.jpg)
Barcelona secured a ticket to the Copa del Rey semifinals after winning 2-1 over Segunda Division team, Albacete, early Wednesday morning. The Catalan giants had to wait until the 39th minute before Lamine Yamal opened the scoring. Ronald Araujo doubled the lead, although Javi Moreno’s goal made the end of the match feel tense.
Confident thanks to three consecutive wins, Barcelona are strong favorites when facing conquerors Real Madrid in the previous round. However, they were frustrated at the start of the match because it was difficult to create clear opportunities; Marcus Rashford even wasted the best opportunity with a shot that went wide.
Finally, Yamal broke the deadlock. Barcelona won the ball in the area, Frenkie de Jong passed to Yamal, and the Spaniard curled a shot into the far corner to make it 1-0 — his fifth goal in the last six games.
Even though he didn’t score a goal, Araujo effectively dashed Albacete’s hopes with a powerful header in response to Rashford’s corner kick. Moreno managed to hit back at the end of the match and the hosts were hunting for a dramatic equaliser, but luckily for Barca, that didn’t happen.
GOAL Rating Barcelona players from Estadio Carlos Belmonte…
Related reading
