BARCELONA, Spain -- A first-half goal from Karim Benzema guided Real Madrid to a 1-0 win at Espanyol in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal on Tuesday. Nine days after Madrid eked out a 1-0 victory at Espanyols Cornella-El Prat Stadium in the Spanish league, the visitors were again limited to the narrowest of winning margins -- despite dominating the first half, when Cristiano Ronaldo hit the post before Benzema headed home in the 25th minute. The second half was more evenly matched and Espanyols Sergio Garcia came close to an equalizer before Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas denied Jhon Cordoba in a one-on-one in the 83rd minute. "Espanyol played better in the second half and made us suffer, but that is normal," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "The tie isnt decided." Casillas had a quiet first half, with Espanyol only mustering one clear scoring chance in the 18th when Luis "Pizzi" Afonso wasted Garcias pass by sailing his close-range shot over the crossbar. Early on, Ronaldo appeared eager as ever to add to his season tally of 31 goals in all competitions. He had four shots before halftime and hit the post with one of them in the 21st minute, but the new Ballon dOr winner faded in the second half. Benzema broke the deadlock when the France international headed a cross from Alvaro Arbeloa that was flicked on by Gareth Bale. Goalkeeper Kiko Casilla got a hand on the ball but couldnt keep it out. Espanyol pressed forward after halftime and Garcia twice shot wide, while Casilla stopped Arbeloa twice before denying Benzema on the break. The closing stages swung back in Espanyols favour and Casillas was forced to rush out to stop substitute Cordoba before weathering a final barrage of corner kicks. Ancelotti praised Casillas, who only starts in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, while Diego Lopez plays in the Spanish league. "I want to congratulate Casillas because he is playing well," Ancelotti said. "Iker is just as much a starter as Diego Lopez." In other first legs this week, Barcelona visits Levante on Wednesday, when third-tier Racing Santander plays at Real Sociedad. Defending champion Atletico Madrid hosts Athletic Bilbao on Thursday. The second legs will be played next week. Ty Montgomery Womens Jersey . Abdelkader was suspended three games for a check to the head and neck area of Czech player Vladimir Sobotka in the quarterfinals. Antropov checked Swiss forward Kevin Romy to the head and neck area in the preliminary roundand was handed an automatic one-game suspension that was served during the tournament. Eddie Lacy Jersey . 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The Habs open up the 2013-2014 NHL season at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 1 and even though camp doesnt start until September 11, all players were on hand with the exception of Tomas Plekanec and Davis Drewiske.INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Canadian Milos Raonic missed his chance at his first semifinal showing since last October as the 10th seed lost to Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-4 Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open. Raonic suffered a major letdown 24 hours after knocking out world No. 6 Andy Murray, managing only four aces and getting just one unsuccessful break chance on his Ukrainian opponents serve. Raonic last played in the semis six months ago in Tokyo after winning the Bangkok title. Given the political situation in his troubled homeland, Dolgopolov appeared as the obvious Californian crowd favourite, with a Ukrainian flag hanging in the stands over the empty seats of tournament owner and software billionaire Larry Ellison. Raonics loss also prevented the 23-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., from returning to a top 10 ranking on thhe ATP Tour.dddddddddddd He will move on now to next weeks start of the Miami Masters, where he had to withdraw in 2013 before his third-round match due to illness. Raonic was broken in the second game by Dolgopolov, who set the tone for the afternoon at the Tennis Garden. The son of a tennis coach claimed the opening set in just 29 minutes. The momentum looked to be turning early in the second set, when Raonic broke for 2-0 before going up three games. But the determined Dolgopolov came back and won a marathon eight-minute fifth game to break Raonic. Raonic saved four break points in the game but double-faulted on a valuable game point before Dolgopolovs down-the-line winner cur Raonics set lead to 3-2. Dolgopolov built from that point, breaking for 4-3 and closing out the win on his first match point. cheap custom jerseys wholesale jerseys store cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '
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