Barcelona survive early scare in Copa del Rey, Juventus stroll on in Serie A

Washington –  The Copa del Rey provided some respite for Barcelona after a double dose of defeats as they beat 2B side Cartagena 4-1 after an early scare.

According to CNN, the Catalan giants, who are without the talents of their mercurial striker Lionel Messi, had fallen to consecutive defeats to Ajax, in the Champions League, and to Athletic Bilbao in La Liga.

Meanwhile, Juventus stretched their lead at the top of Serie A in the Italian league’s only match on Friday, the report said.

The defending champions remain unbeaten in the domestic series this season after ticking off a 2-0 away win in Bologna, the report added.

In France, Marseille were leap-frogged by Nantes as the home side nicked a 1-0 victory thanks to a solo strike from American midfielder Alejandro Bedoya, the report further said.

The win saw Nantes move up to fourth in the Ligue 1 table while Marseille dropped back to fifth, the report mentioned.