BARCELONA — Fernando Torres scored twice as Atletico Madrid ended Real Madrid's defense of the Copa del Rey title with a 2-2 draw Thursday, maintaining its dominance over its crosstown rival this season. Atletico advanced 4-2 on aggregate and will play Barcelona in the quarterfinals after it won 4-0 at Elche to move on 9-0 over both legs. Torres stunned the Santiago Bernabeu by striking from Antoine Griezmann's pass seconds into the Spanish capital derby. Sergio Ramos made it 1-1 soon after, but Atletico hung on in its area until Griezmann set up Torres for his second goal just after the halftime restart. Cristiano Ronaldo leveled the score again in an otherwise subdued night he began by parading his Ballon d'Or trophy, leaving Real needing three more goals in 36 minutes to advance. “Scoring so early set us on our way,” Torres said. “I'm happy for our fans who have come, and for scoring my first two goals in my return at a ground I had never scored at.” Since losing last season's Champions League final to Real, the team managed by Diego Simeone has beaten its main rivals in the Spanish Super Cup, the league, and the Copa del Rey. It improved its record against Real to four wins, three draws, and three losses since it broke a 14-year, 25-match winless streak with a victory in the 2013 Copa del Rey final. “We have eliminated the best team in the world,” Simeone said. Madrid continued to sputter with only one win in its last four matches since finishing 2014 on a Spanish record 22-win streak. Barcelona left Lionel Messi and most of its first-choice players off the squad with the tie already in hand. And it didn't miss them as it eased past Elche with first-half goals by Jeremy Mathieu, Sergi Roberto and Pedro Rodriguez before Adriano netted in injury time. Juve hits Verona for six A second-string Juventus hammered Verona 6-1 in their Italian Cup tie Thursday, with two goals coming from reserve striker Sebastian Giovinco. Giovinco, who has started only two Serie A games this season, opened the floodgates when he curled in a free kick after five minutes. Carlos Tevez, Fernando Llorente, Andrea Pirlo and Giuseppe Buffon were among the Juve regulars who were rested, while Arturo Vidal was ruled out with tonsillitis. Roberto Pereyra scored his first goal for Juventus with a neat chipped finish over Verona goalkeeper Rafael and Giovinco gave the host a 3-0 halftime lead when he turned in Stephan Lichtsteiner's pass from close range. Paul Pogba fired the fourth early in the second half, Alvaro Morata converted a penalty and Kingsley Coman completed the rout with his first goal for the club as Juve earned a quarterfinal tie away to Parma. Nene provided the only reply for Verona, who will not be looking forward to returning to the Juventus stadium for a league match against the same opponents Sunday. — Agencies
