Philippe Coutinho scored his first goal for Barcelona after his club record move from Liverpool as Barcelona reached the Copa del Rey
An exciting first half finished goalless after Rodrigo hit the bar for Valencia with a header, but half-time substitute Coutinho soon made the difference, teed up by his former Liverpool team-mate Luis Suarez.
The Uruguayan striker provided the second goal too, putting it on a plate for Ivan Rakitic to finish in the 82nd minute and send the record cup winners (29 times) through to another final.
Valencia put up a good fight but when Jasper Cillessen made one of the saves of the season from Jose Luis Gaya at point-blank range, it was clear that this was not to be their night.
Here are the five key talking points…
1. Patience is a virtue
Philippe Coutinho’s Barcelona career got off to a slow start. The Brazilian had to sit out most of January with a thigh injury before he was finally able to pull on the shirt for real, and even then his minutes were carefully managed by Ernesto Valverde.
The coach handed him a couple of starts but also used him from the bench, as he did in this game.
Brought on at half-time for Gomes, Coutinho was determined to make his mark and he did so, netting his first goal for the club in the 50th minute.
Combining with his old Liverpool mucker Suarez, Coutinho slid in to finish brilliantly from a tight angle after Suarez did well to burst through and cross for him.
This game could be the springboard for the rest of Coutinho’s Barcelona career, which, if his potential is fulfilled, will be something special.
2. Fragile confidence
Ernesto Valverde, like Luis Enrique, sees something in Andre Gomes that many outside observers cannot.
The coach picked him on the right of midfield here, back at his old hunting ground, and some would say the place Gomes last had a genuinely good game.
Gomes started reasonably well, with tidy passing, but the moment one thing went wrong—a cross he somehow punted off the pitch, nowhere near his intended target—everything fell to pieces.
Attacks broke down when they reached him, his confidence dipped and he started playing backwards passes instead of looking for the dangerous, penetrating balls.
When back in front of his own area he gave the ball straight back to Valencia, causing panic at the back.
Valverde took him off at half-time, admitting his own mistake. Gomes was lucky to survive the winter window and he will surely leave in the summer, barring a drastic change in fortunes
3. Messi mayhem
Lionel Messi only had to play 30 minutes on the swamp that was the RCDE Stadium, and even in that short time he set up the team’s equaliser to keep them unbeaten in La Liga.
The result of his rest meant he had all his energy here and in the first half particularly he put on a wonderful show, with Valencia unable to get near him unless it was by illegal means.
Messi left Simeone Zaza for dead and then beat two other defenders in an early dribble which set out his intentions.
Jaume Domenech punched away a Messi free-kick and Francis Coquelin had to pull the Argentine’s shirt all the way over his head to stop him, which somehow wasn’t whistled for a foul.
It was therefore a surprise when Barcelona broke the deadlock and it wasn’t Messi who scored it or set it up.
Messi might have had a penalty in the second half as he burst in on goal and two players combined to take him and then the ball out, but the referee did not oblige.
4. Risk-reward
Valverde had a tough decision to make over Gerard Pique, who had a knee strain but was desperate to play in this game.
With the Chelsea Champions League tie around the corner, the easier thing to do would be to rest him, but it would have meant handing Yerry Mina his debut alongside Umtiti in a high-pressure tie.
With Pique asking to play, Valverde picked the centre-back and he delivered in a dominant display, even if at times it looked like he wasn’t 100 per cent fit.
As a result Barcelona kept a clean sheet and qualified for their fifth consecutive Copa del Rey final.
And Mina was brought on in the final stages for Pique too, so he didn’t feel as if Valverde doesn’t trust him.
5. Not all over for Valencia
Valencia fought hard and until Rakitic grabbed Barcelona’s second goal, they weren’t out of the game despite needing three goals.
Marcelino can be proud of his side, while the fans in turn can be proud of their coach, who has turned the club’s fortunes around this season.
This showing will give Los Che hope they can resist Real Madrid’s pressure and finish third this season, or even mount a charge for second.
No player has been better for Valencia than Goncalo Guedes, who came on as a substitute and, despite being half-injured, gave Sergi Roberto a torrid time.
The fans created a great atmosphere at Mestalla and despite the disappointment of the result, this Valencia is now nothing like the team we saw in the frustrating and, at times, bizarre, seasons before this.
