Lionel Messi produced another memorable free kick to ensure that Barcelona booked their place in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals with a 3-1 second-leg victory over Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou this evening.
Barcelona looked to dominate from the outset and they might have opened the scoring early on as Luis Suarez scrambled clear of the visiting defence, before being thwarted by an interception from Aymeric Laporte.
Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, the home side made good use of some early possession to assert their authority and they were unlucky to see a Suarez goal disallowed for offside, as Andres Iniesta and Neymar looked to have combined perfectly to release the forward, but for the linesman's flag.
Barca's dominance eventually proved too much for the visitors in the 36th minute, however, as Neymar broke down the left flank and chipped an enterprising ball towards the back post, where Suarez arrived to finish emphatically across the face of goal and into the far corner.
With Luis Enrique's men looking well-placed, Barcelona moved two ahead early in the second half when Neymar was brought down by Eneko Boveda, leaving the Brazilian frontman to tuck home from the spot.
All of Barca's hard work was to be quickly undone, though, as Gorka Elustondo countered down the right from kickoff, where he found a cross for Enric Saborit, who soon made it 2-1 and level 3-3 on aggregate with a neat header beyond Jasper Cillessen.
With the game headed for extra time Messi seemed to have other ideas, however, as he produced a standout free kick in the 79th minute to secure a 3-1 victory on the night and a 4-3 win on aggregate.
Christopher Dodd
