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Ousmane Dembélé scored two goals less than a minute apart and Lionel Messi added a third goal, while FC Barcelona, reigning world champion, did not hesitate to beat a deficit of Copa del Rey Last 16, easy to defeat Levante move to the quarterfinals.
Playing behind a superb defensive line, Barça goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen made a stop to pick up a clean goal.
Dembélé opened the scoring at the half-hour mark when his shot towards the goal ended on a tackle from the defender who sent the ball back to Dembélé before returning to the goal. With a score of 1-0 (2-2 total), Barça has been provisionally qualified for the quarterfinals, but there is still a lot of football to play.
Less than a minute later, the French scored his second goal of the match to allow Barça to take the driver's seat, 2-0 overall and 3-2 overall.
And that's how Barça entered the locker room at half-time, up one pair, but knowing that a single goal in Levante would be enough to send the tie to two legs in overtime and possibly in shoot to the net.
Dembélé's first goal earned him the only Barça player to have scored in all four competitions this season. Dembélé had already found the net in the EspanolGreatCup, in TheLigaand in the UEFAChampionsLeague.
But if anyone wanted to have a say on the end result, it would always be Messi. The man they call a goat barely missed two decisive chances in the first half, but he should not be denied a third time. In the 54th minute, the Argentinian calmly decamped the opposing goalkeeper on a precise strike from Nelson Semedo from the right wing.
Messi's goal was his first of the season in the Copa del Rey, but more importantly, it was also the 49th of his career in the tournament. He was tied with former big Barça László Kubala, second on the club's list of records. .
Barça entered the second leg to compensate for an overall deficit of 2-1, which had happened a week earlier in Levante, when the big stars were not dressed and several reserve players were entitled at significant minutes. But the return match only concerned the case, and as Barça manager Ernesto Valverde had scored a starting lineup of players in the first division. Once Messi scored 3-0, 4-2 overall, Levante had no chance.
The draw to determine the quarter-finals is set for Friday at 17:00 Paris time. Barça could face Catalans Girona or RCDEspanyol; the teams based in Seville Sevilla or RealBetis; the clubs based in Madrid Getafe or RealMadrid; or Valencia.
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