( CNN ) -- Real Madrid and Barcelona remain on course to face each other in the final of the Spanish Cup after both claimed semifinal first leg victories on Wednesday . Karim Benzema scored the only goal of a tempestuous match to give Real Madrid a narrow 1-0 victory at holders Sevilla in the first leg of their semifinal . Meanwhile , a devastating first-half display set Barcelona on their way to a 5-0 home win over Almeria , leaving the second leg looking like a formality . Benzema , whose place in the Madrid side is under threat following the loan signing of Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor , settled the contest at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in the 15th minute , dribbling past one defender before cutting inside and curling home a left-foot shot . However , the home side were adamant they had levelled on the stroke of half-time when Luis Fabiano rounded goalkeeper Iker Casillas , only for Raul Albiol to clear the ball off the line . Sevilla players crowded the referee and his assistant claiming the ball had cross the line , but the officials waved away their protests and TV replays proved inconclusive . Both sides had chances to score after the break , notably Real when Mesut Ozil and Cristiano Ronaldo combined to somehow miss from close range . The match finished amid ugly scenes with Casillas holding his head after being struck from a missile thrown from the crowd . The result proved a timely present for Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho on his 48th birthday and also edged the club closer to the final of a competition they last won in 1993 . Should Real avoid defeat in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu , they will almost certainly face old rivals Barcelona for the first time in a final since 1990 . Two goalkeeping errors handed Lionel Messi and David Villa early goals in the first half to give Barca a perfect start and some more Messi magic made it 3-0 by just the 16th minute . Pedro headed home a Xavi free-kick in the 31st-minute for their fourth goal and a flowing move resulted in Seydou Keita adding a fifth with just two minutes remaining . Elsewhere , Serie A leaders AC Milan are through to the semifinals of the Italian Cup after a 2-1 victory at Sampdoria . Two goals from Brazilian Alexandre Pato earned victory for the visitors , and ensured Milan striker Antonio Cassano made a winning return to Genoa , less than a month after being effectively sacked by Sampdoria after falling out with the club 's president . Pato struck twice in the space of five first-half minutes , both times being set-up by new Dutch signing Urby Emanuelson . The home side pulled a goal back early in the second half when Massimo Maccarone netted on his debut following his move from Palermo , but Milan held on to reach the last four of the competition . Milan were joined in the last four by holders and city rivals Inter Milan , who beat Napoli 5-4 on penalties , after 90 minutes and extra time went by without either side scoring a goal . Palermo secured their place in the last four on Tuesday , also going through on penalties against Parma , while Juventus and Roma will face each other on Thursday for the final remaining place . The semifinal line-up for the German Cup has also now been decided following Wednesday 's remaining last eight matches . Thomas Mueller scored twice as holders Bayern Munich cruised to a 4-0 victory at second division side Alemannia Aachen . However , there were shocks in the two other matches on Wednesday with second division Energie Cottbus and Duisburg putting out Bundesliga sides Hoffenheim and Kaiserslautern . Schalke sealed their place in the semifinals with a 3-2 extra time victory over Nuremberg on Tuesday .
Real Madrid win 1-0 at holders Sevilla in their Spanish Cup semifinal first leg . Karim Benzema scores the only goal to give Madrid a crucial advantage . Barcelona thrash Almeria 5-0 in the other semifinal , scoring four goals in first half . City rivals AC Milan and holders Inter Milan both through to the Italian Cup semifinals .