FC Barcelona booked their semi-final spot in the Copa del Rey on Thursday with a sound 5-2 home win over Real Sociedad, with budding superstar Denis Suarez sealing the deal for a 6-2 aggregate victory.
The youngest player in Barca's squad at 23, Denis Suarez opened his account early in the game after 17 minutes of play, set up by the more senior Luis Suarez. Already trailing 0-1 in their first leg match, Sociedad fought back with Juanmi and Willian Jose each found the net but it was not enough to stop the Catalan club's onslaught to the delight of the home fans. The last time Real Sociedad had beaten Barcelona at the Camp Nou was in 1991, with 3-1 win.
Lionel Messi converted a penalty after Neymar was brought down by Inigo Martinez to score his 28th goal of the season with former Liverpool player Luis Suarez added his own tally to 20. Substitute midfielder Arda Turan also joined in the fun with a left-footed strike and Denis Suarez got his second goal of the night before full-time, his fourth goal in two games.
Barcelona, currently third in the La Liga standings, is scheduled to meet Athletico Madrid in the semis. The other best four-match will feature Alaves and Celta Vigo, who beat league leaders Real Madrid in the quarters on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Barca manager Luis Enrique sees Denis Suarez as the most suitable candidate to replace the club's resident magician Andres Iniesta in the future.
Following his impressive performance recently, the Barcelona boss said that the young player is on the right path to succeed Iniesta, nicknamed Harry Potter. Enrique believes that Denis Suarez has a good relationship with his team-mates as well as the right work ethics on the field and can be groomed to be the next Catalan magician.
