Where will the Barça-Sevilla Copa del Rey final be staged?
The tie was over following a fine bit of play from Luis Suárez outsmarting Garay and finding Coutinho who slotted home for his first goal in a Barça shirt. The ball arrived at a difficult angle for the former Liverpool player who did well to re-direct the ball past Jaume into the corner of the net. Barça struck at the beginning of the second half and left Valencia with a mountain to climb. Coutinho had replaced André Gomes at the interval after a discreet performance from the Portuguese player. Playing the 24-year-old from time to time appears to be an act of charity from Valverde as it was from Luis Enrique last season.
Barça..worthy winners
Luis Suárez was also involved in the second Barça goal of the night supplying Rakitic to fire past the Valencia keeper. The home side had been playing well with the introduction of Guedes despite the Portuguese not being totally match-fit but "Los Che" struggled to beat Cillesen who delivered a fine display on the night. Valverde opted to sub Iniesta and later Piqué, who was swapped for Yerry Mina making his Barcelona debut. The game was done and dusted when the Colombian international entered the fray as it appeared Piqué was starting to struggle physically. Barça are through to the final as worthy winners being the superior side over the 180 minutes of football.
Groundhog Day
The Catalan side now face Sevilla on April 21, but where? The classic question that crops up annually. Pepe Castro has requested that the game be played at his Sanchez Pizjuan ground but the logical venue would be the Wanda Metropolitano and Atlético have already given their blessing to their new stadium being used as the setting for the final. LaLiga will now need to reschedule the Sevilla-Real Madrid and Barça-Villarreal games initially earmarked for that weekend. That shouldn't pose too many problems with there being a gap in the Champions League calendar but it could pose a headache in re-scheduling the Atlético-Betis match as Atléti are still involved in the Europa League. One proposal would be the final being staged on the 21st and the Atlético-Betis game being played the Monday after. The Bernabéu is not an option of course !