By AFP
Ferran Torres fired a 30-minute hat-trick as Barcelona booked their place in the Copa del Rey semifinals with a 5-0 win at Valencia.
The Barca forward opened the scoring in the third minute at Estadio de Mestalla on Thursday, as he burst through the home side’s offside trap to slot home a first-time finish. His second was a tap-in after Lamine Yamal struck the post.
By the time the hat-trick was sealed, with a flick from Raphinha on the edge of the box and a drilled effort into the bottom corner, Barca had already put themselves out of sight with another breach of the Valencia backline by Fermin Lopez.
Yamal, who had a quiet first half, was far livelier in the second and sealed the win in the 59th minute with a deflected effort, which wrong-footed the keeper. The Spanish international had already struck the post with a trademark curling effort after cutting inside onto his left foot.
Barca, who opened their league season with a 2-1 win on the same ground, thumped Valencia 7-1 at home in the reverse fixture on January 26. Hansi Flick’s side, who are third in LaLiga, also hit seven at Valladolid in August.
Another mauling was on the cards for Carlos Corberan’s beleaguered side, who sit second bottom of the Spanish league – four points from safety with only four wins in 22 matches.
Torres’s second strike had initially been disallowed for offside, only for VAR to intervene and overrule the referee’s assistant.
The pause for the decision was about as much respite as the home side were to enjoy in a half of ruthless and relentless running from Barca.
The ease with which they either sliced through the Valencia defence, as for the second and fourth goals, or broke clean through, as with the first and third, will be as great a concern for Corberan as it is a delight for Flick.
To the relief of the home support, who were making their way to the exits as early as Barca’s third goal, the second half was a more sedate affair as the away side took their foot off the gas.
