COPA DEL REY: Messi Scores Hat-trick, Suarez Nets 4 As Barcelona Thrash Valencia 7-0

Luis Suarez scored four times, with Lionel Messi netting a hat-trick of his own, as Barcelona ran riot over Valencia in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg and the pressure continued to mount on Gary Neville.

The hosts raced into a two-goal lead with just 12 minutes on the clock. Suarez being fed by Neymar to finish low across Ryan before the Uruguayan found the top corner from a Aleix Vidal cross.
Lionel Messi then got in on the act on the half-hour mark, with Suarez and Neymar both dummying Andres Iniesta’s pass for the Argentine to put the tie beyond doubt with 120 minutes still to play.

It should have been 4-0 before the break after Shkodran Mustafi was shown a straight red card after being deemed to foul Messi inside the penalty area. Neymar took the spotkick but hit the post as the half ended.

Messi added his second before the hour mark, latching on to Suarez’s back-heeled assist to ghost past two markers and finish with aplomb. Then it got embarrassing for Gary Neville & Co.

Suarez and Messi each completed their hat-tricks before the Uruguayan went one better with Barcelona’s sevenths at the death as Valencia come to terms of the second legs in seven days’ time.