Iscar Cup gets off to a flying start

The Iscar Cup kicked off today, Thursday, with an intense matchday packed with 39 games, which saw Real Madrid, UD Las Palmas, RCD Espanyol, FC Porto, Sporting CP, Valencia CF, Villarreal CF, Sevilla FC, R. Betis, UD Levante, Seleccion Paulista, FC Barcelona, RC Celta, R. Sporting, RC Deportivo and Rayo Vallecano go through to the round of 16.

Group A

Real Madrid started off their Iscar Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw against FC Dallas, but they upped their game and managed to secure a place in the last 16 as the top team in Group A thanks to a 4-0 win over the host team, CD Iscar, followed by a 2-0 victory over UD Las Palmas.

The Canary Islanders had won their first two matches, and also made it through to the round of 16 despite this defeat. The goalless draw between Dallas and Iscar in the final group game left the American outfit third on two points, ahead of Iscar on one.

Group B

RCD Espanyol closed out the group stage with a spectacular unbeaten run of games. The Catalan side beat Tropezon 2-1 and Granada CF 2-0, heading into the final match level on points with FC Porto, who also came out victorious against the same opponents. 

In the game between the two teams to decide the group winners, Espanyol were clearly the superior side and won 3-0 – a result which left the Catalans on nine points to Porto’s six. The Portuguese side will take on their fellow countrymen from Sporting CP for a place in the quarter-finals. 

Group C

Sporting CP took the top spot in Group C ahead of Valencia CF, who also progress through to the round of 16. The Portuguese outfit defeated Valencia 2-1 in the first match, but the Spaniards struck back with two victories over RC Deportivo (1-0) and Getafe CF (4-0) to send them through to the last 16. 

What a goal by @SportingCP_en to win their first #LaLigaPromises game vs @valenciacf_en! https://t.co/eUTOMcPQ8U

— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) March 24, 2016

The goalless draw between Sporting and Deportivo saw the Portuguese team top the group. Meanwhile, Deportivo ended up clinching a place in the round of 16 as one of the top third-placed teams with four points.

Group D

Villarreal CF snatched the top spot in Group D from Sevilla FC thanks to their 1-0 win in the final match against the Sevillians. The Andalusian outfit entered their final group-stage bout unbeaten after winning their opening game against Rayo Vallecano 3-1, before handing out the biggest drubbing of the tournament as they thrashed the Samsung Team 11-1.  

However, defeat to Villarreal left the Sevillians in second place with six points to their executioners’ seven, who beat the Samsung Team 8-0 and drew 2-2 with third-place finishers Rayo Vallecano. The four points notched up by the Madrid-based outfit thanks to this draw also saw them through to the next round as one of the best third-placed group finishers. 

Group E

Real Betis also showed theircredentials as one of the favourites in the tournament by going through the group stage unbeaten. The Andalusians and Levante UD both beat Paris Saint-Germain and Betis de Valladolid in their first two games, guaranteeing them a place in the last 16 before the final match of the day. 

In that last game, Real Betis came out 1-0 winners against Levante to take the top spot in Group E with nine points, ahead of the Valencians on six. Paris Saint-German and Betis de Valladolid drew in the final game and headed home with a point apiece.

Group F

One of the big sensations of the opening day of the tournament were Seleccion Paulista. The Brazilian team started out with a 2-1 win over FC Barcelona and later fought back from a losing position to achieve the same result against Malaga CF. 

A minute's silence in the @IscarCup in memory of Johan Cruyff. #LaLigaPromises https://t.co/C4UjR9xoeM

— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) March 24, 2016

The final match for the Brazilians saw them produce another win over CD Laguna, whilst Barcelona thrashed Malaga 4-0 to secure their last-16 place. The Andalusians, meanwhile, ended up being knocked out, as were Laguna, who propped up the group standings. 

Group G

RC Celta finished first in the only group of the Iscar Cup composed of just three teams. The Galicians made a magnificent start to the tournament with a 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid, before producing another good performance with a 3-1 victory over R. Sporting. 

The Asturians beat Atletico 2-1 and also secured their place in the next round, with the Madrilenians eliminated.

 

 | The first day of the @IscarCup, in pictures.

Gallery ➡ https://t.co/gIZ52hsm17 #LaLigaPromises pic.twitter.com/KgelyKL8AF

— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) March 24, 2016

 

The Iscar Cup round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals will be played on Friday, and the final and the third-place playoff will take place on Saturday morning.

The pairings in the round of 16 are as follows:

Real Madrid v Sevilla 
Betis v Rayo
Espanyol v Valencia 
Seleccion Paulista v Deportivo
Sporting CP v Porto 
Celta v Levante 
Villarreal v Las Palmas 
Barcelona v R. Sporting