Yunus Musah and Valencia demolished their second-division foes Gijon to land their spot in the final eight, while Luca Koleosho had his first appearance for Espanyol in their Copa loss at Athletic Bilbao.
Luca de la Torre’s positive performance in his first start for Celta Vigo was in vain as they were eliminated from the Copa del Rey by Espanyol, while Yunus Musah was a sub for Valencia as they cruised past La Nucía.
The pairings for the final 32 of the Copa del Rey were set on Friday, giving Yunus Musah and Valencia a straightforward opener, while Luca de la Torre and Celta Vigo have a tough task against fellow La Liga side Espanyol.
Luca de la Torre capped off a commanding Copa del Rey win by Celta Vigo with his first goal in Spain, while Armando and Samuel Shashoua both started for their respective teams, but exited after upsets against lower-division opponents.
Yunus Musah is one game away from winning a major piece of silverware, as Valencia will clash with Real Betis in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday night in Sevilla’s Estadio de La Cartuja.
Yunus Musah and Valencia reached their first Copa del Rey final since 2019, beating Athletic Bilbao in the home leg by the narrowest of margins to win the two-legged semifinal.
Valencia’s heroic effort to fight back from a deficit kept them in a decent position to advance to the Copa del Rey final, with Yunus Musah helping to lock down a nervy final phase.
In his post-game statements to VCF Media following a goalless draw against Real Sociedad, Valencia and USMNT midfielder Yunus Musah took encouragement from the team’s much-improved defensive performance.
