Late goals carry Barcelona past stubborn Guadalajara in Copa del Rey

Barcelona needed patience, and a late burst of quality, to see off third-tier Guadalajara 2-0 on Tuesday, with goals from Andreas Christensen and Marcus Rashford finally breaking resistance and sending the Catalans into the Copa del Rey last 16.

Hansi Flick’s side dominated the ball from start to finish, enjoying more than 80 percent possession at the Pedro Escartin stadium, but found chances hard to come by against a well-organised Guadalajara defence set up with five at the back. The hosts repeatedly frustrated Barcelona and looked dangerous on the counter, forcing the visitors to stay alert.

With the game drifting, Flick turned to his bench. Pau Cubarsi, Alejandro Balde, Jules Kounde and Pedri were all introduced in the second half as Barcelona searched for a way through.

The breakthrough eventually arrived in the 77th minute. Frenkie de Jong delivered a curling cross from the right, and Christensen powered above his marker to head goalwards. The ball took a deflection off Julio Martinez on its way in, but the goal was enough to crack Guadalajara’s resolve.

The home side almost hit back immediately. Salifo Caropitche let fly from long range, but Marc-Andre ter Stegen, making his first appearance for Barcelona since May, produced a sharp save to push the shot over the bar and protect the lead.

Any lingering hope for Guadalajara was snuffed out late on. Lamine Yamal slipped a perfectly weighted through-ball into Rashford’s path, and the English forward kept his cool, shifting past Dani Vicente before finishing into an empty net to seal the result.

“These are tricky matches; they come out with everything they’ve got and we have to do the same,” Cubarsi told TVE. “In the second half, we picked up the pace and moved them from side to side to tire them out. As the minutes passed, they grew tired, and that was the key point. They played spectacularly well.”