Barcelona vs. Elche: Score, Report, Reaction from Copa Del Rey Game

Neymar scored in each half as Barcelona eased to a much-needed 5-0 victory over visiting Elche on Thursday in the first leg of their Copa del Rey round-of-16 tie at the Camp Nou.

Barca dominated from the start, going ahead in the 35th minute through Neymar's first goal. Luis Suarez, who had set up the opener, doubled the lead with a brilliant solo effort five minutes later, and Lionel Messi powered in a stoppage-time penalty to give the hosts a 3-0 half-time lead.

After the break, Jordi Alba netted Barca's fourth before Neymar added his second of the night, a deflected strike. 

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Despite the big win, Barca's job is not yet complete. The second leg is scheduled for next Thursday at Elche's Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero. The winner of the two-legged tie will advance to play either Atletico Madrid or Real Madrid in what will no doubt be the most anticipated matchup of the quarter-final round.

First, however, Barcelona return to La Liga play on Sunday with a home match against Atletico Madrid. Elche play at Athletic Bilbao the same day.

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Thursday's match played out during what Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu called a time of "tension" for the club, as quoted by Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC. According to Santi Gimenez of Spanish paper AS, Messi and manager Luis Enrique are locked in a "standoff," with confrontations between the two becoming common during training sessions.

Messi was left on the bench for Barca's previous match, a 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad on Sunday in La Liga. Perhaps inevitably, English reporters such as Ben Jefferson of the Daily Express, immediately came up with reports linking Messi to a Premier League move. Meanwhile, speculation raged over whether Messi's influence would bring about Enrique's sacking.

In addition, the past week saw Barcelona part company with sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta and club legend Carles Puyol, as reported by Sid Lowe of The Guardian. Amid all the turmoil, Bartomeu announced plans to hold elections at the end of the season—one year early—in order "to protect the club from a level of tension which is not helping us to manage it."

Writing about Barca's turbulent week, B/R's Jerrad Peters predicted further turmoil in the near future: "Zubizaretta may have been Monday's scapegoat, the proverbial sacrificial lamb, but he will not be the only casualty between now and the 2016 elections. Barcelona's domino train is only gaining momentum and will not stop with him."

With Messi back in the starting XI and Enrique still on the touchline, Barca thus turned their somewhat divided attention toward Elche on Thursday. After the hosts dominated possession in the early stages, Messi created a first opening for himself in the 11th minute, dribbling brilliantly to open up space along the box before shooting weakly at Przemyslaw Tyton.

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Dani Alves came close to scoring a spectacular opener in the 19th minute, but his audacious volley from distance bounced wide of the post. One minute later, Messi shot straight at Tyton again following good work by Neymar along the edge of the box.

Messi and Neymar combined to dangerous effect again in the 28th minute, Messi lofting an angled pass over the top to Neymar on the left. With Suarez lurking at the opposite post, Neymar chipped back across the face of goal, but the ball trickled out harmlessly.

Having created several good chances to that point, Barca finally broke the deadlock in the 35th minute. The move started with Messi, who passed to Sergi Roberto along the edge of the box before Roberto threaded the ball to Suarez on the right side of the box. Spotting Neymar's late run at the back post, Suarez sliced open the Elche defence with a perfectly timed ball. With his first touch, Neymar slammed in the opener from close range. 

Suarez nearly added the second goal in the 39th minute, trying a cheeky chip as Tyton came off his line. Tyton anticipated the shot well, leaping into the air to make the save, but Suarez wouldn't be denied moments later.

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In the 40th minute, Suarez made no mistake. With a flash of inspiration, the Uruguayan beat his marker with a clever dummy, allowing an Alba pass to run through his legs and into the box. After chasing down the ball in the box, Suarez cut inside another defender before shooting past Tyton for 2-0.

It was very nearly 3-0 moments later after an Elche defensive error sprang Neymar in the box. But with time to pick out the bottom corner, Neymar rolled a low shot wide of the post.

Messi had the ball in the net again in the 43rd minute after Elche were unable to clear their lines, but the Argentine was ruled offside after running onto Alves' lofted cross.

Barcelona won a penalty in the 45th minute as Elche's Enzo Roco took down Neymar inside the box. After a brief delay, Messi converted in stoppage time, sending Tyton the wrong way with the final kick of the first half.

As the second half began, the only question remaining was how many Barcelona would score.

The hosts netted their fourth in the 56th minute as Messi turned provider. Holding possession in the middle just outside the box, Messi split Elche's defence with an angled pass to pick out Alba's run on the left flank. Alba took a touch to steady himself before shooting through Tyton's legs.

Neymar made it 5-0 in the 59th minute, hitting a deflected shot into the top corner after cutting inside from the left flank. 

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With the result well beyond doubt, Barcelona soon began making substitutions. Alba made way for Adriano in the 61st minute, with Pedro replacing Neymar six minutes later.

Elche managed a first shot in the 69th minute, as substitute Jonathas flicked a header off target from a free-kick on the right. The third change came in the 76th minute when Sergi Samper replaced centre-back Gerard Pique.

Messi came close with a 79th-minute free-kick, but Tyton dived to his left to swat the ball away at the near post. Three minutes later, Pedro chipped wide of the post after running onto a Suarez pass behind Elche's defence.

The latter was a glaring miss, but it hardly mattered as Barca cantered to victory during the closing moments.

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