Barcelona advance to quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey
Defending champion Barcelona avoided an upset a day after Real Madrid faltered in the Copa del Rey, edging second-division leader Racing Santander 2-0 to reach the quarterfinals. Madrid, which lost last year’s Copa final to Barcelona, was eliminated by second-tier team Albacete 3-2 on Wednesday in the debut of coach Álvaro Arbeloa. Ferran Torres broke the deadlock in Santander on a breakaway in the 66th minute, receiving a pass by Fermín López and going past the goalkeeper before finding the open net.
Lamine Yamal sealed the victory in the sixth and final minute of added time on Thursday. Racing had two goals disallowed for offside, one in the 77th and another in the 86th. It squandered a golden chance to equalize in a one-on-one situation in second-half stoppage time, with Barcelona goalkeeper Joan García making a last-minute save on a shot by substitute Manex Lozano.
“Gladly we have Joan in goal,” Torres said. “These teams are well prepared and have players with a lot of quality, that’s why it has been so tough (for the first-division teams).” The match was delayed in 15 minutes because of problems with access to the stadium in northern Spain.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick did not start some of his top players, including Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Pedri. All three of them entered the match as second-half substitutes. Before kickoff, Racing players did a guard of honor for the Spanish Super Cup champions, lining up to salute the Barcelona players as they entered the field.
In the other round-of-16 game on Thursday, Valencia scored a goal in each half to advance past second-tier club Burgos 2-0. On Tuesday, Atletico Madrid beat second-division tier Deportivo La Coruña 1-0. The other teams that advanced to the last eight were Real Sociedad, Athletic Bilbao, Real Betis and Alaves. The draw for the quarterfinals will be on Monday.
