Barca have one foot in the Copa del Rey final.

Goals from Messi, Iniesta, and Pique helped Barca secure a convincing victory over Villarreal in the first leg of the semi-final on the evening of February 11th.

The Catalan team is close to winning their first title of the 2014-2015 season. Photo: Reuters

Result: Barca 3-1 Villarreal

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

Despite their best efforts to defend with a large number of players in their own half, Villarreal could not avoid a 1-3 defeat against Barca. Messi, Iniesta, and Pique scored three goals for the Catalan team at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half, giving them a significant advantage going into the second leg. Between Barca's goals, Trigueros scored a spectacular long-range shot to equalize 1-1, keeping Villarreal's hopes alive.

Following his brilliant performance in last weekend's 5-2 win against Bilbao (scoring one goal and assisting four), Messi continued to be the driving force in the team's attacking moves. Villarreal were fortunate in the first half, avoiding conceding early goals from at least three clear scoring opportunities for the home side.

Pressing relentlessly, Barca finally found a gap in Villarreal's crowded defense to beat goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo. Luis Suarez played a major role in the opening goal, stealing the ball from an opposing defender and delivering a perfect pass to Messi for a tap-in in the 41st minute.

Suarez's performance could have been even better if the striker hadn't made a mistake in the 48th minute. From Suarez's careless pass, Trigueros intercepted the ball and unexpectedly scored with a long-range shot to equalize 1-1 for Villarreal.

But the equalizer from the visitors was just a fleeting moment of brilliance. With Barca completely dominating the game, scoring was only a matter of time. Exactly one minute after Trigueros' long-range shot, Iniesta combined with Suarez and then scored with a shot inside the penalty area to make it 2-1.

Barca quickly scored their third goal from a corner kick in the 64th minute. This time, center-back Gerard Pique demonstrated the value of his height and aerial prowess with a powerful header to seal the victory.

Pique always scores unexpected goals for Barca.

Barca could have won more convincingly if Neymar hadn't missed a penalty. Earlier, Villarreal were penalized for a handball by a defender during a challenge with Messi. Neymar's weak shot was easily saved by goalkeeper Asenjo.

Suarez could have also scored a goal for himself if he had been luckier. The striker's audacious lob from midfield went over Asenjo's head but narrowly missed the target.

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

According to VNE