FC Barcelona vs. SD Huesca: Winners and Losers from Copa Del Rey Game

Barcelona cruised into the next round of the Copa del Rey on Tuesday night as they completed an 8-1 win over Segunda Division B side SD Huesca to confirm a 12-1 aggregate victory.

Pedro scored a first-half hat-trick—one left foot, one right foot, one header—to start the rout before the second half saw Luis Enrique give even more of his young players a runout, with both Adama Traore and Sandro Ramirez eventually getting on the scoresheet.

Here are some winners and losers from the game at the Nou Camp.

Winner: Pedro

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Criticised recently for losing his goalscoring touch, Pedro responded in perfect fashion on Tuesday—scoring three times in the first half to put Barcelona in a commanding position.

The Spain international did not return for the second half so satisfied was Luis Enrique with his forward's work. His hat-trick was a perfect one—first a header then a left-foot shot before finishing with a right-foot finish—as Pedro gained some valuable confidence in front of goal.

Pedro has been out of favour as far as first-team starting berths go in recent times, but as one of the few experienced senior players involved on Tuesday he nevertheless made a statement. It was an extremely positive night for him—now he needs to take the same sort of form into games against stronger opponents.

Winner: Luis Enrique

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Even discounting the scoreline there were plenty of positives for Luis Enrique to take from this game. It allowed him to give many junior players valuable first-team experience, and many of them made the most of it. Munir impressed (providing a lovely assist for Pedro's opener), as did Rafinha, Sandro Ramirez and Sergi Samper. All will be stronger for the experience.

There was the chance to give Martin Montoya a last appearance in front of the home crowd, with the full-back almost certain to leave in January. There was then the late cameo from Adama Traore, who capped things off with a lovely goal.

All that will please Luis Enrique and demonstrate there is much in the long-term to be positive about at the club. The head coach's primary concern will be the short-term, however, and improving the first-team performances after the weekend's worrying 0-0 draw with Getafe.

In that regard Huesca's lack of quality will not have allowed him to learn much, but there were still positives. Pedro's return to goalscoring ways offers Enrique another attacking option in league games, while Andres Iniesta got through a solid 45 minutes to show his injury woes are perhaps behind him. Those are two key wins for Luis Enrique, something for him to take with himself as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and the rest return to action.

Loser: The Copa Del Rey

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As fun as it was to watch some of the next generation get a runout, the question remains about what exactly the point of the Copa del Rey format being like this is. Why do the games have to be over two legs? Why do the biggest teams often have to face sides little better than Sunday league teams?

Of course shocks occasionally happen, but when the scoreline ends up being as one-sided as it was on Tuesday it starts to feel like no one enjoys the experience.

Barcelona seemed noticeably reticent to fully punish their overmatched opponents—only driven on by the younger players who were determined to impress—while Huesca, originally enjoying their moment in such a fabled footballing stadium, seemed to be dreading matters more and more as the game went on and the scoreline piled up.

It may be novel to see such ties occasionally, but often it ends up being a waste of almost everyone's time—the final outcome never in doubt. At some point surely a better format will be found.

Winner: Adama Traore

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The quality of the opposition cannot be ignored, but nevertheless Adama Traore's cameo late in the second half felt like a little glimpse into a bright footballing future. It was a sense you only get every once in a while—when Adama scored, it felt similar in many ways to Wayne Rooney's first breakthrough goal against Arsenal all those years ago.

It was the manner of the strike that so impressed, Adama slipping between three defenders, thanks to a combination of speed, ball control and body feints, before opening his body in a Thierry Henry-esque manner to slip his shot between the goalkeeper's legs.

It is unlikely that La Liga opposition would have been quite so accommodating, but then again Adama is barely 18. This performance and the goal gave us a tantalising look at what might yet be in the future.

Born within sight of the Nou Camp, it will be interesting to see just how far Adama's quality takes him.