Barça, leader of Liga, defeated Santander, first in Spanish D2, this Thursday, in the 8th round of the Spanish Cup.
FC Barcelona, defending champion, qualified without convincing on Thursday for the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey by winning 2-0 in Santander, current second in the Spanish D2.
In a long-closed meeting, where the club from the capital of Cantabria tied the match with the Blaugrana, it was not until the middle of the second period that Ferran Torres found the opening at the conclusion of a counter-attack (66th). Lamine Yamal doubled the lead after added time (90th + 6). But the leader in the La Liga standings, with four points ahead of Real Madrid, suffered until the end, conceding a goal invalidated for offside (76th) or relying on an exemplary outing from his goalkeeper Joan Garcia (90th+5) not to concede a goal.
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Santander was unable to repeat the feat of another second division resident, Albacete, who took out Real on Wednesday after added time (3-2). It was the first match on the Madrid bench for Alvaro Arbeloa, who replaced Xabi Alonso on Monday, sacked the day after a defeat in the Spanish Super Cup against Barça.
