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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. J.J. Jansen Jersey . 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. Andre Smith Jersey . Leaning forward with both hands on his knees, Buffon appeared to be resting or somehow trying to withstand the rain. Or perhaps the 36-year-old goalkeeper and Italy captain was reflecting on this: He is only the third player in history to be part of five World Cup squads, along with Germany great Lothar Matthaus and former Mexico goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal. Authentic Panthers Jerseys For Sale . Make the extra pass, take care of the ball, play defence and get more out of his bench. http://www.cheappanthersjerseysonline.com/?tag=ben-jacobs-jersey-online . Hollis-Jefferson went 5-for-6 from the field and added six rebounds, while Stanley Jefferson contributed 14 points for the Wildcats, who used their trademark tough defense to dominate the games final 24 minutes and advance to Tuesdays winners bracket matchup with Kansas State.TORONTO -- In the hours leading up to baseballs trade deadline, Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos heard small bits of news about moves around the American League but didnt have time to digest them. "Youre not really spending time to sit back and analyze what your competitions doing and things like that," Anthopoulos said. "Youre so focused on what were trying to get done." Ultimately, while the landscape around them changed with trades both major and minor, the Blue Jays did nothing before Thursdays non-waiver deadline. The chase for the AL East continues after the Baltimore Orioles burnished their bullpen and the New York Yankees beefed up their infield while Toronto stood pat. "We werent going to do deals that we didnt think were going to make us better," Anthopoulos said on a conference call. "I know probably everyone would like to make a splash and add players, but to add players to make the team worse just to say we did something, that wouldnt make a whole lot of sense for us." Entering Thursdays action, the Blue Jays held one of the ALs two wild-card spots. They were 2 1/2 games back of Baltimore and three games ahead of New York. On deadline day, the Orioles added left-handed reliever Andrew Miller from the Boston Red Sox, who had their own fire sale by also sending Jon Lester to the Oakland Athletics, John Lackey to the St. Louis Cardinals and Stephen Drew to the Yankees. New York also got infielder Martin Prado from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Ace left-hander David Price left the division as the Tampa Bay Rays sent him to the Detroit Tigers in a three-way deal that also included the Seattle Mariners. As part of the return, the Rays got centre-fielder Austin Jackson from Detroit. Refusing as usual to discuss specific names, Anthopoulos said the Blue Jays "got the prices on most if not all the players that got moved." He also said, in general terms, that young and established players on the major-league roster were asked for by other teams in trade talks. Undoubtedly starters Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez came up at some point, and the Blue Jays understandably did not want to part with either of their top pitching prospects. Anthopoulos said the team was open-minded but unwilling to discuss pulling from its 25-man roster. "To be talking about those guys, youd be filling one hole and then youd create a new hole," he said. Jose Bauutista told reporters in Houston before Thursday nights game against the Astros that he had "mixed feelings" about the Blue Jays inaction at the trade deadline. Dontari Poe Jersey. "Of course its a little disappointing that we somehow werent able to get anything done, but everyone around us thats in contention -- and even some teams that arent in contention like the Red Sox -- somehow figured it out," he said. "Maybe they believe enough in our talent that they didnt feel like they wanted to break up our group and sacrifice our talent and what weve got going." In recent weeks, Bautista and other players made similar comments in favour of Anthopoulos adding to this team. "In terms of players wanting to improve the club, I expect that," Anthopoulos said. "We want to improve the club. I wouldnt expect anything less. Theres a great group of guys in that clubhouse that are very competitive, that want to win." Amid reports that financial limitations prevented Anthopoulos from making trades, the GM stressed that the biggest payroll in franchise history wasnt a hindrance. "We absolutely had the financial resources to add at this trade deadline," Anthopoulos said. "Any deal that we felt was a good baseball deal, the finances were certainly there for us. That has never been a problem." One problem of late for the Blue Jays has been injuries. They expect to have Edwin Encarnacion, Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., and Adam Lind back in the lineup sooner rather than later, which could give them a post-deadline boost. Anthopoulos also didnt rule out making a trade within the next month, though the need to put players on waivers could make that more difficult. "Maybe some things get done in the next month here," he said. "Im not going to promise or guarantee that. Were definitely not going to stop being active and going over the wire and probably going to make some claims and things like that, see if we can add a player or two, and well see where things go." Playing "armchair quarterback" a half-hour after the deadline passed, Anthopoulos judged "off the cuff" that contending teams improved by adding some great players. And while the Blue Jays didnt get any of them, Price and Lester going to other divisions might be a silver lining. "Certainly any time great players leave the AL East its certainly not a bad thing for us," Anthopoulos said. 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