Copa del Rey 2018/19, Barcelona 3-0 Levante: 5 Talking Points
Barcelona hosted Levante in the second leg of the Copa Del Rey Round of 16 tie, and the visitors had won the first leg 2-1 in their stadium.
But it was not enough, as Ernesto Valverde's side comfortably won 3-0 to book their passage to the next round.
Luis Suarez and Sergio Busquets were rested for the game, along with goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
Lionel Messi started the game though and was involved in all the goals. He played Ousmane Dembele in after 30 minutes, and the ball was in the back of the net after a fortuitous deflection.
Messi set up Dembele again, and the Frenchman rounded off the goalkeeper before scoring with a scuffed finish.
Barcelona was comfortable going into the interval after the two quickfire goals. Messi rounded off the scoring in the second half when he latched on to Nelson Semedo's pass to chip the goalkeeper.
Levante will definitely rue the chances they missed in the first leg, and Barcelona was guilty of the same here.
It was a routine home victory for Barcelona in the end. Here are the major talking points from the game.
Also see : Gold Cup Standings, Copa America Standings, Womens World Cup Bracket
#5 Levante will complain to the Federation about Barca's ineligible player
In the first leg of the tie, Barcelona fielded defender Chumi, who is a regular in the Barcelona B side. He played 58 minutes of the match, but he should have been suspended. Chumi had picked up his fifth yellow card in the Segunda Division B, which should have resulted in a ban.
Levante president Quico Catalan vowed to make an official complaint, irrespective of the result of the second leg.
"It is not an easy situation, us sporting people like to win on the pitch," Catalan told reporters before kick-off.
"Whatever happens, Levante will go before the federation with this situation tomorrow. There will be a complaint if we do not qualify. And if we do, there will be a report to the federation to explain what has happened."
As it stands, Barcelona are through to the quarter-finals, though that could change in the coming days if the complaint is made and addressed.