BARCELONA: With Philippe Coutinho making his debut and Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez adding to their scoring run, holders Barcelona advanced to the Copa del Rey semi-finals for the eighth straight year with a 2-0 win over Espanyol on Thursday.

Suarez scored an early opener in the quarter-final second leg before Messi’s deflected effort gave Barcelona a 2-1 aggregate advantage as the holders overturned a 1-0 deficit from last week’s first leg.

Messi had missed a penalty in that match as the leaders of La Liga were beaten for the first time since August, but they did enough on Thursday to join Sevilla, Valencia and Leganes in the last four.

Facing city rivals Espanyol was a potential banana skin for Ernesto Valverde’s side but Barca were rarely troubled in front of a vibrant Nou Camp.

Barca’s new Brazilian attacking midfielder Coutinho was named on the bench for the first time since his 160 million-euro ($192 million) transfer from Liverpool earlier this month.

The 25-year-old was introduced midway through the second half in place of Andres Iniesta, entering the pitch to a huge roar from the home crowd.

His every touch was loudly cheered on a night when Barca bade farewell to their versatile Argentine Javier Mascherano who is joining Chinese Super League side Heibei China Fortune.

Mascherano was given a guard of honour before the game in recognition of his seven-and-a-half years at the Nou Camp.

“We are placing a lot of hope in Coutinho,” said Valverde. “He is going to do well for us in the game. He can help us because he knows how to create, he’s good in the one-on-one situations. He is also a player who’s able to see the free man. We know he can be a danger with a shot or a decisive pass. I think he made a good start.”

Suarez scored with a diving header less than 10 minutes into the match after a cross from the right by Aleix Vidal to level the tie on aggregate.

Messi scored in the 25th minute, his shot beating goalkeeper Pau Lopez with the help of a sizeable deflection off Brazilian defender Naldo.

It was Barcelona’s 4,000th goal at the Camp Nou in an official game.

Messi and Suarez have combined to score at least a goal each in six of the team’s last seven matches. Messi has found the net 10 times in his last 11 games, while Suarez has scored 11 goals in his last nine matches.

“I liked how we were able to control the game in the final minutes,” Valverde said. “We didn’t want to risk conceding like we did in the first leg.”

Barca, who have won the Copa del Rey in the last three seasons, had a host of chances to put the tie to bed but saw out the victory, with Espanyol unable to get the away goal that would have swung the tie.

Espanyol, seeking their first semi-final appearance in the Copa since 2014-15, appealed for a penalty when Gerard Moreno fell inside the area after contact with Barca’s Jordi Alba with about 10 minutes left in the game.

“We had some chances but didn’t capitalise on them,” Espanyol’s Victor Sanchez said. “We feel like we played a great series. Nobody really believed in us but in the end we were a goal away from advancing.”

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2018