Fans can prepare for another "El Clasico" for the ages after Barcelona booked themselves a semifinal clash against Real Madrid by seeing off the challenge of Malaga in the Copa Del Rey quarterfinals.
Barcelona went through 6-4 on aggregate, following a 4-2 win at Malaga, thanks to late goals from Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.
Pedro gave Barca an early lead in the eight minute via a header, before Joaquin levelled the scores with a strike four minutes later.
Barcelona, however, regained their one-goal advantage through defender Gerard Pique, who recently became a father with partner and popstar Shakira, four minutes into the second half.
Malaga were not going to go away easily though, as on-loan Manchester City forward Roque Santa Cruz made it 4-4 on aggregate and 2-2 on the night with a little over 20 minutes remaining.
After that, Barcelona's two Ballon d'Or nominees took over, with Iniesta netting off a nice one-two with Cesc Fabregas in the 76th minute.
"I'm happy that I was able to help the team with my goal, I think we scored our four goals at the right times and we qualified for the next round, which was our objective," Iniesta told the club's official website.
"They drew level very quickly both times, the important thing is the aggregate score and the second half was practically ours."
World player of the year Messi made the game safe with a rare headed goal off a cross from Dani Alves with ten minutes remaining.
"We knew that it was going to be a difficult match and we had to win," Pique said. "Now we have a great semifinal against Madrid, we'll see who wins.
"We came here to play great football, and that happened in the second half and in the end we got a good result.
"We knew that it would be a complicated match and that's exactly what it was. We tried to control the ball, even though the match got a bit crazy at times but I think the result is fair.
"I'm very content and happy, especially because we made it through to the next round."
The Spanish international defender said he was now looking forward to the "El Clasico" against Real Madrid, who defeated Valencia in the quarters Wednesday.
"It's exciting because it's a Cup semifinal and because if you win you go onto the final," he added. "It's one of the most attractive matches of the year and we have been lucky enough to play it these past couple of years.
"First we have to play against Madrid, they will still be dangerous even though they will be missing important players."
In the second semifinal Atletico Madrid will face Sevilla, after Diego Simeone's men defeated Real Betis 3-1 on aggregate.
