MADRID, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona and Sevilla qualified for the last four of Spain's King's Cup knockout competition on Thursday night after two tense and exciting quarterfinal matches.

Barcelona beat local rivals Espanyol 3-2 in the Camp Nou Stadium in a game that had the home fans on the edge of their seats until the final whistle.

Following a 0-0 in Espanyol's Montjuic Stadium a week ago, Barcelona was clear favorite to progress and that prediction looked to be on its way to being fulfilled when Bojan Krkic scored after 34 minutes.

The teenage striker doubled Barcelona's lead after 48 minutes and the tie looked to be dead and buried when Gerald Pique headed Barcelona 3-0 up after 55 minutes.

However, a deflected shot from Coro soon after gave Espanyol a lifeline and when Barcelona goalkeeper Pinto made a mess of Jose Callejon's long range shot after 69 minutes, a major upset was on the cards.

Another goal would have seen Espanyol through on the away goals rule, but although Barcelona lost captain Carles Puyol with a thigh injury, the Primera Liga leader was never put under enough pressure and now plays Mallorca for a place in the final.

There was more drama in Seville, where a last minute goal from Sebastian Squillaci gave his side a 2-1 win against Valencia and earned a semi-final tie against Athletic Club Bilbao.

Sevilla trailed 3-2 from the first leg and was under pressure after Carlos Marchena put Valencia ahead after just seven minutes. Freddy Kanoute equalized before the break, but Valencia seemed to be headed into the last four before Squillaci scored his vital late goal from close range.

Although the tie ended 4-4 on aggregate, Sevilla qualified on away goals and robs Valencia of the chance of playing the final in their Mestalla Stadium.
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