Topics: Barcelona, Copa del Rey, Huesca, La Masia
The Catalan powerhouse cruised to an 8-1 Copa del Rey win over Huesca...all without their star attacking trio.

Earlier today, Barcelona took on Huesca in the second leg of this season's Copa del Rey.

While the Blaugrana have looked unsteady at times this season, the gulf in class between the Catalan giants and their minnow opponents was as obvious as can be. So much so, in fact, that Luis Enrique could afford to give star attacking trio Lionel Messi, Neymar, and new signing Luis Suarez the evening off.

In fact, it was an opportunity for some of the club's current crop of La Masia players to get some first-team football experience, as well as for some of the other senior players who have not enjoyed as much playing time as they would have liked.

Arguably the star of the show was Pedro, who has been restricted to a bit-part role due to the presence of Messi, Neymar, and now Suarez, but the Spanish international showed his class as he netted a perfect hat-trick (one with each foot and a header) all within the first half.

However, one huge talking point was the presence of Barcelona's famed youth academy and the influence they enjoyed over the course of the game. The Blaugrana's famed La Masia academy is recognized as the top footballing schools in the world, having produced players like Xavi, Messi, Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, and many more.

It was certainly a great night for Barcelona fans to see that the future looks bright at the club with some of the youth players putting in a good shift, and they took to as usual, social media to express their opinions: