Barcelona secured their place in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over second-division leaders Racing Santander on Thursday night. Goals from Spanish internationals Ferran Torres and teenage sensation Lamine Yamal were enough to see the record 32-time winners through a tricky last-16 encounter.
Torres and Yamal Fire Blaugrana to Victory
The match, played at Racing's Sardinero stadium after a 15-minute delay due to fan access issues, saw Barcelona dominate possession from the outset. However, the Catalans found it difficult to break down a resilient Racing defence in the first half. Marcus Rashford created a good chance for Dani Olmo, but the midfielder failed to connect properly with the cross.
Racing's main threat came from attempts to exploit Barcelona's high line, but goalkeeper Joan Garcia was largely untroubled, comfortably handling a long-range effort from Giorgi Guliashvili. After the break, Barcelona increased the pressure. Rashford forced a save and fired another shot just wide before the deadlock was finally broken.
A Tense Finish and Disallowed Goals
The opening goal arrived when Fermin Lopez played a clever through ball to send Ferran Torres clean through on goal. The Spain forward calmly rounded Racing goalkeeper Jokin Ezkieta and slotted home to give Barca a crucial lead.
Pushing for an equaliser, the hosts thought they had scored twice through striker Manex Lozano, but on both occasions the celebrations were cut short by the offside flag. Barcelona's victory was sealed in the final moments of stoppage time when substitute Raphinha crossed for Lamine Yamal to tap in at the far post, wrapping up the win.
Barca's Winning Streak Continues
The result means Barcelona have now won 11 consecutive matches in all competitions under coach Hansi Flick. The German manager had named a strong side, aware of the shock exit of rivals Real Madrid at the hands of Albacete just a day earlier.
"We didn't think they would be so hard to break down," admitted goalscorer Ferran Torres in a post-match interview. "We knew that we had to stretch the game, be calm and in the end it went well."
Racing Santander's defender Alvaro Mantilla reflected on what might have been, saying, "We played the game we had to play, we played a 10 out of 10 match, (with) two offside goals and the chance at the end… it's okay, it's football."
In another Copa del Rey fixture, Valencia also booked their quarter-final spot with a 2-0 away win at Burgos.
