Five-star Barcelona beat Elche 5-0 in Copa del Rey; Messi hits 300th goal against Spanish opposition
All three of Barcelona’s strikers, Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez scored in FC Barcelona’s 5-0 victory over Elche in the first leg of the Copa del Rey. Jordi Alba, Suarez and Messi scored in between the Brazilian’s two goals.
Elche came to Camp Nou hoping to take advantage of unrest going on at Barcelona. However, after holding Barcelona back for thirty-five minutes, Elche finally conceded when Neymar tapped the ball in after some clever team play.
This opened the floodgates and Luis Suarez got his team’s second goal of the night with a brilliant solo effort. Neymar was fouled inside the box by Elche defender Enzo Roco and the Argentine Messi duly put the ball in the back of the net from the penalty spot.
This was Lionel Messi’s 300th goal against Spanish opposition, with most of his goals (21 each) coming against Real Madrid and Sevilla. Soon after the penalty was converted, the referee blew the half-time whistle.
The second half brought no respite for Elche as defender Alba got in the act from a precise Messi pass to score Barcelona’s fourth goal with his right foot.
Neymar hit a powerful shot which was slightly deflected and went in through the crossbar in the 60th minute of the match. Elche were left shell-shocked having conceded 5 goals in a matter of 25 minutes.
There were no more goals, however, as Barcelona travel to Elche for the second leg of the Roud of 16 in the Copa del Rey with a healthy five-goal advantage.
Here are the goals:
FC Barcelona 1-0 Elche: Neymar (35’)
Lionel Messi dribbled a couple of Elche players outside the box before playing the ball to Sergi Roberto inside the box. The young Spaniard found Suarez whose tremendous vision found Neymar at the far post to give Barcelona the lead.
FC Barcelona 2-0 Elche: Luis Suarez (40’)
The Uruguayan let a pass by Jordi Alba run through his feet, beating the defender with the fake. Once he reached inside the box, he cut inside to beat another defender before placing the ball in the back of the net.
FC Barcelona 3-0 Elche: Lionel Messi (pen) (45’+1’)
Elche were punished for some sloppy defending in stoppage time when Neymar was fouled. The referee spotted at the spot and Messi stepped up to score his 300th goal against Spanish opposition. The Argentine made no mistake as he sent the goalkeeper the wrong way with the final kick of the first half.
FC Barcelona 4-0 Elche: Jordi Alba (56’)
Defender Jordi Alba joined the South Americans on the scoring chart when Lionel Messi’s brilliant vision saw the pacy Spaniard entering the box. Messi placed a precise through ball to his path and Alba took a touch before right-footing the ball beyond the goalkeeper.
FC Barcelona 5-0 Elche: Neymar (60’)
Messi passed the ball to Neymar for the Brazilian to do his magic. He unleashed a fierce right-footed shot that took a slight deflection of the defender. The shot hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced over the line to make it five for Barcelona.