Lionel Messi struck a spectacular free kick, scored another goal and set up two more in a 4-1 victory for Barcelona over nine-man city rival Espanyol in the first leg of their King's Cup last-16 clash Wednesday. A second-string Atletico Madrid side secured a 1-1 draw at neighbor Rayo Vallecano, striker Saul Niguez equalizing in the second half for the La Liga leaders. Argentine Messi slotted home after 13 minutes for Barca following Felipe Caicedo's opener for Espanyol and he struck a 30-yard free kick before halftime that went in off the underside of the crossbar. Messi provided assists for Gerard Pique and Neymar in the second half while in a feisty game there were also red cards for Espanyol's Hernan Perez and Papakouli Diop. Nacho put Rayo ahead with a low drive after 34 minutes against an Atletico side showing a number of changes. It equalized through a 15-yard strike from Saul who was set up by Luciano Vietto after 67 minutes. Arda Turan made a comfortable debut for Barca after finally being allowed to play following the end of the FIFA transfer ban. Striker Alvaro Negredo scored a hat trick, including two second-half penalties, as Valencia thrashed Granada 4-0 to lift the club which has yet to pick up a La Liga victory under new manager Gary Neville. Second-half goals from Inaki Williams, Aritz Aduriz and Aymeric Laporte helped Athletic Bilbao come from behind to beat in-form Villarreal 3-2. Juve continues resurgence Champion Juventus continued its resurgence by beating Hellas Verona 3-0 at home Wednesday for an eighth successive Serie A victory as Inter Milan remained top after winning 1-0 at Empoli. Juventus, which took one point from its opening three matches and was 11 behind the leader on Oct. 31, remains fourth on 36 points after goals from Paulo Dybala, Leonardo Bonucci and Simone Zaza earned them a comfortable win. Chasing a fifth consecutive Italian title, Juve is three points behind Inter, which retains top spot after seeing off Empoli, with captain Mauro Icardi scoring the only goal of the game. Napoli beat Torino 2-1 at home to stay second, level on 38 points with third place Fiorentina, which won 3-1 at Palermo thanks to two goals from Josip Ilicic. AS Roma's stuttering season continued when it twice let a lead slip to draw 3-3 at Chievo, leaving it fifth on 33 points and increasing the pressure on coach Rudi Garcia. Bologna's Emanuele Giaccherini scored in the 82nd minute to secure a surprise 1-0 win at AC Milan, while Frosinone and Sassuolo drew 2-2, Udinese defeated Atalanta 2-1 and Lazio's clash with Carpi finished goalless.
