Barcelona bounces Valencia to make record 40th Copa del Rey final
Barcelona's stellar domestic campaign shows no signs of slowing.
La Liga's runaway leader has booked a spot in the Copa del Rey final after seeing off Valencia 2-0 Thursday at the Mestalla Stadium for a 3-0 aggregate advantage, reaching the domestic cup final for a record 40th time, one better than rival Real Madrid.
Blockbuster January signing Philippe Coutinho was the hero when the Brazilian lunged to meet Luis Suarez's cross to open both the second-leg scoring and his Blaugrana account in the 49th minute. Suarez also assisted Coutinho's first Liverpool goal five years ago.
š„š„š„ Ā”GOOOOL! Ā”Debut goleador de @Phil_Coutinho con el @FCBarcelona_es! ConexiĆ³n de los ex del @LFC, @LuisSuarez9 al brasileƱo y es 0ļøā£-1ļøā£ (0-2) #CopadelRey pic.twitter.com/eHT2e3yipj
ā beIN SPORTS EspaƱol (@ESbeINSPORTS) February 8, 2018
Second-half substitute Coutinho's goal doubled Barcelona's aggregate advantage after Suarez gave the holder a narrow lead with a 1-0 first-leg victory at the Camp Nou.
Suarez again played provider 10 minutes from time when the Uruguayan recovered the ball in the midfield before finding Ivan Rakitic in loads of space. Rakitic fired home a simple finish beyond the outstretched limbs of a helpless Jaume for a 2-0 lead.
5 - @FCBarcelona are the first team to reach five consecutive #SpanishCup finals. Collection pic.twitter.com/i4izpC5KIi
ā OptaJose (@OptaJose) February 8, 2018
Barcelona will face Sevilla in the final on April 21 after the Andalusian outfit ended minnow Leganes' historic run Wednesday at the Sanchez Pizjuan, 3-1 on aggregate.
Ernesto Valverde's charges are now also in line to match the record of four consecutive Copa del Rey titles shared by Athletic Bilbao (1930-1933) and Real Madrid (1905-1908).