Barcelona routs Valencia again to reach Copa del Rey semifinals. Sociedad gets past Osasuna

By Canadian Press on February 6, 2025.

MADRID (AP) — Ferran Torres scored a hat trick in the first half hour to lead Barcelona to another rout of Valencia and a spot in the semifinals of the Copa del Rey on Thursday.

Torres scored in the third, 17th and 30th minutes in Barcelona’s 5-0 win at Valencia. Fermin López scored in the 23rd and Lamine Yamal in the 59th for the Catalan club, which less than two weeks ago had handed Valencia a 7-1 rout at home in the Spanish league.

Barcelona hadn’t made it to the Copa semifinals since being eliminated by Real Madrid in 2022-23. It last won the competition in 2020-21.

Valencia, sitting second-to-last in the Spanish league, was runner-up to Real Betis in 2021-22.

Sociedad advances

Real Sociedad eliminated Osasuna for the second straight season with a 2-0 victory.

Ander Barrenetxea and Brais Méndez scored first-half goals to give Sociedad the home victory against an Osasuna team that played a man down from the 35th when Alejandro Catena was sent off with a straight red card after video review intervened.

Sociedad was already ahead 2-0 when Catena was sent off.

Sociedad had won by the same score at Osasuna in the round of 16 last season. It hadn’t made it to the last four since it won its third Copa title in 2019-20. Osasuna was runner-up to Real Madrid in 2022-23.

On Wednesday, Real Madrid edged Leganes 3-2 with a stoppage-time goal by 20-year-old Gonzalo García. Atletico Madrid had become the first team to reach the semifinals when it routed Getafe 5-0 at home Tuesday.

In the last quarterfinal on Thursday, Barcelona will visit Valencia.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Tales Azzoni, The Associated Press