Messi boots Barca into King's Cup quarters

Lionel Messi's third goal from a freekick in as many games this year secured Barcelona's place in the quarterfinals of the Spanish King's Cup as the holder beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 to edge through 4-3 on aggregate on Wednesday.

Luis Suarez's 100th Barca goal and Neymar's penalty canceled out Athletic's 2-1 first leg lead, but Enric Saborit's header six minutes into the second half had the tie headed for extra time.

However, just as in the first leg and in a 1-1 draw at Villarreal on Sunday, Messi rode to Barca's rescue with another exquisite freekick that clipped the inside of the post on its way past Gorka Iraizoz.