Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi looks downwards during the Spanish 'Copa del Rey' (King's cup) quarter-final first leg football match between RCD Espanyol and FC Barcelona at the RCDE Stadium in Cornella de Llobregat on January 17, 2018. Pic/AFP

Lionel Messi missed a penalty as Espanyol struck in the dying moments to consign Barcelona to their first defeat since August, 1-0 in the first leg of the Copa del Rey quarter-finals on Wednesday. Oscar Melendo slotted home a neat finish with two minutes remaining of a temperamental derby cup tie, racing onto Marc Navarro's low cross to punish Messi for missing a 62nd-minute penalty and send the home crowd into raptures. "We knew this day would come, we tried to delay it as much as possible but it couldn't be today," said Sergio Busquets after the match.