Barcelona clinched a hard-fought victory to keep their Copa del Rey hopes alive.
Barcelona defeated Linares Deportivo in their Copa del Rey game on Wednesday. The Catalans reached the tournament’s round of 16 by completing a second-half comeback.
Jutgla with another winner!
Linares started the game by surprising Barcelona on the counter-attacks. It was evident from the start that the Andalusian side had come into the match for a victory. It did not take too long before they started sending balls behind Barca’s backline.
The third tier side got their well-deserved opener in the 19th minute. Following a brilliant cross from Fran Carnicer, Luis Dias Sanchez found the back of the net with a low header.
Barcelona made a few efforts to equalize the game before the interval. However, they clearly lacked enough composure to turn the game around.
Xavi replaced Ilias Akhomach with Ousmane Dembele at the beginning of the second period, which significantly improved Barca’s attacks. The French forward scored the equalizer with a shot from the edge of the box just after the hour-mark.
Linares tried to surprise Barcelona again by taking the lead again. However, they became too vulnerable defensively, and Barca quickly used this to their benefit.
Following a swift counter-attack, Ferran Jutgla charged into the box before curling a precise effort past Brimah Razak. Barcelona had several chances to extend their lead in the latter stages of the game. However, they eventually settled for a 2-1 win to reach the competition’s round of 16.
Barcelona will face Granada in their next La Liga game on Saturday. They will then meet Real Madrid in the Super Cup four days later.
Player Ratings
Linares Deportivo: Razak (7); Perejon (5), Guerrero (7), Gomez (6), Barbosa (6); Sanchidrian (6), Rodri (6), Melendez (6), Carnicer (7); Diaz (7), Copete (6).
Bench: Martin (5), Castillo (6), Etxaniz (6), Carracedo (7).
Barcelona: Neto (6); Mingueza (6), Araujo (6), Garcia (7), Alba (7); Alves (8), Busquets (7), Puig (6); Gonzalez (7), Chakkour (6), Jutgla (6).
Bench: Pique (7), De Jong (6), Catalan (7), Dembele (8).
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