In a city in La Mancha, Barça have qualified for the semifinals of the Copa del Rey. The cup story continues after the goals by Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araujo after managing to impose the blaugrana way through grit and perspiration. It was a hard fought victory, but the blaugranes await their opponents in the next round, having reached there sixteen times in the last twenty years, with the joy having got the job done at the Carlos Belmonte stadium. 

The aim for FC Barcelona was to ruin the cup dream for Albacete. Joan Garcia, Cancelo, Araujo, Eric, Gerard Martín, Frenkie de Jong, Bernal, Olmo, Rashford, Lamine Yamal and Lewandowski wanted to score first on a cold night at the Carlos Belmont stadium. However, in a place steeped in history, the blaugrana 14 was unable to find the net from two clear chances early in the first half. Albacete also had a couple of chances on the break, but the Barça number 13 stood firm. Clearly not cowed by their first division visitors, the side from Castilla-LaMancha grew into the game and stifled the blaugrana attacks.

There was still work to be done after 30 minutes. Every bit of progress had to be earned with effort, because the home side were really giving it their all around the pitch. With the crowd behind them, they remained unfazed by the visitors' onslaughts and began to make their presence felt in attack. The assuredness of Ronald Araujo, back in the starting line-up, Eric Garcia, playing without a mask, and the composure of Joan Garcia made sure the damage was limited. Hansi Flick's FC Barcelona had to grind it out as they were looking less and less like the bigger team. Coincidentally, this was also the case after they went 0-1 up due to the captain's rock-solid defending.

Number 10 opens the scoring

A combination of the blaugranes' hard work and quality finally made the difference. It doesn't matter when or where, Hansi Flick's team press in the opponents' half. Rashford regained possession before Frenkie de Jong and Lamine Yamal made the first strike on the Manchegans' goal. The finish for the first goal by the number 10, who is in the goals at the moment, was accurate and beautiful. That's now four consecutive games he has found the back of the net to make it 14 goals so far this season.

THE MATCH STATS

The goal enlivened the start of the second half. Rashford came out wanting to extend the lead, but Olmo but crashed against the many legs in the way of the home side goal. They were defending with their lives to prevent Flick's side going further ahead, with the coach looking frustrated, albeit he applauded the blaugrana rearguard action to stop an Albacete goal as they weren't giving up easily. There were still chapters to write in this Copa del Rey quarterfinal.

Captain paves the way...

Especially regarding further FC Barcelona progress, because Ronald Araujo jumped highest to make it 0-2 after 56 minutes after a beautiful corner from the English winger. The Uruguayan defender added the gloss to his performance at the heart of the defence with this goal that paved the way to confirm the victory. The scoreline seemed to stun Albacete, who looked to react through Jefté, their Copa del Rey hero this season. This time he was unable to find the top corner in the Carlos Belmonte stadium to send the Manchegan fans wild. Ferran Torres and Dani Olmo both went close to keep them quiet.

... but with a nervy finish

Using possession of the ball as their shield, the blaugrana players looked to steer the match towards the happy ending they wanted. Not without scares, as Albacete showed character and desire to break down the control established by FC Barcelona, who were using offside to prevent their opponents' finishes counting. All the same, Albacete did score a goal after 87 minutes to make it a tense finale. Javi Moreno (1-2, min 87) gave hope to a team that had to go on and deal with the magic of Ferran Torres in the Copa del Rey. However, another goal for the Spanish forward in the competition to make the final minutes calmer for Flick's side was ruled out for offside. 

But there were no more chapters, no more surprises, because Gerard Martín donned his superhero cape to save the equaliser on the line. On the endless plains of Castilla-La Mancha, Barça left Albacete no space to dream. They played it smart and dug deep to secure a valuable win. It won't go down as a legendary performance, but it was job-done to reach the next round of the Copa del Rey. Flick's side stride on through to the semifinals; and that's now sixteen in twenty years. The road to retain the cup crown continues.

 

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