Barcelona rout Hercules

Barcelona’s reserves got the job done at the second attempt, leading the Catalan club to the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey with a 7-0 rout of third-division Hercules.

After being held to a stunning 1-1 draw in the first leg, a hat-trick from Arda Turan helped the second-stringers to a comfortable victory at Camp Nou on Wednesday.

The defending champions got off to a slow start, but the game opened up after defender Lucas Digne got on the board with a shot from inside the area in the 37th minute.

Midfielder Ivan Rakitic added to the lead by converting a penalty just before halftime, and Rafinha, Turan and Paco Alcacer scored in the second half.

Alcacer’s goal was his first in a competitive match since joining Barcelona this season. He had netted in a friendly last week.

Turan, Rakitic, Rafinha and Javier Mascherano were the only seasoned players starting against Hercules, which marked the team’s final game of the year.

The Copa del Rey will resume in the first week of January.

On Tuesday, Atletico Madrid beat third-division club Guijuelo 10-1 on aggregate after a 4-1 win at Vicente Calderon Stadium.

Real Madrid had already reached the next round by eliminating third-division team Cultural Leonesa.

With hat-tricks by Luciano Vietto and Ben Yedder, Sevilla routed fourth-division club Formentera to advance 14-2 on aggregate.

Valencia ended the year giving its fans some reason to celebrate by beating Leganes for a 5-2 victory on aggregate.