Barcelona recorded their 10th consecutive victory as they beat Villarreal 3.1 in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg.
Lionel Messi opened the scoring in the 41st minute. Manu Trigueros levelled matters soon after the break but then Andres Iniesta restored Barca’s lead before Gerard Pique added the third with a header.
The margin of victory could have been greater but Neymar had a penalty saved that would have put Luis Enrique’s side three goals yo the good.
The second leg is on Wednesday, 4 March, with Barcelona’s city rivals Espanyol and Athletic Bilbao the other teams still in the competition.
Athletic Bilbao and Espanyol are evenly matched after a 1-1 draw. Aduriz gave the home side the lead after 11 minutes and Sánchez grabbed the equaliser before the break. All to play for.