Philippe Coutinho struck twice as Barcelona mounted a comeback to thrash Sevilla 6-1 and sweep into the Copa del Rey semifinals 6-3 on aggregate on Wednesday. After a 2-0 defeat in Seville last week in which they rested key players, the Catalans broke the deadlock in the 13th minute when Coutinho slotted home from the penalty spot following Quincy Promes's foul on Lionel Messi. Messi handed Coutinho the ball and the Brazilian playmaker converted the spot kick, ending a run of poor form. Sevilla nearly equalized but Jasper Cillessen produced a brilliant save from Andre Silva's backheel, before the Dutch goalkeeper palmed away Ever Banega's penalty. Gerard Pique fouled Roque Mesa and after a long delay while the incident was checked by VAR, Argentina midfielder Banega fired to the goalkeeper's left, but Cillessen flew across to keep the ball out. Barcelona pulled the game level on aggregate in the 32nd minute when Ivan Rakitic nudged the ball past Juan Soriano with the faintest of touches after a sensational pass from Arthur. Two goals in a two-minute spell after the break helped Barcelona race ahead, with Coutinho heading in from Luis Suarez's cross and Sergi Roberto tucking home a ball from Messi. Guilherme Arana pulled a goal back for Sevilla with a powerful drive after the otherwise impressive Cillessen gave the ball away, but Pablo Machin's side were finally sunk when Suarez struck on the break and Messi added a late sixth. Earlier Real Betis, whose Benito Villamarin stadium will host the final in May, beat Espanyol 3-1 at home after extra-time to progress 4-1 on aggregate. Leo Baptistao headed Espanyol in front after 33 minutes but Giovani Lo Celso equalised in the 76th minute before Marc Roca was dismissed for the visitors. Betis capitalized on their numerical advantage in extra-time, with Sergio Leon and Aissa Mandi's strikes earning them a semi-final spot. Athletic Bilbao set new women's attendance record Athletic Bilbao set a new record for attendance at a women's Soccer game in Spain as 48,121 people watched their side's Copa de la Reina quarterfinal tie against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday. The figure beats that of any attendances for Athletic's men's La Liga games this season, with 46,884 the biggest crowd at the 53,289 capacity new San Mames stadium for the derby against Real Sociedad in October. It beat the previous Spanish women's Soccer attendance record — also held by Athletic Bilbao — when 35,000 turned up at their old San Mames stadium to see the Basque side defeat Hispalis to become league champions in 2003. The club initiative of a 5 euro entry fees for the general public and free entry for season ticket holders, was lauded by the Spanish Football Federation, who congratulated Athletic for "writing a part of football history in Spain". Unfortunately for the home crowd their side lost 2-0 to last season's finalists Atletico Madrid, with a goal in each half from Angela Sosa and Aurelie Kaci enough for the visitors who also had Kenti Robles sent off. Holders Barcelona, Sociedad and Sevilla also made it through to the final four of the competition. — Reuters
