Torres treble powers Barca past Valencia into Copa del Rey semis

Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal were also on target for the record 31-time Spanish Cup winners as they swaggered to victory at an upset Mestalla stadium. Earlier Real Sociedad progressed with a comfortable 2-0 win over 10-man Osasuna, joining Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in a strong final four.

Former Valencia forward Torres took the plaudits with his treble inside 30 minutes, taking full advantage of Barca coach Hansi Flick's decision to rest striker Robert Lewandowski. "We thought that it would be a very difficult game, because here at Mestalla is always a hard ground to play," Torres told TVE. "We had the luck that we scored goals early and in the end that sunk them."

The Spaniard netted in the third minute, running onto a fine Alejandro Balde through ball and finishing clinically against his former side. Torres netted the second after 17 minutes when teenage winger Yamal's shot bounced off the post back into his path. Lopez put Barcelona three up midway through the first half with a well-timed run expertly found by Pedri Gonzalez, rounding goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski and tucking home.

Torres completed his hat-trick after half-an-hour with an accurate low finish after Raphinha teed him up on the edge of the box. The former Manchester City winger's bright display offered food for thought, with Barcelona scoring at least five goals in the last four games where veteran Polish striker Lewandowski has not started.

Some Valencia fans started leaving the Mestalla stadium in anger, a constant theme around the club with owner Peter Lim criticised by supporters with chants and banners. This was Valencia's second thrashing at Barca's hands in the space of two weeks, after the Catalans triumphed 7-1 at home in La Liga.

'Suffer like this'

Valencia had a rare moment of cheer at the start of the second half when Umar Sadiq found the net but the goal was ruled out for offside. The gangly Nigerian striker then won a penalty but that too was scrapped after he was shown to be offside again in the build-up. At the other end Yamal struck the post again but this time the ball flew out and to safety for Valencia.

The 17-year-old Spain star got his goal eventually with a low effort which took a small deflection and beat Dimitrievski, who could still have kept it out. "I'm really happy with the team, how they played, we created chances and scored them from the beginning and that helped us a lot," Flick told TVE. "(Attacking) is the style we want to play in, you know the hunger the team has to go for the next goal... it's a young team and they focus on scoring goals."

Valencia are 19th in La Liga, four points from safety and Torres said he hoped they could survive in the top flight. "I hope Valencia save themselves because in the end I'm just another fan," added the forward. "It's hard to see the club of your youth and your life suffer like this, they're really going through it." Valencia coach Carlos Corberan said his team had been left hurt by the defeat.

"It's a very tough loss, especially hard because we feel the same as we did after the league game, but in front of our fans at Mestalla," he said. "We have to give a better account of ourselves... the fans deserve a lot more than what we have been capable of." In San Sebastian Ander Barrenetxea and Brais Mendez struck for hosts Real Sociedad before Osasuna had Alejandro Catena sent off for a wild challenge after 35 minutes.

Osasuna beat the same opposition 2-1 in La Liga on Sunday but Catena's dismissal effectively ended any hope of mounting a comeback. La Real reached the Copa semi-finals for the third time in six seasons, last winning in the 2020 edition.

 

February 6, 2025