A ninetieth minute objective by Marcus Rashford ensured defending champions Barcelona held off Copa del Rey minnows Guadalajara.
Printed On 17 Dec 2025
Late strikes from Andreas Christensen and Marcus Rashford secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory for Barcelona in opposition to third-tier facet Guadalajara on Tuesday, sending the Catalans by means of to the final 16 of the Copa del Rey.
Barcelona laboured for a lot of the match on the Pedro Escartin stadium, holding over 80% of possession however struggling to interrupt down a disciplined five-man Guadalajara defence.
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The house facet posed a continuing risk on the counter-attack and pissed off the European heavyweights for lengthy stretches.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick launched common starters Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde, Jules Kounde, and Pedri from the bench within the second half, in search of a breakthrough.
The adjustments lastly paid dividends within the 77th minute when Frenkie de Jong whipped in a cross from the appropriate and defender Christensen rose highest to fulfill the supply, together with his header deflecting off Guadalajara’s Julio Martinez earlier than nestling within the internet.
The hosts almost produced an instantaneous response, with Salifo Caropitche unleashing a fierce drive from distance, however Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen – who was enjoying his first sport for Barca since Could – reacted beautifully to tip the trouble over the bar, preserving his facet’s slender lead.
Guadalajara’s hopes had been extinguished within the dying moments when Lamine Yamal performed a chic through-ball into the trail of Rashford.
The English ahead confirmed nice composure, wrong-footing keeper Dani Vicente with a fast lower to his left earlier than tapping the ball into the empty internet to wrap up the outcome for Barcelona.
“These are tough matches; they arrive out with every little thing they’ve obtained and we’ve got to do the identical,” Cubarsi instructed TVE.
“Within the second half, we picked up the tempo and moved them back and forth to tire them out. Because the minutes handed, they grew drained, and that was the important thing level. They performed spectacularly properly.”
