Copa Del Rey Pre-Quarterfinal (Second leg): Espanyol 0-2 Barcelona - 5 talking points

Barcelona ensured that their progress to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals was done with an added Midas touch, as they backed up their 4-1 victory in the first leg last week with an impressive 2-0 defeat of Catalan rivals Espanyol at the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat.After a bright start by the home side – who needed to score at least thrice to stand any chance of upsetting the 27-time cup holders – Barcelona’s superiority in class gradually began to show as the game progressed, dominating the game with possession and scoring two goals out of well-crafted moves to shut the door on Espanyol’s chances. We look at the various events that shaped up the encounter on Wednesday night:-

#1 Not the ideal derby atmosphere

The atmosphere of the match was not as nervy as the first leg

Whenever Barcelona set foot on the Estadi Cornellà-El Prat, they are usually welcomed by a hostile atmosphere one could compare to the reception Manchester United get when they travel to Anfield on a Sunday afternoon. However, the situation on Wednesday was in complete contrast to a typical derby fiesta – the first leg result might have played a major part in that.

With Espanyol needing an impossible 3-goal victory to sneak into the quarter-finals through the back door, there was not much incentive for the Espanyol fans to put their Catalan rivals off, something which was justified by the vast number of empty seats across the ground.

Barcelona obviously wouldn’t have minded that even a bit. Their primary objective was to get the job done, which is exactly what they did in a professional manner. to steamroll into the quarter-finals of Spain’s primary cup competition.

#2 Turan a potential threat to Iniesta?

Turan has started his Barca career on the frontfoot

With the result in the bag even before the second-leg got underway, it was an opportunity for manager Luis Enrique to use this fixture to rotate his squad and check the progress of his new signings.

Turkish midfielder Arda Turan might have given his manager a selection headache by the end of the game. His partnership with Jeremy Mathieu on the left side of midfield gave fullback Roberto Correa a migraine while his dangerous approaches towards the Espanyol penalty area always threatened to cut their back-four open with that final killer pass.

A night of significant progress for the 28-year old, and Andres Iniesta – despite his own good form – will be a worried man at the moment.

#3 Ter Stegen brilliant, Caicedo poor

Ter Stegen's performance in front of goal was commendable

Another amazing cup game for Marc-Andre Ter Stegen in goal, as he made three saves – two of them brilliant one-handed ones – to deny striker Caicedo, who should be putting those chances away keeping in mind the situation of the tie.

Take nothing away from the German international, though, who had to redeem himself after struggling initially with his distribution under pressure from a high-pressing Espanyol. He continues to perform up to expectations in the cup games despite the added pressure of the knockout nature of cup competitions.

On the other hand, the Ecuadorian striker Caicedo had a forgettable outing in front of goal, failing to beat Javier Mascherano in the air from a number of good crosses coming in from Asensio on the wing.

He struggled one-on-one against the Argentine as well, not being able to latch on to a pass from Salva Sevilla. Even when sent through, he fluffed his chances – partly due to Ter Stegen’s heroics and also due to poor finishing.

#4 Messi majestic on rival territory

Messi was at his brilliant best

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was at his usual best even though the match situation didn’t demand him to put in that sort of performance. Right from the first minute till the final whistle, the 28-year old brought his fleet-footed display into action, dribbling past a number of hopeful Espanyol challenges and threading that extra yard to wrap his foot around a shot.

His pin-point assist for Munir’s goal and individual brilliance to slalom past a helpless Espanyol defence early in the first half were just a couple of many hot-shot moments from the Argentine superstar through the course of 90 minutes.

#5 El-Haddadi completely capable of filling a void in MSN

Munir scored both the goals for the Catalan club

Forced to spend a majority of his time with the first team on the bench, thanks to the dazzling form of the MSN trio, 20-year old Munir el-Haddadi got his opportunity on Wednesday thanks to Luis Suarez’s Copa del Rey ban. Throughout the game, he proved that he was more than capable to fill in any sort of void in MSN, should the situation present itself.

With two well-struck goals and a one-on-one superiority against centre-back Alvaro, the 20-year old Egyptian proved that he was good value for his place in the squad and can be relied upon to deliver a first-class performance whenever the management required his services.