Barça Copa del Rey comebacks continue

Barça's fourth consecutive comeback in qualifying Copa del Rey matches. The comeback win after going a goal down in the round of 32 match at Estadio Municipal de Linares on Wednesday (1-2) was their fourth in a row.

In the last three qualifying matches from last season's Copa del Rey (last 16, quarter-final, and semi-final), Barça also had to come back to get through to the next round, going on to win the final where they dominated Athletic Club (0-4). Furthermore, in the round of 32 against Cornellà, despite not conceding a goal, Barça needed extra-time to win (0-2), with goals from Dembélé and Braithwaite.

Last 16 against Rayo Vallecano

In the last 16 of the 2020/21 Copa de Rey, Barça fell behind at Vallecas against Rayo when Fran García scored on 63 minutes. With no return leg and the winner of the game going through, Barça had to dig deep to come back. Leo Messi (69th minute) and Frenkie de Jong (80th minute) scored the goals for a 1-2 Barça win.

Quarter-final against Granada

The next round was the quarter-final, requiring an even more Herculean effort and stunning comeback. Barça conceded goals by Kenedy and Soldado at the Nuevo Los Cármenes stadium against Granada. Still 2-0 down with 88 minutes on the clock, Griezmann managed to halve the difference. Then Jordi Alba scored a last-gasp goal in the 92nd minute to force extra-time.

Extra-time proved even more exciting. Griezmann completed the comeback to make it 2-3 (100th minute), but Granada found another gear, with Fede Vico scoring a penalty to equal the tie (3-3). De Jong again put Koeman's team ahead (3-4, 108th minute) before Jordi Alba scored his second and completed the goal fest (113th minute). The final score was 3-5, but let's not forget that the score was 2-0 in the 88th minute. Incredible.

Semi-final against Sevilla

The semi-finals featured home and away matches. Barça lost the away leg 2-0 to Sevilla in the Sánchez-Pizjuán stadium, with Koundé and ex-Barça man Rakitic scoring the goals. The return leg was another epic match, however. Dembélé quickly gave Barça the lead (12th minute), but another goal was needed to force extra-time.

Things weren't looking great when Ocampos had the chance to level from the penalty spot, which would leave Barça needing three goals to go through. However, Ter Stegen saved the penalty before Piqué unbelievably equalised with the last kick of the game to force extra-time in the 94th minute. Braithwaite then scored in the 95th minute to make the final score 3-0, while Sevilla finished the game with nine players after Fernando and current Barça player, Luuk de Jong, were sent off.

Last 32 against Linares

Lastly, Barça's latest qualifying match in the Copa del Rey also featured a comeback. Wednesday's match saw Hugo Díaz put the home side ahead in the 19th minute, before second half goals by Dembélé (63rd minute) and Jutglà (69th minute) meant Xavi Hernández' men completed yet another comeback to qualify for the next round. There's no doubt that qualification is all the sweeter when a comeback is involved.