PARIS: Neymar and Christian Eriksen scored a brace apiece on Wednesday to lead Barcelona into the Copa del Rey semi-finals and Tottenham Hotspur to the final of the League Cup respectively.

Brazilian Neymar’s double saw Barca come from behind to seal a 3-2 victory over nine-man Atletico Madrid on the night, a 4-2 triumph on aggregate and a last-four meeting against Villarreal or Getafe.

Two moments of magic from Eriksen, meanwhile, helped Spurs scrape a 2-2 draw with third-tier Sheffield United which sent them to their first Cup final in six years after a 3-2 aggregate victory.

There was Cup action in Italy as well on Wednesday with Serie A leaders Juventus needing an 89th-minute goal from Alvaro Morata for a 1-0 win at Parma to advance to the Coppa Italia semi-finals.

Five-goal thriller

Fernando Torres put Atletico ahead inside the first minute at the Vicente Calderon with a precise strike from the edge of the area to cancel out Lionel Messi’s winner in last week’s first leg, but Neymar grabbed a vital away goal just nine minutes later.

The match swayed again when Atletico’s Raul Garcia converted a penalty on the half-hour mark, but Barca were in front by half-time thanks to a Miranda own goal and a wonderful counter-attack rounded off by Neymar.

Atletico captain Gabi was then sent-off during half-time as players and coaches from both sides clashed at the end of the first period.

The home side should have been reduced to nine men earlier when Arda Turan somehow escaped with just a yellow card after throwing his boot at one of the officials in the second-half, but did eventually see another red card when Mario Suarez picked up a second booking late on.

“I liked the way the team reacted after conceding in a strange way in the first minute,” said Barca boss Luis Enrique. “Neymar showed the attitude he always does. He is a player with a lot of confidence and helps us all in all phases of the game.”

Chelsea final

Spurs’ reward for overcoming United is a meeting with Chelsea in the final on March 1, their first Wembley final since 2009 when they lost to Manchester United — and a repeat of the 2008 showpiece match, which Spurs won 2-1.

Tottenham appeared to be cruising when they took a first-half lead through Eriksen’s sublime free kick in the 28th minute which took their aggregate advantage to 2-0 before two goals in as many minutes from 18-year-old substitute Che Adams levelled the tie overall in the 79th.

Extra time was looming at a snowy Bramall Lane but Eriksen ran on to a through-ball from Harry Kane and coolly slotted a left-foot finish into the corner in the 88th.

“Sheffield United definitely gave us a big fight. They gained confidence after they scored their first goal, the second one was a bit lucky but we came back at the end,” Eriksen told Sky Sports. “It’s a big relief on everyone’s faces. To be in the final is what everyone wants at Tottenham.”

Late winner

Former Real Madrid forward Morata came on from the bench to score the winner one minute from time and sent Juve into a last-four clash against either Roma or Fiorentina.

Fellow Spaniard Fernando Llorente set up Morata, who replaced Kingsley Coman in the 77th, at the edge of the area and he dribbled past a few defenders before finding the target with a slow rolling shot for his fifth goal of the season.

With Carlos Tevez rested, Juventus struggled to create chances for long stretches but became dangerous in the final 10 minutes, with Claudio Marchisio having had a shot deflected high three minutes before Morata’s goal.

“We really struggled,” said Juventus goalkeeper Marco Storari, who played in place of captain Gianluigi Buffon. “Parma played a tough match.”

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2015

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