Barca puts one foot in the King's Cup final

Goals from Messi, Iniesta and Pique helped Barca win convincingly against Villarreal in the first leg of the semi-final on the evening of February 11.

The Catalan team is getting closer to its first title of the 2014-2015 season. Photo: Reuters

Result: Barca 3-1 Villarreal

Goals: Messi 41', Iniesta 49', Pique 64' - Trigueros 48'

Despite defending with a large number of players in their own half, Villarreal could not avoid a 1-3 defeat to Barca. Messi, Iniesta and Pique scored three goals for the Catalans late in the first half and early in the second half to give them a big advantage ahead of the return leg. In between Barca's goals, Trigueros scored a beautiful long-range strike to make it 1-1 and keep Villarreal's hopes alive.

After a brilliant performance in the 5-2 win over Bilbao last weekend (scoring one goal and assisting four), Messi continued to be the spirit of the attack. Villarreal continued to be lucky in the first half, avoiding having to pick the ball out of the net early in at least three of the home team's chances.

After pressing hard, Barca finally found a gap in Villarreal's crowded defence to beat goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo. Luis Suarez had a big part in the opening goal when he stole the ball from an opposing defender and passed it to Messi to finish in the 41st minute.

Suarez's performance could have been brighter if the striker hadn't made a mistake in the 48th minute. From Suarez's careless pass, Trigueros stole the ball and unexpectedly shot from a distance to equalize 1-1 for Villarreal.

But the equalizer was just a flash of lightning for the visitors. With Barca completely dominating the match, scoring was just a matter of time. Exactly one minute after Trigueros' long-range shot, Iniesta coordinated with Suarez and then connected in the penalty area to make it 2-1.

Barca also quickly got the third goal when they were awarded a corner kick in the 64th minute. This time, center-back Gerard Pique proved how valuable his height and aerial prowess were with a high header to seal the victory.

Pique always scores unexpected goals for Barca.

Barca could have won more convincingly if Neymar had not missed a penalty. Before that, Villarreal were penalized for a defender handling the ball in a challenge with Messi. Neymar's "gentle" shot was easily saved by goalkeeper Asenjo.

Suarez could have scored a goal himself if he had been luckier. His daring chip from midfield sent the ball over Asenjo's head but just missed the target.

The second leg will be played at Villarreal's home ground, El Madrigal, on March 4. In the other semi-final first leg, Bilbao were held to a 1-1 draw by Espanyol.

According to VNE