17 points stand between these two sides in La Liga, and it was an understandable difference as the match got underway at the Camp Nou, with Barcelona passing Valencia to sleep.
The Catalans are bidding to land their third Copa del Rey on the bounce this season after previous successes in 2016 and 2017 and to do so they first have to overcome Valencia, a side used to dominating teams with their passing ability. But it was not that way at the Camp Nou.
The visitors defended deep in the first half and occasionally broke forward in the second, but Barcelona were always in control, pinging the ball around with aplomb. However, they struggled to capitalise on their dominance, getting in behind Valencia during that first half but the last line of defence kept them out time-and-time again.
Valencia, pinned inside their own half, were barely allowed a touch of the ball. Barcelona knocked firmly on the door with confident interplay from every single player lined up by Valverde, but despite 80 per cent of ball possession, the hosts hadn't mustered a shot on target by the time the game reached half-time.
Marcelino is a shrewd coach who has Valencia in the top four this season and they played it ugly to shut out the highest scoring team in Spain. Ruben Vezo and Gabriel Paulista looked solid when called upon in central defence as Marcelino called for a disciplined performance from his side, and that is exactly what they provided. The attacking players lacked support with Valencia offering nothing going forward. All their efforts went into keeping the La Liga leaders at bay.
It was vintage Barcelona from start to finish. The defending champions began the match on the ball and rarely gave it away after that. Barring a brief period at the start of the second half in which Valencia picked themselves up and looked for that crucial away goal, the game was Barcelona's. In the closing stages, the Catalans showed their ambition by pushing for a second goal rather than sitting back and protecting their lead.
Halfway through the second half, Jordi Alba and Messi combined down the left-hand side, with the latter waiting patiently at the byline and delivering a wonderful chipped effort to the back post, where Luis Suarez was left unmarked. The Uruguayan emphatically powered a header into the roof of Domenech's net.
Valencia almost shocked the hosts late on with substitute Santi Mina running through on goal. Jasper Cillessen came off his line to confront the striker and produced a remarkable sliding tackle to send it away for a corner. In the end Luis Suarez made it 16 goals in 16 games with the bullet header that puts Barcelona 90 minutes from the Copa del Rey final.