Barcelona put one foot in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals – Lionel Messi’s left foot – as they recorded a comfortable 4-1 first leg victory over local rivals Espanyol.

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The brilliant Argentine scored twice and created the other two for Gerard Pique and Neymar to end the resistance of Espanyol, who had earlier taken the lead through Felipe Caicedo but ended a full-blooded affair with only nine men.

The teams were meeting for the second time in five days after contesting a thunderous goalless draw in La Liga on Saturday, and notably for the hosts they were able to field summer signing Arda Turan for the first time after the end of their FIFA transfer ban.

Any additional spice that might have been needed was provided when Espanyol took a shock early lead. Dani Alves was culpable, conceding possession near the halfway line to allow Marco Asensio, on loan from Real Madrid, to race goalwards before sliding a perfect pass into the feet of Caicedo, who confidently stroked home a low shot.

Barca’s response was instant and while it looked as though Espanyol would survive until the interval with the scoreline tied, Messi combined with debutant Turan 30 yards from goal to win a free-kick, which he brilliantly rifled home via the underside of the crossbar.

Within minutes of the restart Messi turned creator, receiving a pass from Iniesta on the left wing and rifling a perfectly placed cross to split open the defence and give the onrushing Pique a simple close-range finish.

Barca then turned on the style, with new boy Turan looking at ease as the hosts ran the visitors ragged with quickfire passing. But then the game became nasty, with visiting keeper Lopez lucky to escape a straight red card after stamping viciously on Messi’s ankle.

Espanyol had been walking a disciplinary tightrope all evening, and their luck ran out midway through the second period when two players were sent off in quick succession: Hernan Perez for two yellow cards, and Papakouli Diop for dissent in an argument with Suarez.

Predictably, Barca went for the kill against the nine men, and the under-fire Lopez made several good saves while off-colour Suarez missed a simple free header from a corner.

The pressure eventually told, with Neymar receiving the ball on the edge of the box and finding Messi who floated a perfect return chip into the path of the Brazilian, and he ran on to hit a fierce rightfooted volley in the corner for a superb goal.

There was still time for Suarez to miss a sitter, but Barca had the tie in the bag.