Madrid – Ferran Torres netted a hat trick within the first 30 minutes to propel Barcelona to an impressive 5-0 victory against Valencia, securing them a place in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey on Thursday.
Torres found the back of the net in the 3rd, 17th, and 30th minutes, with Fermin López adding another goal in the 23rd minute, and Lamine Yamal scoring in the 59th for Barcelona. This match followed closely on the heels of their previous encounter, where Barcelona had overwhelmingly defeated Valencia 7-1 in the Spanish league just weeks prior.
“We anticipated a tough matchup, but we managed to score early, which helped us,” noted Torres, who previously played for both Valencia and Manchester City. “That early goal took the wind out of their sails. I genuinely wish them well; I hope they manage to avoid relegation as I’m just another supporter. It’s tough to watch a club that means so much to me struggle like this.”
Currently, Valencia finds itself in a difficult position, sitting second-to-last in the Spanish league and facing an off-field turmoil fueled by fan protests against their Singaporean owner, Peter Lim. The team was the Copa runner-up to Real Betis in the 2021-22 season.
Barcelona had not reached the semifinals of the Copa since their elimination by Real Madrid in the 2022-23 season, with their last triumph in the tournament being in the 2020-21 campaign. Over their last seven matches in all competitions, the Catalan side has scored a robust 26 goals while allowing 11.
In other matchups, Real Sociedad defeated Osasuna 2-0, eliminating them for the second consecutive season. Goals from Ander Barrenetxea and Brais Méndez in the first half secured the win for Sociedad, which faced a significant advantage after Osasuna’s Alejandro Catena received a straight red card via video review in the 35th minute.
At the time of the red card, Sociedad was already leading 2-0. The match echoed a similar outcome from last season’s round of 16, where Sociedad also triumphed over Osasuna by the same score. They have not reached the semifinals since securing their third Copa title in the 2019-20 season, while Osasuna was the runner-up to Real Madrid in the 2022-23 season.
On Wednesday, Real Madrid narrowly defeated Leganes 3-2, with a last-minute goal from 20-year-old Gonzalo García sealing their victory. Earlier, Atletico Madrid made headlines as the first team to progress to the semifinals with a commanding 5-0 win at home against Getafe on Tuesday.
Looking ahead, the final quarterfinal matchup on Thursday will see Barcelona once again going up against Valencia.
