Atletico Madrid and Villarreal's woeful seasons got worse Wednesday as the topflight clubs were eliminated from the Copa del Rey by third-tier teams on home soil, leading Villarreal to fire coach Juan Carlos Garrido. Albacete beat Atletico 1-0 to reach the last 16 with a 3-1 aggregate victory, while Pablo Infante scored a pair of second-half goals for Mirandes to win 2-0 at Villarreal and advance 3-1 overall. Zaragoza coach Javier Aguirre will also feel added pressure after exiting 3-1 overall following a 2-0 loss to Alcorcon. Villarreal wasted no time in dismissing Garrido after the latest setback to its awful season and having exited the Champions League after losing all six group stage games. Real Betis was the fourth topflight club eliminated from the domestic cup competition, going out on away goals following a 2-1 win over Cordoba that left the series tied 2-2. Other teams to advance Wednesday included 23-time cup winner Athletic Bilbao, Racing Santander, Osasuna, Levante, Malaga and Real Sociedad. PSG to stay top Paris St Germain headed into the three-week winter break at the top of the Ligue 1 after a Stephane Ruffier own goal earned them a 1-0 win at St Etienne Wednesday. It leads Montpellier by three points after the southerners slumped to a 4-2 defeat at Evian Thonon Gaillard having conceded three goals in eight minutes. Champions Lille was four points off the pace in third place after conceding a last-gasp equalizer in a 4-4 home draw against Nice. Olympique Lyon, on 35 points, faltered with a 1-0 defeat at Valenciennes.
