Lionel Messi put on a masterclass in front of new recruit Philippe Coutinho as Barcelona trounced Celta Vigo 5-0 Thursday (Jan 11) to ease into the Copa del Rey quarter-finals 6-1 on aggregate.
Messi was the star of the show as usual as Barcelona crushed Celta Vigo 5-0 to reach the Copa del Rey quarter finals 6-1 on aggregate.
Leo was caught twice by the defence when through on goal in the opening stages but still broke the deadlock regardless, finishing from Jordi Alba's cross in the 13th minute. Two minutes later the pair repeated the feat all over again, with Alba teeing up Messi, who finished from a similar position into the far corner once more.
The combination was reversed for the third goal, with Messi playing a superb cross-field through ball, which Alba beat Alvarez to and knocked past the keeper, into the net. The miserable Celta Vigo teed up Luis Suarez for the fourth, with Pione Sisto's pass-back only finding the Uruguayan, who slammed home.
Celta were tighter at the back in the second period, which finished without much incident, other than a late headed goal from Ivan Rakitic as Barcelona strolled through.
Barca extended its unbeaten run this season to 28 straight matches, dating back to its losses to Real Madrid in both legs of the Spanish Super Cup in August. Celta had drawn 2-2 at Barcelona in La Liga last month and had gone into Thursday's match after holding Madrid to a 2-2 draw in the league last week.
