Neymar nets double as Barca reach King's Cup final

Barcelona's Neymar scored twice and Luis Suarez was also on target as they reached the King's Cup final with a 3-1 win away to Villarreal on Wednesday that gave them a 6-2 aggregate victory.

>>Reuters
Published : 4 March 2015, 10:00 PM
Updated : 4 March 2015, 10:00 PM

Villarreal were dreaming of overturning the first-leg defeat at the Nou Camp to reach their first final but their hopes were hit when Neymar scored after three minutes.

Lionel Messi swung in an inviting cross from the right wing, allowing Neymar to nudge the ball past keeper Sergio Asenjo.

Villarreal rallied despite the size of the task ahead and Jonathan dos Santos converted a Jaume Costa cross after 39 minutes to level the score on the night.

Barca were struggling to cope with Villarreal's attacking movement, but any realistic chance of a comeback was extinguished when Tomas Pina was sent off after 64 minutes for a reckless challenge on Neymar from behind.

Suarez latched onto a long ball from Javier Mascherano and rounded the keeper to put Barca ahead and Neymar nodded home a Xavi cross to seal a victory that was tainted by an ankle injury for midfielder Sergio Busquets.

Barca, who were beaten in last year's final by Real Madrid, will face either Espanyol or Athletic Bilbao, who play their second leg later on Wednesday after their opening clash ended in a 1-1 draw.