Neymar, Messi help Barcelona rout Elche 5-0 in Copa del Rey

MADRID (AP) — Barcelona set aside its off-field troubles and put on a show in which Neymar, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez scored in a 5-0 route of Elche in a Copa del Rey last-16, first-leg match on Thursday.

The win eased the tension at Barcelona in a week in which sports director Andoni Zubizarreta was fired, the appeal against a one-year transfer ban was lost, and it fell at Real Sociedad in the Spanish league.