King's Cup holder Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in their quarterfinal first leg to end a nine-and-a-half year barren spell at home of the Basque side while Atletico Madrid crushed Eibar Thursday. Brazil forward Neymar won and scored a penalty in the 21st minute after being tripped by Aritz Elustondo to decide the game but spurned two clear chances after the break that would have given Barca a more comfortable lead in the tie. Sociedad had not lost to Barcelona at their Anoeta home in any competition since 2007 and could have struck an early blow when Willian Jose went down in the box in the first minute after a challenge from Gerard Pique but was denied a penalty. Spain defender Pique made a vital block later in the first half to prevent Asier Illarramendi levelling from the edge of the box after a lay off from Carlos Vela. Teenager Mikel Oyarzabal, scorer of the only goal in a Sociedad victory over Barca last April, came closest for the home side, firing just wide of the far post in a sweeping breakaway move midway through the second half. The second leg at the Nou Camp takes place next Thursday. Earlier, Atletico Madrid put one foot in the semifinals as it eased to a 3-0 win over Eibar, thanks to goals from Antoine Griezmann, Angel Correa and Kevin Gameiro. Griezmann headed Atletico in front in the 28th minute and Argentine winger Correa doubled its advantage on the hour by sweeping the ball home after a run by Yannick Carrasco, netting Atletico's 500th goal under coach Diego Simeone. Substitute Gameiro stretched Atletico's lead by heading in from close range in the 67th after replacing Correa to give Eibar little chance of turning the tie around in the second leg at their Ipurua stadium next Thursday. Real Madrid lost 2-1 at home to Celta Vigo in their first-leg Wednesday while Alaves beat second division Alcorcon 2-0. Roma in Cup quarters Roma is on course to face city rivals Lazio in the Italian Cup semifinals after easing past Sampdoria 4-0 in the round of 16 Thursday. It next faces second-division Cesena, which has already seen off two Serie A sides in Empoli and Sassuolo, while Lazio visits Inter Milan in its quarterfinal. Roma survived an early scare as Luis Muriel hit the post in the third minute for Sampdoria. The home side also hit the woodwork, with Leandro Paredes' volley crashing off the underside of the crossbar before bouncing just the wrong side of the line in the 25th. Roma broke the deadlock six minutes from time with an absolute stunner from Radja Nainggolan, who volleyed a poor clearance into the top right corner from 25 yards. On the bench, Francesco Totti swung his scarf around his head in celebration. Stephan El Shaarawy missed a couple of chances at the end of the first half but he set up Roma's second shortly after the restart with a deft chipped pass for Edin Dzeko. Dzeko returned the favor on the hour mark with a 40-yard pass, which El Shaarawy controlled before lobbing Sampdoria goalkeeper Christian Puggioni. Samp had the ball in the net but Patrik Schick's effort was ruled out for offside, and Nainggolan headed in Diego Perotti's cross in the 89th for his first double for Roma. - Agencies
