regular right back Dwight Tiendalli.
Even though Onyewu's contract at AC Milan runs until 2013, he has made just the one competitive appearance since his arrival just before the 2009-10 season.
Onyewu tore his left patellar tendon during a World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica in October 2009. He returned last May with the U.S. national team.
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