Luis Enrique Will Have No Excuses If Barcelona Fail to Win Copa Del Rey

This isn't another article taking a pop at Barcelona coach Luis Enrique. On the contrary, he should be commended for steering Barcelona to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey, past Spanish champions Atletico Madrid, with little fuss. 

Barcelona are now so close to silverware they can taste it. They face a semi-final against either Getafe or Villarreal, who play each other on Thursday night in the second leg of their Copa quarter-final.

Should they reach the final—and they should—waiting for them in the other side of the draw will be one of Sevilla, Espanyol, Athletic Bilbao and Malaga, all of whom Barcelona have the beating of.

Enrique’s Barcelona have beaten Atletico Madrid three times in three games this season. They have scored a total of seven goals against Diego Simeone’s usually watertight outfit.

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Last season, they couldn't win once in six games and notched only three times. They scored as many goals in the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday night as they did in 540 minutes under Tata Martino.

It’s clear how Barcelona's strike force has become the key part of the team instead of the midfield. As explained here on Bleacher Report after Wednesday’s game, Barcelona are playing a different style from the one under Pep Guardiola, the classic death-by-possession game:

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Barcelona's new, counter-attacking, occasionally almost berserk style works because of the power in that front three. Luis Suarez, Messi and Neymar are players who all think and move quickly. If the team gets the ball to them as quickly as possible, it leaves little breathing room for the opposition.

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The strike force of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi is good enough to dismantle any side, let alone the ones that remain in the Copa del Rey.

It was fortunate for Barcelona that Atletico managed to knock out Real Madrid in the last 16, meaning they avoided playing two Clasicos in the quarter-finals.

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

That would have been a tougher test for Barcelona given the baggage that comes with that tie.

Enrique said after the game, per Barcelona's club website, that he was happy with the performance and didn't mind facing either Villarreal or Getafe in the semi-finals:

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I was happy with my whole team, even with the way they recovered from such a strange situation in the first minute. Despite all the difficulties of playing here, we managed to find spaces. I am very pleased with their display against a top level team.

We’d like to it to be whichever team deserves to be there. I have no preferences.

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That's because whoever the opponent, Barcelona will be expected to win the game.

After a season with no silverware, this is a competition in which the club have a clear path to success. Failure to lift the cup will not be forgiven, and Enrique knows it.