Luis Suarez scored twice on Wednesday as Barcelona inflicted another defeat on Real Madrid to move within touching distance of winning a record fifth consecutive Copa del Rey. Madrid were the better side for at least half of a wild Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu but three goals conceded in 28 chaotic, second-half minutes sent Barca through to the final with a 3-0 victory, 4-1 on aggregate. Suarez would have had a hat-trick had Raphael Varane not beaten him on the line to Ousmane Dembele's cross, Varane's own-goal coming between the Uruguayan's smart finish and a mischeivously chipped penalty. He now has 11 goals in 13 games against Madrid. "We have other players apart from Leo Messi that can score goals," Barca coach Ernesto Valverde said. "Luis' numbers are incredible, historic for Barca. We know he is always there."

By then, Barca were coasting and after thrashing Madrid 5-1 at the Camp Nou in October, they will return for Saturday's La Liga game boasting an accumulative score of 9-2 from the clubs' three meetings this season. But this was not the humiliation of four months ago and if the result can be put to one side, Santiago Solari might take heart from the handful of golden opportunities his team wasted before their opponents began their spree. "We are sad, we wanted to play in the final," Solari said. "But we go out with our heads held high, we did everything we could but we didn't take our chances, and they did."

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019