Barcelona vs. Valencia: 2016 Copa del Rey Semi-Final, Leg 1 Score and Reaction

Barcelona took a major step toward defending their Copa del Rey title with a 7-0 trashing of Valencia on Wednesday, all but guaranteeing their spot in the final after the first leg. Luis Suarez scored four goals and Lionel Messi added a hat-trick, with the latter setting a major personal milestone along the way.

As shared by KICKTV, the Ballon d'Or winner scored his 500th career goal with his second of the match:

Shkodran Mustafi was sent off just before half-time, adding to Valencia's woes, but even before the dismissal, the visitors were outplayed on every level. The night could have been even worse, as Neymar missed a penalty.

Per the club's official Twitter account, both Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal made the starting XI for Barcelona, as did Jeremy Mathieu.

Unsurprisingly, Barcelona dominated the opening stages, and Valencia made their intentions of turning the match into a physical affair clear when Antonio Barragan barged into Neymar, sending him flying into a photographer.

The Blaugrana were all over Valencia, and just seven minutes into the match, it yielded a first goal. Neymar gained possession and quickly broke forward, sending Suarez through on goal with a clever pass. Mathew Ryan left his line to try to stop the Uruguayan, but Suarez easily guided the ball into the net.

ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan thought Valencia's midfield, which gave the ball away, clearly missed the experience of one player in particular:

The Catalans were unleashed, and within minutes, Suarez doubled their lead. This time, the goal came as a result of a beautiful team-move, with Vidal eventually laying the ball back for the striker, who blasted a shot into the top corner.

Bleacher Report UK couldn't help themselves:

The Blaugrana played with the kind of free-flowing movement fans have come to expect, and Valencia simply had no answers. Neymar could have added a third, but he took too long on the ball and allowed the defenders to close in time and prevent him from taking a shot.

Mathieu was lucky to get away with a dreadful challenge on Danilo, hitting the Valencia man right on the ankles, but that was about the only negative for Barcelona in the first 25 minutes, as the hosts dominated every facet of the match.

The team produced one bit of skill after the other, and Suarez set up Messi with a clever dummy after a great ball from Neymar to hand the Argentinian the third goal on a platter.

Author Sid Lowe was enjoying the action:

Valencia manager Gary Neville responded to the onslaught by introducing Sofiane Feghouli, and the Algerian managed to calm down the visitors' attack and ensure his team were able to hang on to the ball a little longer.

The tempo of the match dropped slightly, although Messi nearly added a fourth goal after a lovely ball from Suarez. The Argentinian couldn't control his shot, however, smashing the ball into the woodwork.

There was even more late drama, as the hosts were given a penalty just before half-time after a foul on Messi. Mustafi was given a straight red card for bringing him down, although he appeared to get to the ball first. Fortunately, Neymar hit the post with his spot-kick, saving Valencia further embarrassment.

Bleacher Report UK's Karl Matchett weighed in on the action:

Playing with the man-advantage, Barcelona seemed less determined to put pressure on the Valencia defence early in the second half, knowing they would likely walk through their opponents whenever they liked. 

Valencia even managed to hold possession inside Barcelona's half for a spell, but the best chances fell to the Catalans, nonetheless. Gerard Pique was left completely isolated on a corner, but he seemed more surprised than everyone else in the stadium and fired his header over the bar.

Barcelona started increasing the pressure again, with Sergio Busquets firing wide before Messi went on a solo run and just missed the goal. Denis Cheryshev's introduction for Valencia drew massive cheers from the Camp Nou crowd, and just after the Real Madrid loanee came on to the pitch, Messi scored his second goal of the match. Pandemonium ensued, per Graham Hunter:

Valencia went into full damage-control mode, although they nearly managed to get on the board themselves, only to see an effort flagged down for offside.

Daniel Parejo made the mistake of taking his eye off the ball for a second, allowing Messi to nip in and easily complete his hat trick, and the nightmare still wasn't over for Valencia, as Suarez wouldn't be outdone by his team-mate and added a third of his own.

Yahoo Sport UK's Andrew Gaffney summed up Valencia's night:

It still wasn't over for Neville's men, as Suarez completed the rout with his fourth goal, putting the final score on the board with a fantastic first-time strike.

The win puts Barcelona in the driver's seat to qualify for the final, giving the team a fantastic opportunity to repeat as champions. With the likes of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid out of the competition, it seems little will stand in the way of the Blaugrana.

Post-Match Reaction

Per the club's official Twitter account, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique has his eyes set on more silverware:

As shared by AS English, Neville didn't hold back after the match:

He also ruled out resigning from his post, per AS English, despite the mounting pressure.

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