Copa del Rey 2017: Wednesday's Round-of-16 Results and Reaction

Barcelona booked their place in the quarter-finals of the 2016-17 Copa del Rey after beating Athletic Bilbao 3-1 in Wednesday's round-of-16 second-leg clash, which saw the Blaugrana seal a 4-3 aggregate victory.

Barca manager Luis Enrique had his back against the wall after losing last Thursday's first leg, 2-1, but goals from Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar hauled the Catalan club into the competition's last eight.

Earlier on Wednesday, Real Sociedad drew 1-1 at Villarreal to earn a 4-2 aggregate victory and knock the Yellow Submarine out of the competition, while Alcorcon continued their run into the last eight with a 2-1 win at Cordoba.

Alaves also edged past Deportivo La Coruna into the quarter-finals after holding their top-flight foes to a 1-1 draw in Vitoria-Gasteiz, drawing 3-3 across both legs and winning by virtue of away goals.

Read on for a roundup of Wednesday's round-of-16 results as four more teams booked their places in the quarter-finals of this season's Copa del Rey.

Home	Score (Agg.)	Away
Barcelona	3-1 (4-3)	Athletic Bilbao
Villarreal	1-1 (2-4)	Real Sociedad
Alaves	1-1 (3-3)	Deportivo La Coruna
Cordoba	1-2 (1-2)	Alcorcon

Recap

It wasn't the prettiest win we'll see from this Barcelona side, but Wednesday's 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao nonetheless pushed Enrique's side into the last eight following contributions from Messi, Suarez and Neymar. 

It took 35 minutes for Suarez to find his mark with the opener, and he volleyed home a Neymar cross with terrific velocity, in the process checking off a ridiculously quick Barca scoring record:

Neymar was brought down in the penalty area and converted the spot-kick before Enric Saborit cut the deficit to one goal, and who else but Messi would be on hand to save Barca from going to extra time?

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner brushed in his third free-kick finish of 2017 after Benat committed a foul just outside his box, putting the result beyond doubt with just over 10 minutes left.

That said, Neymar's goal was perhaps the most important for Barca after a 1,000-minute goal drought, per Sky Sports Statto:

Earlier on Wednesday, a clever finish from Mikel Oyarzabal gave Sociedad an early 1-0 lead over Villarreal, who were unable to overturn the deficit they faced coming into the clash and could only snatch a 1-1 draw.

Roberto Soriano struck home a wonderful free-kick equaliser from 25 yards out just before the break, and Villarreal finished the match with 10 men after striker Nicola Sansone was given his marching orders.

Villarreal finished two goals shy of their guests and had a controversial goal disallowed, although manager Fran Escriba took any sour turns in his stride, per his post-match comments:

The Yellow Submarine weren't the only top-tier outfit to exit the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, either, as Alaves sealed a second consecutive draw against Deportivo, this time restricting their guests to a tame 1-1.

Edgar thrust Alaves ahead on the stroke of half-time before Alejandro Arribas drew level, and Spanish newspaper AS highlighted it wasn't the simplest of finishes for the hosts, who just about held out to advance:

Having drawn 0-0 in their first-leg meeting with Cordoba, Alcorcon came to the Estadio Nuevo Arcangel knowing a win would be enough to progress, and that's exactly what manager Julio Velazquez's side got.

Cordoba striker Federico Piovaccari put the brakes on their plans after converting a ninth-minute chance, but second-half goals from David Rodriguez and Ivan Alejo in the 51st and 68th minutes completed Alcorcon's comeback.