This Thursday, Barcelona beat Leganes by 5-0 for the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey. With that, the Catalan club qualified for the quarter-finals of the competition. The goals were scored by Antoine Griezmann, Clement Lenglet, Lionel Messi, and Arthur.
Playing with full strength, and at home, Barca showed that they were ready to dominate the game since the first minutes, scoring right after the 4th minute of the game. Nelson Semedo received the ball on the right and assisted Griezmann, who was calm enough to hit the left corner of goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar.
Still, during the first half, the home side doubled the scoring at the 27th minute. After a corner from Messi, Lenglet got the run on Braithwaite at the front post and flicked the ball past the goalkeeper and into the net to make it two.
The qualification for the next round was basically sealed, but Barcelona kept the control of the match in the second half and increased the scoring.
At the 59th, it was time for the Argentine star Lionel Messi to score his first goal. After receiving the ball from De Jong, the number 10 got inside the box, beat the defenders and shot. The ball still deflected off Rodriguez before going to the back of the net.
Later, at the 77th minute, Brazilian Arthur took advantage of a rebound and made the fourth goal for the Catalans.
And there was still time for Messi to score one more. At the 89th minute, Rakitic slotted a delightful through-ball into the path of the Argentine, who rounded Cuellar and then converted into an empty net to make the final numbers. 5-0 to Barcelona.
With this good victory, Quique Setien’s men qualified for the quarter-finals of the King’s Cup and will face Athletic Bilbao next Thursday, on February 6. Before that, they will face Levante, at home, for the Spanish Championship on Sunday. Leganes, the 19th on La Liga’s table, will face Real Sociedad at home, on the same day.