Barcelona thrashes Cordoba 5-0

Eleven points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of the league table, Barcelona turned their attention to the defence of their Copa Del Rey title on Thursday night with a last 16 second leg tie against Cordoba.

Having won the first leg 2-0 in Andalusia on December 12th, Barca fielded a much-changed side, missing La Liga regulars Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets.

However, they still had far too much talent for their second division opponents and three goals in nine first-half minutes settled matters.

First, Thiago Alcantara took advantage of some sleepy defensive work from Cordoba and beat Mikel Saizar with a right-foot shot on 17 minutes.

Four minutes later, visiting defender Alberto Aguilar was caught in possession and after the ball broke for David Villa on the left, one sharp turn and flick of the highest class in the tightest of spaces made it 2-0.

The third - and Villa's second - arrived in the 26th minute.

Thiago Alcantara set Villa up for a shot on the angle and the ball went in off a goal post.

It was so easy for the holders that they let their standards slip a little in the second half, but still came up with two more goals to emphasise the gulf in class between the sides.

Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez seemed to have been labouring under the pressure of his 26-million Euros price tag in the first half, but the ball ran kindly for the 24-year-old in the second.

A thumping header from a corner in the 55th minute made it 4-0, and a slice of luck in the 85th - the ball striking his knee after Saizar had saved substitute Cristian Tello's effort - wrapped up the game.

Barcelona calmly stepped into the quarter-finals, winning 5-0 on the night and 7-0 on aggregate.

There they will face Malaga for a place in the semis and a potential showdown with arch rivals Real Madrid at that stage.

The only blot on an almost perfect night for Barcelona was an injury to Villa late in the game - it remains to be seen how serious it is.