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Copa del Rey

Semi finals, first leg

Barcelona 3 – Villarreal 1

Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Dani Alves, Piqué, Mathieu, Jordi Alba; Rafinha (Rakitic 68‘), Mascherano, Iniesta; Messi, Luis Suárez, Neymar. 4-3-3.
Villarreal: Sergio Asenjo; Mario Gaspar, Musacchio, Víctor Ruíz, Jaume Costa; Jonathan Dos Santos (Rukavina 49‘), Bruno (Manu Trigueros 32‘), Tomás Pina, Cheryshev (Moi Gómez 73’); Giovani, Vietto. 4-4-2.

Goals:
1-0. 41. Messi. Got on the end of Luis Suárez cross to curl shot wide of Asenjo.
1-1. 47. Trigueros. Won ball off Suárez and fired shot through hands of keeper.
2-1. 49. Iniesta. Struck low shot across keeper after Mario blocked pass to Suárez.
3-1. 64. Piqué. Got free of marker to head Messi corner inside Asenjo’s far post.

Yellow cards: Tomás Pina 66‘, Musacchio 69’, Luis Suárez 85‘.

Barcelona kicked off the semi-finals of the Spanish Cup with a 3-1 victory over Villarreal, a tenth win in a row for Luis Enrique’s side. Messi failed to find the target a couple of times before opening the scoring shortly before the break, turning a shot past Sergio Asenjo after Luis Suárez won the ball off Musacchio to set him up. Ter Stegen was not really tested until he had to turn a Vietto shot round the post on the stroke of half time, but at the start of the second half Trigueros made it all square with a long shot which went through the hands of the keeper. Less than two minutes later however Iniesta restored the lead with a low shot past Asenjo after a passing move with Suárez, and Piqué headed the third from a Messi corner a quarter of an hour after that. It could have been more had Asenjo not saved Neymar’s penalty later on after Musacchio handled in the area, although the visitors had a couple of chances to reduce the gap as well, Giovani heading wide from a corner and Mathieu bravely flinging himself to the ground to block a shot by Moi Gómez.