Barcelona thrashed Sevilla 6-1 at Camp Nou to earn a 6-3 aggregate win in their Copa del Rey quarter-final tie on Wednesday night.
Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Rakitic struck to overturn the visitors' first-leg advantage, either side of an Ever Banega penalty miss, before Coutinho added his second eight minutes into the second half.
A fourth goal of the night came 54 minutes in through Sergi Roberto and, while Guilherme Arana did pull one back for Sevilla, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi scored late on to make certain of a semi-final spot.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Copa del Rey quarter-final second leg between Barcelona and Sevilla at Camp Nou. The home side have won this competition four seasons running but they trail 2-0 from last week's reverse fixture after conceding second-half goals to Pablo Sarabia and Wissam Ben Yedder six days ago.
BARCELONA TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Jasper Cillessen; Sergi Roberto, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Jordi Alba; Arthur, Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Philippe Coutinho
SUBS: Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Arturo Vidal, Malcom, Thomas Vermaelen, Carles Alena, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Nelson Semedo
SEVILLA TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Juan Soriano; Daniel Carrico, Simon Kjaer, Sergi Gomez; Quincy Promes, Ever Banega, Roque Mesa, Ibrahim Amadou, Guilherme Arana; Andre Silva, Pablo Sarabia
SUBS: Javier Vazquez, Tomas Vaclik, Marko Rog, Bryan Gil, Franco Vazquez, Wissam Ben Yedder, Gabriel Mercado
KICKOFF: Barca boss Ernesto Valverde has gone with near enough his strongest-possible XI for tonight's clash, restoring the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez from the first leg. Barca may need to score at least twice this evening, but many still fancy them to go through. Here we go!
Sevilla show four changes from the first leg, with goalscorer Ben Yedder among those to drop down to the bench. Pablo Machin's side simply need to keep the opposition out and they will be through to the semi-finals. Not a great deal happening here at the moment.
SAVE! A routine save for back-up keeper Cillessen to make inside the first few minutes, as he gets behind Mesa's shot. That came on the back of a quick break, with Barca seeing more of the ball early on.
Barcelona are struggling to find a way through this compact Sevilla side. There is still a long, long way to go, of course, but the visitors have made it clear from the off what their game plan will be. Great atmosphere inside Camp Nou, by the way.
SHOT! Some of Barca's build-up play has been sublime. Messi, as ever, is at the heart of it, squeezing the ball through for Roberto. The full-back beats Soriano to the ball and cuts it back for Messi, but the Argentinian is unable to find the target as his shot is blocked 12 yards out.
Barcelona are starting to turn the screw, winning three corners in quick succession. Sevilla deal with each of them, but they are already looking a little nervy. Not sure if they can hold out for another 80 minutes if it continues like this.
Messi is already looking in the mood, shifting the ball across to Suarez, who gets too much on the attempted cross towards Coutinho. Sevilla, leading 2-0 on aggregate, are focusing purely on defending.
PENALTY! Barcelona are awarded a penalty for Promes' challenge on Messi. Replays show that the Argentinian kicked the Sevilla player's foot, though - in my opinion, at least - and the hosts can consider themselves a little fortunate.
GOAL! BARCELONA 1-0 SEVILLA (PHILIPPE COUTINHO, PEN)
Coutinho places the ball right in the bottom-left corner, giving Soriano - who dived the right way - no chance of keeping it out. Barca have one back and now need just two more to complete the turnaround.
Barcelona have pushed on since opening the scoring, continuing to ask all the questions. They got fortunate with the penalty being awarded but they have definitely been the side on top. Sevilla cannot keep this up or else they will crash out.
SAVE! This Barca pressure is pretty relentless. Alba cuts the ball back for Messi and the forward takes a touch before striking it goalwards. It deflects off Kjaer and loops into the air for Soriano to make a save. Suarez also has a shot blocked.
Valverde's side are not giving Sevilla a chance to breathe. They have seen 70% of the ball in the opening quarter of the match and could easily have bagged the two goals they are after. Barca's full-backs are effectively playing as forwards.
OFF THE POST! Sevilla finally put a serious attack together and they so nearly score a vital third goal of the tie. Silva flicks Promes' cross towards the bottom corner and Cillessen gets a touch to help the ball onto the post - superb save!
PENALTY! Pique places his arm on Mesa and the midfielder goes to ground. The referee points to the spot and, following a VAR check to see if he was offside, Sevilla have a chance to equalise on the night from the penalty spot.
PENALTY SAVED! Is Cillessen the best back-up keeper in world football? A few minutes after producing an heroic save to push Silva's shot onto the post, the Dutchman guesses the right way to keep out Banega's penalty.
This has been an incredible opening half an hour at Camp Nou - you cannot take your eyes off it. Barca have recovered from their blip and are on the attack, coming close to a second as Suarez's shot is kept out by Soriano.
YELLOW CARD! It really is all happening here. Mesa and Suarez square up and they are both shown a yellow card. The Catalans, who were so nearly pegged back on the night five minutes ago, need to make the most of their spells on top.
GOAL! BARCELONA 2-0 SEVILLA (IVAN RAKITIC)
Just like that, Barcelona are two goals up on the night and level at 2-2 on aggregate! Arthur plays a defence-splitting pass from deep and Rakitic gets the smallest of touches to the ball to help it past Soriano. As simple as you like from the hosts!
Silva does brilliantly to hold off Pique and get a shot away, but it is blocked in front of goal - Sevilla only seem to want to attack after conceding. With 10 minutes of the first half to play, we are locked at 2-2 on aggregate.
YELLOW CARD! Carrico is cautioned for sliding in on Messi, whose full body weight lands on top of the defender.
Sevilla are playing their best football of the evening. A cross comes into the middle but it is headed clear. Prior to that, Silva showed some good movement to get in behind, only for Pique to recover just in time.
Barcelona have been unable to really put together any attacks of note over the last five minutes, which is credit to Sevilla for finally getting at their opponents. The visitors may need to rethink their gameplan at the interval.
The hosts win a free kick 20 yards from goal and Messi, despite the angle being against him, tries the shot. The ball did not have enough dip on it and it ends a yard over the crossbar. Half time is now just a few minutes away at Camp Nou.
Sarabia looked to be in behind Barca's backline after playing a quick one-two with Silva, but the offside flag goes up. End-to-end stuff at the end of this first half as Messi nearly waltzed his way through a number of players at the other end of the field.
CHANCE! Pique leaps highest to meet a right-sided corner but can only glance it wide of the far post. That has to go down as a big chance for the centre-back, who buries his head in his hands.
HALF TIME: BARCELONA 2-0 SEVILLA
The first half comes to a close at Camp Nou, where Barcelona have a two-goal lead on the night to make it 2-2 on aggregate. Coutinho and Rakitic netted for the hosts, either side of Banega having a penalty saved by Cillessen.
Jasper Cillessen was tested for the first time inside the first few minutes when getting behind Roque Mesa's shot, but from that point on it was all Barcelona in the opening quarter of the match. Following a spell of sustained pressure, Barca were awarded a penalty when Quincy Promes was adjudged to have tripped Lionel Messi in the box, though the Argentinian forward looked to have kicked his opponent's boot.
Philippe Coutinho picked out the bottom corner of the goal from the spot kick, sending the ball past Juan Soriano despite the keeper guessing the right way, to give the home side a route back into the tie. Sevilla, without a win at Camp Nou since 2010, started to grow into the match and should have been level on the night by the half an hour mark.
Barca had Cillessen to thank for still being in the lead as the back-up keeper reacted brilliantly to push Andre Silva's delicate flick onto the post, before then keeping out Ever Banega's penalty after Gerard Pique made contact with Mesa in the box. Four minutes later Ivan Rakitic doubled his side's tally, getting a slight touch on Arthur's defence-splitting pass from deep to help the ball past Soriano.
BENCH WATCH!
BARCELONA SUBS: Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Arturo Vidal, Malcom, Thomas Vermaelen, Carles Alena, Kevin-Prince Boateng, Nelson Semedo
SEVILLA SUBS: Javier Vazquez, Tomas Vaclik, Marko Rog, Bryan Gil, Franco Vazquez, Wissam Ben Yedder, Gabriel Mercado
KICKOFF: Barcelona get us back underway at Camp Nou, boasting a two-goal lead from the first half. It is 2-2 on aggregate with 45 minutes to go - if it stays this way we will go to extra time and possibly penalties.
Banega whips in a delightful cross from the right, which evades his intended target. Banega, incidentally, had scored all 11 of his previous penalties in a Sevilla shirt prior to his miss from the spot in the first half.
It has been a far quieter start to the second half compared to the first. No real opportunities at either end so far, meaning that we are edging closer to an additional period of 30 minutes at Camp Nou.
Coutinho brings down Banega, who clips the free kick into the middle. Lenglet went to ground, though, and the referee - heavily involved so far tonight - gives a free kick to Barca. Neither side can really get control of the ball at the moment.
SAVE! Rakitic is given far too much time and space to get a shot away. There is enough power on it to trouble Soriano, who can only parry into into the danger zone, but there is nobody around the convert the rebound.
GOAL! BARCELONA 3-0 SEVILLA (PHILIPPE COUTINHO)
Barcelona take the lead in the tie for the first time thanks to Coutinho, who steers Suarez's cross away from Soriano and into the far corner. Good movement from Suarez to drift out to the right and a superb header from Coutinho, who is not known for his aerial ability.
GOAL! BARCELONA 4-0 SEVILLA (SERGI ROBERTO)
It is fair to say that Sevilla's tactics have not paid off tonight. Barcelona have themselves a fourth goal of the tie as Roberto latches onto Messi's perfectly-weighted pass and sweeps it past Soriano. Messi created that by darting in from the right and spotting the run of his teammate - superb from Barca, yet again.
Sevilla now need two goals to keep their Copa del Rey adventure alive. Barcelona have been fantastic all evening; Sevilla, bar a five-minute spell in the first half, have been poor. Coutinho finds the net again but the offside flag goes up to deny him another goal.
It is looking as though Barca are going to cruise into the semi-finals - it was not meant to be this way, not after losing the first leg 2-0. Sevilla have half an hour to find a couple of goals, but at the moment they are struggling to get going.
Lenglet makes a vital interception to prevent Sarabia from bursting through on goal. Sevilla showing the odd glimpse that they can find a route back into the match, though Barca are not exactly holding on just yet.
CHANCE! The momentum is with Sevilla all of a sudden as we approach the final 25 minutes. Silva gets in front of Lenglet but can only guide his header wide of the far post, similar to Pique in the first half. Valverde may consider making a change.
The space opens up for Sarabia to get a shot away but it is hit into a sea of Barca bodies. Cillessen was then alert to keep hold of the ball as the visitors grow more and more into the match - it's about time!
Arana decides to take on the shot from a long way out, sending it up and over the crossbar. Neither manager has yet to turn to their bench - surprising as far as the visitors are concerned as top scorer Ben Yedder is among their subs.
GOAL! BARCELONA 4-1 SEVILLA (GUILHERME ARANA)
A poor Cillessen clearance is pounced on by Sevilla, who have a route back into the tie. Banega picks up possession and lays it off to Arana, who smashes the ball past Cillessen first time from outside the box. VAR is used to rule on an incident in the build-up to the goal, but it is allowed to stand.
Banega has a shot blocked as a rejuvenated Sevilla push for a second away goal. Barca were looking so comfortable five minutes ago but all of a sudden there is far more jeopardy in the game.
SAVE! IT should be game over at Camp Nou! Busquets rips open the Sevilla backline with his pass, leaving Suarez clean through. The striker opts to square it to Messi, who takes a few touches but is denied by Soriano when he eventually pulls the trigger.
BARCELONA SUB! Valverde finally turns to his bench, bringing on Vidal for Rakitic for the final 15 minutes or so. Will Barca live to rue that big - and rare - miss from Messi a couple of minutes ago?
SEVILLA SUB! Here comes the sub many would have expected to be made 20 minutes ago. Ben Yedder, on target in the first leg, replaces Banega for the closing 12 minutes. Sevilla still have plenty of time to score a goal.
A reminder that one goal for Sevilla will send them through on away goals - there is no extra time. Messi guides another shot agonisingly wide of the far post following a flowing move, with Coutinho at the heart of it.
BARCELONA SUB! Coutinho, who can be happy with his performance tonight, is replaced by Semedo. The incoming player will slot in at right-back in a slight reshuffle for the home side to help see them through.
A little over five minutes to go here and, while Barcelona are not exactly holding on, the match remains finely poised. Messi threads the ball through for Semedo, but the full-back gets too much lift on his shot and finds the top of the net.
SEVILLA SUB! Arana, whose bullet strike from 16 yards has kept this tie alive, is replaced by Gil late on. Can the visitors create one last chance to snatch a semi-final spot from Barca's grasp?
GOAL! BARCELONA 5-1 SEVILLA (LUIS SUAREZ)
A magic counter from Barca ends with Alba swinging the ball to the back post for Suarez to tap in, killing off the tie for good. Sevilla had built some pressure but they could not make the most of it, and they are now heading for the exit.
Valverde will be delighted with his side's display tonight. The pressure was on and the Spanish champions have more than stood up to the plate by scoring five goals.
GOAL! BARCELONA 6-1 SEVILLA (LIONEL MESSI)
Pass, pass, pass, pass, goal! Messi finishes off a stunning Barcelona move by tucking the ball past Soriano at the end of a flowing move, with Suarez and Arthur opting against taking on the shot before Messi finished.
Barcelona are through to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey with a 6-3 aggregate win over Sevilla. Having trailed 2-0 from the first leg, the Catalans got the job done with relative ease this evening thanks to a couple of goals from Coutinho and one apiece from Rakitic, Roberto, Suarez and Messi. Arana's strike for Sevilla - arguably the best of the night - was nothing more than a consolation in the end.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from Camp Nou. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, and be sure to join us again tomorrow for updates from the quarter-final tie involving Real Madrid. See you then!
