Barcelona where able to progress to the finals of the Copa del Rey after seeing off Valencia with a 2-0 victory at the La Mestella. Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Rakitic were both on target as Barcelona recorded an aggregate 3-0 victory. The Blaugrana side will face Sevilla at the finals in April after Sevilla eliminated Leganes. Coutinho was able to open his Barcelona goal account with a crucial goal in the game.
Jasper Cillessen was tested early on the game and was forced into some saves from new Valencia signing Francis Coquelin and Rodrigo Moreno. Cillessen was eventually beaten but the ball went off the crossbar. Lionel Messi had the best chance for Barca in the first half from the set piece but it was saved by Jaume Domenech. Jaume played really well in the first leg to keep Valencia in the tie.
Ernesto Valverde decide to bring in the club-record signing Coutinho before the 2nd interval. The Brazilian had an immediate impact, scoring from a great Luis Suarez cross to gifted Barca the lead. Coutinho’s away goal meant that Valencia needed to score three and that was going to be a difficult task for the team from Mestalla. Luis Suarez once again provided an assist for the second goal by staying on his feet after being fouled to find the Croatian Rakitic. Barca’s second goal of the night ended all hope for Valencia even though they were a tough out.
Overall, this is a big win for Barca who are in hunt for the treble this season. The Blaugrana will be going for their 30th Copa del Rey trophy and their fourth straight title. Players like Ivan Rakitic, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Luis Suarez will be hoping to carry on their unbeaten sequence in the competition as the three have lifted the trophy consecutively since their arrival to the Camp nou in 2014. The win over Valencia made it an unbeaten from the Blaugrana side who last a 2-legged affair to Real Madrid in 2012/2013 season.