Facing a 1-0 deficit going into Thursday's Copa del Rey match, all of the pressure rested squarely upon the shoulders of heavily favored Villarreal against Ponferradina.

A day after two Segunda B teams shocked Basque heavyweights Athletic Club and Real Sociedad, the Yellow submarine were acutely aware that nothing could be taken for granted.

After a nervy first half that saw both sides head to the dressing room scoreless, Cedric Bakambu again was there to the rescue.

Villarreal's leading scorer would pierce the back of the net just a minute into the second half, before adding another in the 60th minute.

Still, at 2-1, an away goal could have proven catastrophic for the hosts, but that was all put to bed when Carlos Bacca made it 3-0 just four minutes later.

With the score holding, Villarreal advance to the next round and avoid the same fate as their heavily favoured LaLiga colleagues.