Barcelona vs. Espanyol: Goals, Highlights from Copa Del Rey Match

For the second time in four days, Barcelona faced off against city rivals Espanyol on Wednesday. The league edition of the fixture ended goalless, but the Copa del Rey round-of-16 first-round tie was only nine minutes old when Felipe Caicedo breached the Barca defence to put the visitors ahead:

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There are unintentional stamps, and then there's this from Pau López on Messi. #FCB #Espanyol #CopaDelRey pic.twitter.com/Fg5a5Dd5zH

— World Soccer Talk (@worldsoccertalk) January 6, 2016"

Just four minutes later, however, Lionel Messi balanced the score with his 240th goal for the Blaugrana (as per @Messistats):

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GOOOOL DE PIQUÉ, 3-1... pic.twitter.com/OmQBRivqKj

— A7™ (@FCBarcelona_A7) January 6, 2016"

Shortly before half-time, Messi doubled his tally with a stunning free-kick:

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(VINE) El gol fe Felipe Caicedo que pone en ventaja al #Espanyol sobre el #FCBarcelona en el Camp Nou. https://t.co/uOpNnWb4Bf

— Radio Caravana (@CaravanaDeporte) January 6, 2016"

There's nothing quite like a dead ball that pings in off the woodwork!

Five minutes into the second half, Messi was in action once again, providing the assist for Gerard Pique to make it 3-1:

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Gif: Goal Messi (2-1) #fcblive [via @nogolipo] pic.twitter.com/HcJJFTceEM

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) January 6, 2016"

Espanyol goalkeeper Pau Lopez didn't seem to happy with Messi's contributions, judging by the treatment he gave the Argentinian shortly after Pique's goal:

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Video: Goal Messi (2-1), seen from the stands #fcblive [via @gerardromero] pic.twitter.com/ISio5msNis

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) January 6, 2016"

With minutes left on the clock, Neymar added a fourth with a fantastic volleyed finish, teed up by none other than Leo Messi:

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Gif: Goal Messi (2-1) #fcblive [via @FutboIice] pic.twitter.com/6sWUUsObDX

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) January 6, 2016"

"

There are unintentional stamps, and then there's this from Pau López on Messi. #FCB #Espanyol #CopaDelRey pic.twitter.com/Fg5a5Dd5zH

— World Soccer Talk (@worldsoccertalk) January 6, 2016"

The match concluded with a 4-1 victory for Barcelona, meaning Espanyol will have a three-goal disadvantage for the second leg across town at the Power8 Stadium next Wednesday.