Barcelona reach Copa del Rey semis

BARCELONA ended Albacete’s giant-killing run in the Copa del Rey, winning 2-1 away on Tuesday to become the first side to book a semi-final berth, but only after surviving a late comeback from the second-tier outfit.

Lamine Yamal swept home a 39th-minute strike to open the scoring and captain Ronald Araujo netted from a second-half corner as Barcelona stayed on course to defend the trophy they won last year.

Albacete pulled one back through Javier Moreno in the 87th minute and then had an effort cleared off the Barca line in stoppage time as they made a late bid for another high-profile scalp.

Albacete, who sit in 12th spot in the Spanish second division, had upset Celta Vigo and Real Madrid in the previous rounds but went behind in the quarter-final tie when Marcus Rashford helped steal the ball, passing to Frenkie de Jong who in turn set up Yamal for a sweeping left-footed finish.

Olmo had a shot blocked after Rashford’s run had set him up from close range in the 47th minute but Barcelona did double the score nine minutes later when Araujo headed home in his first start since taking a mental health break in December.

But Moreno steered home a diving header from a free kick to reduce the deficit in a frenetic finale that then saw Ferran Torres tuck the ball away for what Barca thought was their third goal in the 89th minute, only for it to be ruled offside.

Albacete then laid siege to the LaLiga leaders, forcing Gerard Martin to make a dramatic clearance off the line.

Deportivo Alaves host Real Sociedad and Valencia are home to Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday in other Spanish Cup quarter-finals, while Atletico Madrid visit Real Betis today.

Barcelona won the cup last year, beating Real Madrid 3-2 after extra time in the final in Seville. –Reuters

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