Celta Vigo would have fancied themselves to cause an upset as they prepared to face Barcelona in the second leg of their Copa del Rey tie this evening.The two clubs met last week and Barça were held to a 1-1 draw. Celta boss Juan Carlos Unzue would have understood the scale of the task in the return fixture, but he also would have told his players that anything is possible.And then Lionel Messi did what Lionel Messi does.The Argentinian, who didn’t play in the first leg, was named in Ernesto Valverde’s starting line-up and, unfortunately for Celta, he was in one of those moods.Messi scored twice in the opening 15 minutes to hand Barcelona a 3-1 aggregate lead and then he turned provider, laying on Jordi Alba to end the tie as a contest.And his assist was simply brilliant.

Watch: Messi's superb assist

Messi collected the ball in midfield before looking up at studying his options.

He spotted Alba bursting down the left flank and produced a defence-splitting pass that landed at Alba.

The Spanish left-back did really well to turn the ball home and after doing so, he immediately ran towards Messi to celebrate.

It was magical from Messi, who is continuing to show that he’s going to be just as effective when he begins to play as a midfielder more often.

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Luis Suarez joined in the fun, making it 4-0 on the night in the 31st minute, and the night went just as Valverde had planned.

The Barcelona boss has welcomed Philippe Coutinho to the club this week and he believes the Brazilian will make a big impact in Spain.

"Coutinho is a player we think can help us,” Valverde said, per Goal. “Each player is different and brings something new.

“He scores, he can shoot. He can play inside or outside and we hope he can contribute and help us to be better.”

Valverde will have to wait to use Coutinho, though. A thigh problem will rule the £142 million man out for three weeks.

Yet, if this evening’s performance showed anything, it’s that Barcelona will cope without him.