Barcelona Succeeds In The Copa Del Rey Quarterfinals

Who Was Blaugrana Facing?

The name of Barcelona’s opponents may not be too familiar even to those who follow the Spanish first league. That is because Albacete currently plays in the Segunda División. With 24 matches played so far, they are currently 12th in the standings. What football fans may remember them for is the match they played to advance to this year’s Copa del Rey quarterfinals.

On January 14, Albacete faced none other than Barcelona’s great rival, Real Madrid. With them sitting in the bottom half of the Segunda División and Real fighting for the La Liga trophy, almost everyone expected an easy victory for the latter. In the end, after a tense game, it was the former that triumphed 3:2, after Jefté Betancor’s last-minute goal.

Did Barcelona Do What Real Couldn’t?

Just as was the case for Albacete’s match against Real, the odds were in their opponents’ favour. However, they had beaten them once before and were determined to do so again, ensuring a challenging match for Barcelona. They attacked hard, especially in the first half, and did not let the Catalan team dominate them, despite Blaugrana having much higher ball possession.

Albacete’s efforts were commendable, but not enough to stop their opponents from scoring. 39 minutes after the first whistle, Marcus Rashford shot the ball to Frenkie de Jong, who managed to pass it straight to the wonderkid, Lamine Yamal. The youngster only needed one touch to send it into the net, putting Barcelona in the lead.

Barcelona increased their lead in the second half with Ronald Araújo’s header after a corner. The unfavourable score didn’t dim Albacete’s determination. They continued pushing for the contact goal and managed to find it in the 87th minute. With that, the score changed to 1:2. There was a moment in which it seemed like it would change with Ferran Torres scoring right as the standard time was coming to an end, but the goal was ultimately disallowed.

What’s Next For Barcelona?

Winning the game meant that Barcelona secured a spot in the Copa del Rey’s semifinals. They will face one of the six teams that are still left in the running. On February 4, Valencia and Athletic Club as well as Alaves and Real Sociedad will fight each other for a spot in the next stage of the competition. A day later, Real Betis and Atletico Madrid will do the same thing.

Barcelona, in the meantime, without the additional Champions League matches, will enjoy a slightly calmer February. Their next game will be a Saturday league match against Mallorca.

End Of My Barcelona Rant

With the quarterfinal victory, Barcelona is set to continue their Copa del Rey campaign. So far, they are steadily moving through the season, advancing forward in all the competitions they are a part of. While their form has not been perfect in the alst few weeks, it has been enough for the fans not to worry too much about the season ahead.