VINES: Barcelona quieten the naysayers with 5-0 thrashing of Elche

With all the doubt that is currently circling the Camp Nou, many expected Barcelona to collapse into itself amidst rumours of unrest and talk of the one-or-other departures of manager Luis Enrique and talisman Lionel Messi.

The torrent of pressure on the club was quelled last night as Barca produced a rousing performance to see off Elche with ne'er a problem in the first leg of their Copa del Rey last 16 tie. The scoring was opened in the 35th minute when Neymar was the beneficiary of some gorgeous play that allowed Luis Suarez to tease a ball across the face of goal which was finished definitively by the Brazilian. The second arrived just five minutes later when provider turned scorer as Suarez turned his man on the edge of the area and sprinted into a goalscoring position before cutting onto his favoured right peg and hammering low and hard past the Elche 'keeper. It was 3-0 before half-time when Neymar was brought down in the area. Leo Messi stepped up for the spot-kick and made no mistake by sending Tyton the wrong way and it seemed to be game-over by the break.    Things didn't get any easier for La Liga's bottom side when a defence-splitting pass from the magical Argentinian set up full back Jordi Alba to help himself to a goal. And the scoring was completed the way it was started when Neymar let fly in an attempt to beat the 'keeper at his far post but a wicked deflection took it beyond Tyton and crept in at the near.  While the Camp Nou hardcore will not be getting carried away with the victory, considering Barcelona were playing a far inferior side in Elche, it shows that the players still have the drive and desire to play and are far from ready to give up on themselves.