Barcelona 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: 5 Talking Points

Luis Suarez, Gerard Pique and Neymar all got on target to cancel out Inaki Williams’ opener as Barcelona cruised to the semi-finals of the Copa Del Rey with a commanding 5-2 aggregate victory. Holding a slender 2-1 advantage entering the fray, the Catalans were stunned when Williams scored early in the first half for the visitors to level the aggregate scores, but the hosts responded well post the break following an insipid opening 45 minutes.Suarez pulled the holders level early in the second half, before late strikes from Gerard Pique and Neymar sealed a comprehensive progression to the last four.Let’s analyse the match and have a look at the 5 major talking points from the clash at Camp Nou:

#1 Barca\'s quality proves decisive

The 2-1 win at San Mames last week had Barcelona’s one foot in the semi-finals and they were expected to get the job done comfortably on home turf in the return fixture. But, Los Leones made it extremely tough for the home side with a clinical show in the opening half, especially Inaki Williams, who recently signed a contract extension at the Basque side.

1-0 down at the break on the back of a sloppy first half, Barcelona flew out of the blocks in the second and home side’s superior quality eventually proved decisive. Once Suarez levelled the scores, confidence was restored and the hosts soon followed it up 2 more clinical strikes.

Barcelona were never going to lose this one, especially since it was in their own backyard. But, the immense quality they possess within their ranks came to the fore as they turned the tables around after a dire first half.