Coutinho danced the samba, Camp Nou bid Masche farewell... 5 things happened in Barca win

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez grabbed the goals and Philippe Coutinho made his debut as Barcelona edged a nervy derby clash 2-0 (2-1 on aggregate) to reach the Copa del Rey semi-finals.Aleix Vidal crossed from the right and Suarez powered home a header in the 9th minute to send Barcelona ahead.

It was Messi who doubled their lead 16 minutes later, winning the ball on the edge of the area and firing a low strike past Pau Lopez, with the aid of a deflection off Naldo.

Messi twice came close to adding to Barcelona’s lead before the end of the first half as the Catalans looked for a goal to seal their progress.Substitute Coutinho set up Suarez but he was foiled from close range by Pau Lopez, who also denied Ivan Rakitic with the follow up.

Messi hit the post in the latter stages as Barcelona survived the threat of a last gasp away goal which would have knocked them out.

Here are the five key talking points from the game…

1. Changing of the guardPhilippe Coutinho made his Barcelona debut, replacing Andres Iniesta in the 68th minute, which is what is expected to happen in the long term at the club too.

Iniesta played some sparkling football in the first half and he is not finished yet, but Coutinho made an instant positive impact on the left side after coming on.

Camp Nou rose to their feet to applaud him as he entered the pitch, with the Brazilian’s every touch in the next few minutes cheered too.

Luis Suarez should have added his second and sealed the game when set up by his friend and former Liverpool team-mate, but was denied by the excellent Pau Lopez.

With club record signing Coutinho unable to play in the Champions League, we could see him used in La Liga and the remainder of the cup, while Iniesta’s game-time might be more focused in Europe.

1. Copa is Barcelona’s for the takingBarcelona love the Copa del Rey. They have won it more times than any other side — 29 times in total, six more than Athletic Bilbao, who are above Real Madrid — 19.

The Basques were dumped out long ago and Real Madrid suffered a humiliating elimination by local minnows Leganes.

Valencia and Sevilla are the other sides in Friday’s semi-final draw, meaning Barcelona have a relatively clear path to a potential 30th trophy.

Ernesto Valverde picked a practically full strength side, showing a lot of respect for the cup, whereas Zinedine Zidane left Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo out against Leganes and paid a hefty price.

Barcelona have won the Spanish cup three years running and look good value to make it a fourth.

1. The real Big SamSamuel Umtiti made his return to action after injury against Real Betis at the weekend as a substitute, but had little to do as Messi put on a show up front.

This was a different story and the French defender showed he is every bit the player he was before the injury.

Umtiti’s superb footwork led to Gerard Moreno slipping and falling on his face in the first half, cheered gleefully by the Barcelona fans.

However more impressive was his overall display, which was composed and slick even as the tension rose.

1. Fiery atmosphereOften the Catalan derby at Camp Nou is underwhelming, with Barcelona winning comfortably and little atmosphere of note.

This was different, though.

After Espanyol beat their rivals for the first time since 2009 in the first leg, Barcelona fans were fired up for this one.

With the prospect of seeing new signing Philipp Coutinho in action, the Camp Nou was packed.

It was the second highest home attendance of the season at 79,774, only topped by the Spanish Super Cup clasico against Real Madrid in August.

The fans chanted throughout and were louder than at any game since the sensational 6-1 comeback in the Champions League against PSG last season.

Outside flares were lit up and there was a real spicy atmosphere—usually in Spain this only happens at the Madrid clubs, Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla and on select other occasions.

Inside there was a bit of rough and tumble, with 50 Espanyol fans reportedly expelled. But the derby is alive again.

1. Crackdown on protests in CataloniaReferee Mateu Lahoz seemed to be following the Spanish government’s line on protesting in Catalonia.

Espanyol were flying in to tackles, some legal, some not, but he didn’t seem to care.

However when Barcelona players complained about the rough treatment, the often-controversial, always-a-character official was not having any of it.

First Suarez went into the book, then Messi and later Paulinho. That Barcelona ended up with four bookings and Espanyol three after a game like this beggars belief.

However once Barcelona saw they were getting short shrift from him, they should have stopped their complaints.