Barcelona have booked their spot in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey after beating Espanyol 2-0 in the second leg of their last-16 clash.
Luis Enrique's side entered the match as the firm favourites to advance following a 4-1 win in the first leg, and a double from Munir El Haddadi ensured that the holders comfortably progressed into the final eight.
© AFP
The first serious effort of the match came in the fourth minute when Marco Asensio found space outside the Barcelona box, but the on-loan Real Madrid attacker's effort was always swinging wide of Marc-Andre ter Stegen's post.
Espanyol were indeed the dominant team in the opening 10 minutes, with Felipe Caicedo's pace and power causing problems for a Barcelona defence that were without both Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba.
Barcelona's first effort on goal came in the 11th minute through Lionel Messi, but the Argentine's strike on the half-volley was saved by Francesco Bardi, who had replaced Pau Lopez between the sticks for tonight's match.
Joan Jordan then hit one for Espanyol, but once again, it missed the target as the two teams remained on terms in the second leg, but with Barcelona still 4-1 ahead in the tie.
Messi set up Munir with a fine cross in the 21st minute as the visitors began to take control of the possession, but the youngster could only head wide of the post, much to the delight of the home supporters.
Messi continued to run the show as the half progressed and attempted to curl one into the top corner following a mazy run, but Bardi was on hand to make a smart save.
© AFP
Michael Ciani was the next player to come close just before the 30-minute mark, but the Espanyol defender could only flash a header wide of the post after battling to make contact on a corner from the left.
It was Barcelona that took the lead on the night, however, with Messi sliding a pass into Munir, who rounded the Espanyol goalkeeper before finishing into the back of the net 13 minutes before the break.
Espanyol's best chance in the first period came moments before the break when Caicedo broke through on goal, but Ter Stegen stayed as big as possible and managed to tip the striker's effort just over the crossbar with a fine one-handed save.
Caicedo also had the first clear chance of the second period, but once again he was denied by Ter Stegen, who managed to recover from a heavy blow to his head late in the opening 45.
Caicedo remained Espanyol's main outlet and perhaps should have been awarded a penalty when he went down under pressure from Javier Mascherano, but the referee was not interested and Barcelona's clean sheet remained intact.
Chances were few and far between in the latter stages, but Barcelona scored their second in the 88th minute when Munir converted a low cross from Aleix Vidal.
No Data Analysis info