Neymar shines as Barcelona top Atletico in Copa

Barcelona's Neymar celebrates his second goal during a second leg quarterfinal Copa del Rey soccer match between Atletico de Madrid and FC Barcelona at the Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid. (Andres Kudacki/AP)

MADRID — Neymar scored twice to lead Barcelona past nine-man Atletico Madrid and into the Copa del Rey semifinals with a 3-2 victory that went from pulsating to unseemly at Vicente Calderon Stadium on Wednesday.

Barcelona advanced 4-2 on aggregate to meet Villarreal or Getafe next.

Barcelona won the first leg 1-0, but Atletico’s Fernando Torres needed just 39 seconds to score and set off an electric first half.

Lionel Messi started the first of two counterattacks for Neymar to strike in the ninth minute.

Atletico’s Raul Garcia converted a penalty in the 30th, but Miranda’s own goal left Atletico reeling before Neymar scored before halftime.

Atletico self-destructed with Gabi Fernandez sent off during a halftime scuffle. Mario Suarez was ejected in the 84th.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.